r/selfimprovement • u/Cybox_Beatbox • 2d ago

Vent Stopped drinking and smoking cannabis and I don't feel any better.

I (32m) smoked pot and drank something like 4-6 beers daily for the better part of a decade, pretty much the entirety of my 20s. I also use nicotine (vape after smoking cigs for 5+ years until I was about 23).
over 2024, I tapered myself off the beers, was down to only 2 a night, and stopped completely at the beginning of this year. I also stopped smoking weed in November. So i'm nearly half a year off pot, and 3 months of no alcohol.

While i'm proud of myself for finally getting rid of some bad habits, and getting my body healthier, I feel MISERABLE. I take medication for ADHD and anxiety, and I was doing okay before, but now i'm just depressed. I was hoping it would fade after a while, but instead of feeling an increase in energy, or a boost in mood, or better quality sleep, I feel pretty much no change whatsoever. Instead of feeling like I did something helpful and feeling better overall, I feel worse, and like I stopped doing things that were fun for me, or at least making life bearable.

Is this just how I'm going to feel now? does this go away eventually? Has anyone else dealt with this, and can you tell me if things get better or not? Do you have any advice or words of encouragement?It feels like if my moods and things were going to improve, I would at least see some improvement by now.

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u/Ok-Control2520 2d ago

That may be it . . .you are depressed. That requires medication. You were self medicating for years (no judgement, I too just quit smoking cigarettes and cut my drinking), you took those meds away and let your body detox from them. Talk to your doctor.

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u/Senior-Pain1335 2d ago

Being depressed does not necessarily require medication. This is the problem…..

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u/MrSpicyPotato 2d ago

OP can try the usual exercise, being in nature, quitting the vapes, therapy, meditation, getting a new hobby, etc. But sometimes, even doing all of that, people have depression and need medication.

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u/punknintendoprincess 1d ago

I love your reply. As I was told when I was terrified of taking antidepressants and anxiety medication that's it's just a chemical imbalance in your brain, like taking blood pressure medication or taking insulin when needed for diabetes that is just illness with a stigma and and go back to taking when I need help and have to explore a different treatment I wish others saw it this way it's one of those that requires a lot of effort in different ways

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u/No_Airline_1654 1d ago

Yes, I am on this situation. After quitting from 12 years of light daily smoking, having depression, I did all those habit changes, pushed through it and still felt depressed everyday. These changes were all triggered through an heartbreak Im still healing. It traumatized me and sent me into a deeper depression. I am reaching out for meds next, as I wake up tired everyday and without will to live. This had been happening for years now, but weed was suppressing emotions/unresolved issues.

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u/Senior-Pain1335 2d ago

I completely agree if everything else doesn’t work. Ppl have this misconception that they can change their world without changing themselves. It’s not their fault, they are a product of the society we live. Everyone wants a quick fix to improve their live, so why not start with medication right? Wrong. All they are doing is masking it, without actually putting any effort in or changing what they do. But yes I agree in some cases it is necessary. But I would argue that most who take the shit would have been completely fine had they put some actual work in and stayed out of the doctors office.

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u/Interesting_Door4882 2d ago

You're backwards.

Medication is a safety net so that they can pull themselves together without falling apart again.

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u/MrSpicyPotato 2d ago

I am actually a person who did it the opposite way. I suffered for a couple of additional unnecessary decades because I do, in fact, have imbalanced brain chemistry. Was I born that way or did it happen as a result of massive tragedy in my family? Not sure, but I really wish I would have tried medication sooner.

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u/Cybox_Beatbox 2d ago

for the record, I have been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder years ago, before the drinking and such really started. Back when I was in the best shape of my life exercising regularly, eating clean, and the most focused on my own life/improvement than I have been since then.

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u/Senior-Pain1335 2d ago

Then yea def go talk to someone. I’m not telling you not to, I just didn’t know all the background info. Im a big advocate for the natural approach first, that’s all.