I started smoking about 14 months ago, and then quit cold turkey 4 months ago when I noticed my cognition being affected. I was smoking roughly 4 times a week.
After I stopped I had massive anxiety and depresion symptoms and had about 3 months of no sleep or very poor sleep.
I'm just starting to sleep properly again, but am still unable to get a good day's work done.
I find that I can do a task if its already been broken down into bits, but I find it impossible to plan complex tasks. If I try to think about anything requiring problem solving then my brain just refuses to cooporate. It requires extreme effort for me to focus my attention to get simple things done without getting distracted or forgetting part of what I'm doing.
I'm also finding that nothing seems interesting at all and I can't get the motivation to make any long term plans. It's very frustrating to think that the rest of my life could be like this - lethargic - going through the motions but not really experiencing anything.
Obviously getting very very stressed by all this as I'm scared that I'm going to lose my programming job through poor performance. I feel optimistic about things in the morning, but a hard days work of not getting much done makes me feel very down in the evening.
The cogntive dysfunction that I'm experiencing seems to match with the well document symptoms connected with cannabis use:- Inability to plan complex tasks, poor short term memory, lack of drive to achieve goals.
Has anyone else experienced any of this and did you find that it got better over time?
After I stopped I had massive anxiety and depresion symptoms and had about 3 months of no sleep or very poor sleep.
I'm just starting to sleep properly again, but am still unable to get a good day's work done.
I find that I can do a task if its already been broken down into bits, but I find it impossible to plan complex tasks. If I try to think about anything requiring problem solving then my brain just refuses to cooporate. It requires extreme effort for me to focus my attention to get simple things done without getting distracted or forgetting part of what I'm doing.
I'm also finding that nothing seems interesting at all and I can't get the motivation to make any long term plans. It's very frustrating to think that the rest of my life could be like this - lethargic - going through the motions but not really experiencing anything.
Obviously getting very very stressed by all this as I'm scared that I'm going to lose my programming job through poor performance. I feel optimistic about things in the morning, but a hard days work of not getting much done makes me feel very down in the evening.
The cogntive dysfunction that I'm experiencing seems to match with the well document symptoms connected with cannabis use:- Inability to plan complex tasks, poor short term memory, lack of drive to achieve goals.
Has anyone else experienced any of this and did you find that it got better over time?
It really depends on how often you smoked during that 14 month period. Anxiety and depression is very common in withdrawals from marijuana dependency. Anxiety and depression also affect cognition, most people who suffer from either have trouble thinking or concentrating on things. Withdrawals from marijuana seem to be very long and drawn out (read the sticky topic on the symptoms of withdrawal, if you haven't already). For many people it seems like the withdrawal process can last months upon months. I myself am about 6 weeks into my withdrawal after 2+ years of very heavy use, while my symptoms have improved GREATLY from the first three weeks...feelings of anxiety and nervousness still linger along with some of the other symptoms I felt from stopping. I have good days and bad days. What you have to do is acknowledge the fact that your symptoms have in fact improved over this time period and while it is very gradual, you're feeling better everyday. Best of luck to everyone stopping.
Reading back on your last post, I didn't see that you wrote that you smoked 4 times a week. While this is not considered to be particularly "heavy" use of cannabis (heavy use is described as using 29 out of 30 days of the month), it is still a considerable amount. Your body could just be sensitive to the absence of THC. Everyone is different and reacts to these things differently, remember that.
i feel we have these anxiety attacts because weve been smoking for years wich seems most of our lives and i dont know about you but when i smoked i smoked everyday for 3 years and i quit for the reason of being always mellowed out and not talking, it effect my social life and friends when i am high i just think crazy and if you think about it ive been thinking crazy almost those 3 years and i dont know what else to do besides that ,soo i quit and i thought it would go away but that is still apart of me (just thinking crazy)becasue thats all i remember to do, and before when i smoked it didnt bother me because i just was high all the time and smoked problems away but now iam a sober person that just thinks and analys things and make stuff worse than what it is smoking took away the troubles of you caring about when you were thinking bad on things because it was so much weed constantly that nothing bothered you, being sober is making it worse when you think bad and just remember the weed caused the thinking not you. and when you just quit cold turkey that thinking just doesnt go away just as soon as you quit its going to stay with you for a while becuase thats all you did for how ever long you smoked weed it takes time to regroop of who you realy are because i know before i smoked i was always happy and out going and weed recked a lot of my life but life goes on and all you have to do is make your thinking be positive and dont try to resovle situations.you cant train your brain like that it doesnt work it makes it worse. think of the times you were happy and where you had confidence the important thing is to stop thinking (why did this happen) (why do i feel this way) and just think (how would you like to feel) think of reality that your life is so great and dont feel like its coming to an end because all this thinking is getting you depressed it did to me and now i feel my mind a lot clearer deffently i would try to talk to someone about it theyll guide you through the way and put you in reality that its goin to get better i dont realy see weed having withdrawls i just think of it like this and its working for me believe me youll overcome it dont act like your high and just think stuff crazyly over the top your in a different state of mind now and enjoy it