Weed, a slang name of Marijuana is a dry, greenish-brown and ragged mixture of leaves, flowers, seeds and stems from the Cannabis plant. It consists of the major ‘psychoactive’ compound named delta9tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. When marijuana is smoked, the chemical passes from lungs to blood and other organs including the brain.
How is weed used?
- Rolled up and burnt like a cigarette
- Smoked via pipes or cigars
- Mixing and eating with food
Effects of Weed
Though it may minimize several medical situations, studies exemplify that weed consumption can cause health hazards including poor mental as well as physical health. People who take weed are addicted to the feel they get after taking it, that its very hard for them to get over it.
One of the articles published in National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) mentions that smoking weed increases heartbeat rate by 20-100 % and the effect lasts for 3 hours. A research estimated that weed users might have a 4.8 times more risks of getting heart attack in the initial hour after smoking. The reason may be because of the increased heart rate causing palpitation.
According to the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), weed is one of the normally used illegal drugs by 19.8 million people in the United States. A lot of people all around the world, at present are being addicted to marijuana and there are equal amount of addicts who are trying their utmost to quit the drug.
If you are under those number of people who are looking for ways to quit weed and failing even after numerous attempts, these simple methods may help you.
How to get started?
Help yourself
Help yourself and be determined to quit the habit of smoking weed. You may have several symptoms while quitting like sleeplessness, decreased appetite, feel nauseated, irritability, mood swing, anxiety and more. Just do not worry; you can follow these steps to help yourself slowly quit the habit.
Steps
- Firstly, get prepared for withdrawal and fix the date. Stick the notes all around your room to remind yourself that you are quitting.
- Remove things that make you remember about the smoking. Keep away lighters, pipes, matches, bongs, and ashtrays. Then, you can slowly get rid of the cravings.
- Share with your close friends and family members about your decision to quit smoking. They would love to help you quit the habit.
- Now, find a substitute activity to deal with your emotions when craving escalates. For instance, you can have a long phone conversation with your close friend, go for a long walk, or go for a movie, read books and the like. Or, use sugarless gum, a diet drink, sugarless candy, toothpicks or straw to put in your mouth but reduce stimulants like tea, coffee, cola etc.
- Changing regular routine can help you manage your urges distracting yourself. Like taking up unusual routes while walking avoiding the triggering locations, changing time of breakfast or lunch, etc.
- Do things you enjoy.
On a personal level
Understand your emotion
Just understand your feelings but get stuck with your decision of quitting. Keep yourself busy doing something and remind yourself that the feeling will pass.
Distract yourself
You can do things that let you enjoy. Ignore activities that bore you.
Think positive
Avoid negative thinking. When you are sad or upset, cravings may elevate more when you have these emotions. So, keep yourself happy.
Deal with social situation and friends
Stay away from the circle or individuals for a while who are active smokers. Telling ‘No’ when you are offered for a puff would be difficult. So, you need ask for their help by not smoking around you or for not forcing to smoke.
Other techniques
Enjoying a mental and physical form of relaxation is one of the secrets and techniques to quit smoking weed. Getting a good massage, spa, yoga etc. will help you relax. You can also try exercising more which assists in releasing natural endorphins and helps you get better sleep. Lying down and letting your muscle relax breathing deeply also helps your mind gets refreshed and ignore cravings of smoking weed.
Take experts’ advice
Taking advice from therapists and doctors would be another alternative to help you quit smoking. And, if you are not confident enough to quit smoking weed on your own, you can simply join a support group. Just be committed and the group will help you to quit the habit through their counseling and behavioral therapies.
Probably, deciding to quit smoking is not as easy as inhaling puff and enjoying its intoxicating effects. Yet, keep on trying using these methods because you are worth the endeavor.