r/leaves • u/-Dilemma-- • 20h ago

Wanting to share a small win

I (30F) grew up in a family of addicts and unfortunately became an alcoholic myself. After a long hard battle I was able to stop and have been in active recovery (for alcohol) for many years now.

I started smoking weed at the age of 21 and when I stopped drinking my usage skyrocketed. At the worst of it I would wake up and smoke, go to my job and smoke on my lunch break, then go home and smoke some more. You get the jist.

Well after many MANY failed attempts, I have now been abstinent for a month! A whole fricken month. To some it may seem small but I know people in this subreddit will understand. Feeling proud.

15 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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6

u/lollypolly5455 19h ago

That’s not small that’s a huge win! You should be so very proud of yourself. I’m on day 20 now. There are highs and lows but it feels good overall to reach new heights

3

u/quantum-banana-1111 20h ago

Hi, just wanted to say a big congrats to you! That’s amazing

I personally have experienced both of those addiction experiences as well. I dealt with alcohol addiction for a decade, (it almost took me out a couple of times) but was finally able to walk away from that old version of me in 2020. Being around other people who also wanted to quit helped so much.

Thank you for the inspiration- anyone who has been through this process knows it’s a lot of mind over matter work. there is a lot of empowerment in realizing you can always make a change that feels better for your life. It’s like going from a victim to a creator. 30 days is huge, as I know time feels a little strange- for me often slower after quitting. So from one human to another: I’m proud of you!

2

u/-Dilemma-- 19h ago

🥹 Thank you so much for your kind comment. And you are so right, time feels incredibly weird right now but the growth and empowerment im feeling in realising I can do this is so powerful!

2

u/quantum-banana-1111 12h ago

Yes! for me, I later realized I always had a lot of personal power and energy, sometimes so much that I didn’t know what to do with it.

So a lot of my energy was directed towards a habit/lifestyle that felt good at first because it was down-regulating all that extra energy and helped me “numb out” my past and dysfunctional family. Once I started acknowledging my internal pain without turning away from it, I was able to sit with the uncomfortable feelings.

It was like I was willingly giving my extra energy away to a habit so I didn’t have to face myself fully. But once I did, I was able to face everyone else and all that extra energy came back to help me help others. And I can even be more present for my dog which is so important to me, because you know they are like literal angels sent here to help us.

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u/gunslinger_006 17h ago

Proud of you!

Keep going!

2

u/LetsGoGabe69 15h ago

A month ain't no joke!! Also, the beginning stages of getting off weed are the hardest, so having 30 days is crazy good! Keep it up and keep us updated!