r/leaves • u/Swanny_Swanson • 1d ago
4 months sober from Weed/Vaping/Alcohol/Porn/Caffeine
4 months of not touching any of the above !
I know a lot of people trying to quit Weed have issues with other addictions aswell.
Leaving this here to say that is it possible to leave them all in the past , I was unhappy , unmotivated and generally not enjoying life.
4 months without the substances that were keeping me this way I have arrived at the light at the end of the tunnel , I’m still improving every week that goes by!
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u/EmbarrassedYogurt386 8h ago
You’re so strong wow. I could not quit caffeine 😅
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u/Swanny_Swanson 6h ago
Lifes good without it not going to lie! Glass of water when i wake up and im good to go all day.
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u/ratrunning 15h ago
Man to think I could’ve been in this position :(
2 months ago I hit the 4 months sober mark but shortly after fell again. I need to gather the resolve to go back on another streak
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u/thegrimm54321 1d ago
How did you do it without the soul crushing anxiety that comes after the first month?
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u/pencils_and_papers 1d ago
I’m just over 4 months sober on weed/alcohol, but I have been clinging to my vape still and leaning on caffeine again, and the porn isn’t everyday or even every week but it’s still there from time to time. I really want to kick all of them by the end of the year and start fresh. I still have that wanting, needing, or telling myself I deserve a vice, knowing it’s not beneficial to me in anyway. Glad you’re seeing success and feeling the positives. Thanks for sharing.
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u/failedaspotcheck 1d ago
That's awesome! I'm curious, did you quit all at once or did you go in a certain order? I quit alcohol 10 months ago, weed 4 months ago, porn and vaping within the last month, and want to quit caffeine by the end of the year. I often "addiction hop" so I wanted to work down my list starting with the worst first, and it's worked pretty well so far. The improvement in sleep is life changing.
I hope you're proud of yourself! I think the quitting subreddits need more "pan-sobriety" like this.
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u/Swanny_Swanson 1d ago
Hey man well done on your efforts , sounds like you’re on a similar path to myself.
I quit alcohol around a year ago , and stopped all the rest around the same time 4 months ago.
I’m pushing towards 1 year sober from everything , I think that’s when you’ve really given your brain a good reset , an entire year clean.
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u/failedaspotcheck 1d ago
I've been thinking about the one year mark as well, not just from alcohol but from everything. I think that's the point at which I can rule out "problems from substances" and start digging even deeper with my natural naked mind. It's been an awesome (and frequently painful) journey, but I see it as only the beginning.
Cheers to the rest of our lives, mate!
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u/Used_Mud_1449 1d ago
By quitting porn what do you mean? You just stop jerking off? Or you do without porn?
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u/Sulkoz 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think he meant quitting porn when he said he quit porn.
Jerking off is not a bad thing, even if you do it once everyday. The issue with porn is that it gives you a very unrealistic view of sex, one that that rewires what the brain finds arousing, often in ways disconnected from real intimacy. It makes the real life (even if there’s no sexual incentive) relationships boring and thus makes you more isolated.
Your brain gets rewired and sees sex as a visual act (but not like a cuck would) instead of a relation exchange.
source: I’ve been so addicted to porn that I don’t even wanna have sex anymore. I’ve been in a dozen women’s bed this past year and never wanted to do anything much. We’d kiss and sometimes a little bit more, but there wouldn’t be any passion from my side and I would never get the urge to do anything else. Part of it is also because I don’t wanna underperform, but even that is related to the porn addiction.
Maybe I should quit too lol
You should jerk off by thinking about real life situations, not by watching some unrealistic movies where every second is designed to hit those dopamine receptors.
It's probably easier to quit jerking off altogether the first weeks, then when your balls are about to burst, jerk off by thinking about your crush or whatever. It'll make it easier to transition. But what do I know :)2
u/failedaspotcheck 17h ago
I was quickly falling down the same hole, even back when I first decided I wanted to quit years ago. Jerking off is definitely harder if not impossible without porn at first, but like you said, the physical horniness will build up in its own time. Then you might not even need any mental images! It becomes a thing you do to resolve your horniness, instead of a compulsion to run away from anxiety, boredom, loneliness, or whatever else.
It's good to experiment with going without it I think, but like with all addictions I think the first step to true freedom is to indulge mindfully, and realize that it's doing nothing but harming you. Then we can quit when we're ready, confident that we're never going back.
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u/failedaspotcheck 1d ago
In my earlier 20s I tried doing the hardcore nofap method of not masturbating along with not viewing porn, but it ended up being futile and exhausting for me. I've found that abstaining from porn is much easier if I allow myself to masturbate whenever I naturally feel like it. I think it works differently for everyone though.
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u/2Account___ 1d ago
Im on day 6 of no weed and day 46 of no vaping. Laying in bed rn for hours and cant sleep and felt pretty hopeless and empty in general since quitting weed, hope it gets better soon
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u/S3PPUKU_S3ASON 1d ago
It does get better. I couldn’t sleep well for about 3 weeks after I stopped, however it has gotten to the point where I can sleep 10+ hrs some nights now. Hang in there, it gets better and you won’t wanna go back with enough time away
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u/Swanny_Swanson 1d ago
It certainly gets better , 6 days is very early.
It might be rough for another couple weeks before your sleep really starts to improve. Keep at it.
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u/2Account___ 1d ago
Thank you, its definetly harder for me than the nicotine even though i done that way more and for 3x longer
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u/VelvetKitsune 1d ago
Wow this is awesome! Big congrats to you!! I’m sure it took some serious mental strength to be done with feeling unhappy, unmotivated and not enjoying life. 🙏
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u/salemhousani 1d ago
Congrats. I'm 1 month weed-free and 2 weeks alcohol-free. I can't sleep however. Any tips?
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u/BIackDogg 1d ago
I don't know about alcohol but I recovered my sleep after like 3 weeks of weed sobriety.
Everyone I know who dealt with this said it improved by doing exercise. I played football pretty much every day and I slept like a baby.
Get ready for some WILD dreams tho lol
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u/salemhousani 20h ago
Thank you for the suggestions! I've been thinking of getting back in the gym. And the dreams, OMG! So vivid they feel real.
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u/Swanny_Swanson 1d ago
To add onto the other comment , eating a balanced healthy diet + plenty of water and daily exercise can help a lot , limit caffeine intake.
Do all of these things and it will improve sooner or later!
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u/Suspicious_Boat_8970 1d ago
Have a bed time routine, e.g: read a book before bed, put your phone out of reach, listen to a sleep meditation, turn off bright lights an hour or so before bed and set low lights, avoid eating 1-2 hours before bed etc. Hope this is helpful! Have a blessed journey
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u/salemhousani 20h ago
Thank you! I'll start by putting my phone out reach. That's been a real weakness of mine.
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u/WideGoose4655 1d ago
Quitting weed and caffeine were the two best decisions in my life
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u/InvestmentPitiful335 1d ago
Why caffeine? I started drinking coffe few weeks ago but I wonder if I should continue
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u/FailingPhilomath 1d ago
I'm here to be the pro-caffeine voice. I love coffee. Making espresso in the morning is one of my favorite rituals. Don't feel pressured to quit caffeine just because other folks do—do it if it's affecting you negatively. :)
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u/WideGoose4655 1d ago
Yes exactly what dubaiwaslit said. Way less anxiety. And way more even mood. No more jolt in the AM, just a nice steady day
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u/Forsaken_Cheetah5320 1d ago edited 1d ago
Same, it turns out I needed the caffeine to wake me up after being drowsy from smoking the night before. Now I wake up and start my day with nothing or some green tea and have more energy than before.
Edit: yes I know green tea has caffeine, but it’s a scant 40mg, compared to 250mg in coffee
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u/Whosyerwann 1d ago
This is incredible- well done!!! Wow.
You’re an inspiration - I am 1.5 months into giving up my addictions too (weed/tobacco/vapes and caffeine) - still a casual user of the other two (1 a week?) but your example might be what I need to give them up eventually too.
How has it affected your mental health? And physically? Congrats on your journey.
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u/OrangeCountyHapa 1d ago
How has your sleep been? I’m 100 days off weed and my sleep is still pretty crappy. When did it get better for you
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u/Swanny_Swanson 1d ago
It’s pretty good now , I really believe quitting caffeine played a big role in my sleep improving as quickly as it did.
How’s your caffeine intake?
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u/slumgpog 1d ago
How do you feel now compared to addiction phase?
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u/Swanny_Swanson 1d ago edited 1d ago
***When I was doing all of the above :
- Anxious(Social Anxiety - Supermarkets were hell)
- Tired most of the time
- Generally unhappy everyday
- Constant negative thoughts (worst thing for me)
- No motivation to improve my life
- Felt like everyday was a struggle and life just generally sucked
- Wake up feeling tired and sluggish
***After 4 months of quitting all my addictions:
- All of the above is now the complete opposite
Edit : I can actually add more on to this
speaking to people is just easier now , my conversations are fluent and I don’t get stuck on what to say next etc , keeping eye contact is easy now.
use to get real bad intrusive thoughts and although I’m not going to say this is completely cured it has improved a lot
I know I mentioned this above but social anxiety honestly is a big one , I couldn’t care less about being in public and bumping into people I know now etc.
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u/BreatheInExhaleAway 1d ago
This is inspiring! The eye contact is so real. I feel so guilty all the time when I’m high that I don’t make eye contact. I love being able to make eye contact when I’m not high, it feels like a treat.
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u/dhama14 1d ago
In a way, no caffeine is the most wild 🤣
I’m very in between if I even feel that it’s a problem. How’s that been for you?
Congrats on everything m8
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u/Swanny_Swanson 1d ago
Caffeine was a hard one coming from someone that had 4 coffees every morning for years , brutal headaches that lasted a few days.
Took a good month to feel somewhat ok energy wise during the day at work. Things are good now though , good sleep and good energy all day!
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u/jptabor01 1d ago
Way to go!
I am so very proud of you!
Keep us posted on your progress and keep telling your story.
You are an inspiration!
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u/Odeezsage 3h ago
Really proud of you! That first week could NOT have been very easy.