Understanding The Reality Of Weed (Viewer Interview)

This all makes so much sense. I’ve never had the decrease in joy from weed, but I have noticed it’s stagnated my life. It makes it easier to tolerate a mediocre life rather than pushing through and making it great

As someone who is literally going through the same thing, I want to thank this person for coming on and sharing his story

spent 10 years stoned 24/7.. wake up, bongs for breakfast, go to work, head home and rip a couple for lunch, back to work, go home at the end of the and smoke myself green. weighed about 2 bucks and had terrible anxiety. did that for about 30% of my life lol. 2 years off the shit now, and although quitting weed in itself didn't magically make me the most productive, confident and ambitious person in the world, i'm a lot happier in ways i used to think i never could be sober

I just wanted to leave an experience in case someone needs to hear it. I also used to smoke everyday and it was holding me back from pursuing my goals, eating healthily, and living life to the fullest. I have since significantly reduced my use, joined a gym, go for regular runs, and I’m eating significantly better. I also started college after avoiding it for 4 years after highschool. You can do it. You can build resiliency. You might feel like you aren’t ready or you can’t do something, all it takes is to keep doing the next right thing one step at a time. Start a routine that doesn’t leave time for smoking. Tell someone you are trying to reduce your use so they can help keep you accountable. Add in regular exercise and self care, and identify a long term goal. You aren’t defined by your emotions. You are defined by what you do about them!

I sold weed for about 4 years in Colorado at a dispensary. It might not be "addictive" in the traditional sense, but I saw plenty of people blow thousands of dollars a month on it and everyone who used it all the time (including myself) just stopped going anywhere in life. It's like we were just fine making minimum wage, having no furniture and having no ambitions. Woke up one day realizing that and just never smoked again

I’m listening to this as a 33 year old that used to be in the exact same position. Have since stopped smoking and am working towards not drinking anymore. The most striking thing while listening to this is that I feel in many ways YouTube/Reddit are doing the same things to me now that weed is doing to this kid; enhancing otherwise boring downtime, allowing me to push out hard thoughts and things I need to grapple with, etc. it’s just so hard because there’s incredibly valuable content on here and I have changed in so many positive ways from things I have learned on YouTube. It is really an insidious app and our brains are just not well setup to moderate in the age of social/digital media.

Marijuana has been a godsend for me personally . It made me more and more aware of myself and others . My worst inner conflicts I've solved being stoned at night . It brought every negativity in me that was in my subconscious to the conscious which made it possible for me to work through things and get better . It does however harm me when I begin indulging in it. Side effects are worsened sleep quality , low hunger , clouded mind and lazy . Mind you I never smoke during the day it's always before bed time.

I’m really proud of this guest, and his ability to articulate exactly what weed does over time. He’s very smart and self aware. I’m 30 now, been what I’d consider a pretty heavy smoker for 10 years, and have been working on rewiring my brain and opinion about cannabis. This conversation really helped me to understand what I’m going through and how to proceed.

Glad they're finally doing viewer interviews instead of just big influencers

The dude is good at describing weed's effects

As a 62 yr old that has smoked weed over 40 years on and off I can say that it's held me back from a lot of the things I really wish I had in my life. I'm 2 months clean still fighting for happiness

I'm a smoker of almost 21 years, started around 16; I'm 37. I was an alcoholic most of my adult life; 4 years sober this December. Also, late in life diagnosis of PTSD probably complex tbh, ADHD, and a few other disorders. Through the use of therapists, we were able to understand that my early on use was basically self medicating to regulate the ADHD and other disorders. My parents never believed my mental anguish therefore never wanted to take me to any psychologist or therapist. Weed really also slowed things down for me. My brain doesn't like to shut off, never has, which has always impacted my sleep then daily energy levels, motivation etc. I intended to quit smoking after getting sober from alcohol, however, I was never able to fully make the transition over to 100% sobriety from pot. I enjoy this sense of focus it gives me and it has always seemed to help transition that focus to other tasks. Recently though, it has been having the opposite effect. And again, has me considering quitting for good. That's when the back of my mind fear of having life with that focus, without the pot sets in. Which in turn creates anxiety which in turn makes me want to smoke. Am i addicted? Before sobriety from alcohol I would have said no. After being in recovery for so many years and seeing therapists, if you asked me if i was addicted to pot, I'd say, definitely yes.

My experience with weed is pretty different from this, but there are definitely some similarities. I always try to be aware of when I am avoiding something. Weed often helps me see when I’m avoiding things. The issue can be how often I smoke. If I smoke all the time, I’ll never really grow. I have to have breaks for: a) tolerance, b) boredom (really important!), and c) to absorb knowledge gained. Weed really helps me to see how things actually are, but if I never let myself be sober and bored, then I’ll never really learn those lessons.

Maybe it’s because I am neurodivergent, but honestly Cannabis has been far more beneficial than any professional mental health provider has ever been. It’s actually helped me process emotions and better my life in ways no medication or therapy has ever come close to helping.

I finally after 12 years of smoking weed finally finally quit, I used to spend about 150 a week on weed... just to laugh and do nothing.. looking back at it now I've realized I've spent so so much money, I could have had a house by now 😢 I'm just glad I finally found the strength to stop. I'm finally getting up and cleaning my apartment first thing in the morning, getting into positive routines, taking my dogs for walks multiple times a day. Just living. It's been so long.. I've also noticed my focus is so much stronger, and another noted side affects I'm dreaming the craziest dreams every night. When I was smoking it got to the point we're I wouldn't dream but maybe once a year.

"Its helping you internally do the work, but its not helping you do the work" is such an insightful and great point, that's exactly what it is -- For me i need it when i hate my job but it makes me bad at my job

It gives you a chemical boost that doesn't match your perception of reality. So you're stuck in the this weird feeling where you feel extremely anxious about your life but at the same time relaxed and soothed artificially.

Sometimes I miss weed. I’ve been sober for 3 years and it used to be the most relaxing thing ever and helped me where no other medication, therapist, nor doctor could. I slowly realized it was just hiding my problems out of view as they were stacking up and it wasn’t a really true solution. Eventually I started getting intense panic attacks from it and borderline psychosis and that’s when I finally stopped. I do miss the days of playing video games, watching movies and TV, listening to music, and eating while high. It really does make sensory perception richer that’s an accurate description. I used to feel like I was cradled by God or something and colors were brighter and I was so so so calm and relaxed. Nothing would ever beat eating an amazing meal and zoning out into a good movie or show. I would get so immersed and it was massive escapism. I also noticed that weed made me more social and was a great excuse to connect to people here in Southern California where pretty much that’s all we would do lol. Smoking in the mountains and meditating in nature is a whole vibe. I would have deep meditation sessions in my bed too and I opened my eyes to so much. I also made my best music in the days when I was stoned because I would think more outside the box. I think reliance on weed is the worst aspect of it for most people and it should be something you only do a few times a year at most to enhance and experience. Never use it as a crutch for mental health. This is all just my input and experience.

"Its like you're too busy fighting a losing battle to just run away"... I love how Dr. K helps people come to these conclusions on their own. The answers are inside yourself, Dr. K just puts a spot light on it for you.

I started smoking cigarettes since my teenage. Spent my whole life fighting Cigarettes addiction. Also suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until a friend recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms.