Table of contents:
- Marijuana addiction and withdrawal symptoms
- Most common symptoms of marijuana addiction
- Reasons to stop using marijuana
- How to overcome marijuana addiction: treatment
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Marijuana is a drug that has great benefits when prescribed for a medical purpose, but it can be dangerous, especially when this substance is abused. When consumed over a long period of time, dependence, tolerance and addiction can develop. Marijuana is often smoked to produce a relaxing effect and create euphoria in the person. Although there are others who prefer to eat it to prolong its effects. Regardless of the form of consumption, the person runs the risk of developing an addiction. In this Psychology-Online article we tell you some of the symptoms of marijuana addiction and its treatment.
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- Most common symptoms of marijuana addiction
- Reasons to stop using marijuana
- How to overcome marijuana addiction: treatment
Marijuana addiction and withdrawal symptoms
Long-term use of marijuana has addictive potential. In many cases, occasional users or "new" users do not show symptoms of addiction. However, long-term and daily use of marijuana can have addictive effects.
Therefore, suddenly stopping using marijuana involves a series of withdrawal symptoms: irritability, insomnia, poor appetite, anxiety, depression, agitation, craving (desire to use) and mood changes.
These symptoms usually appear on the third or fourth consecutive day without consuming the substance, and then disappear after 1 or 2 weeks. Although there are some symptoms, mainly of a psychological nature, that take longer to disappear and require some type of treatment to overcome them.
Some psychological effects of marijuana use are:
- High levels of anxiety
- Depression
- Loss of interest in socializing
- Schizophrenic symptoms
- Acute psychotic reaction
Most common symptoms of marijuana addiction
The first step in overcoming marijuana addiction is recognizing it and asking for help. Recognizing the symptoms of marijuana addiction can help determine the severity of the case. Usually, marijuana addiction is the result of using the substance in conjunction with other substances such as alcohol or other drugs, but these two criteria are not always met. Currently, cannabis dependence is quite common due to the large number of people who use marijuana.
Some symptoms of marijuana addiction are:
- Marijuana Tolerance: The person needs to smoke more marijuana to achieve the same rewarding effects.
- When there is no use of marijuana , withdrawal symptoms appear: the person is physically dependent on marijuana. Some of the symptoms of this physical dependence are: upset stomach, anxiety or depression in the absence of marijuana use.
- Uncontrolled use: the person with addiction tries to reduce their use of marijuana, but is unable to do so. It even increases it despite not wanting to do so.
- Do not practice other types of activities: the addicted person begins to dedicate so much time to the addiction that they do not have time to do other activities, such as sports, reading…
- Most of the time the person is drugged: the addicted person begins to be drugged longer and longer, which interferes with their life.
- Using marijuana despite knowing the consequences: the person has already suffered some negative consequences of their addiction, but continues to use.
- Consume marijuana to relax: develop dependence on marijuana to be able to relax.
Reasons to stop using marijuana
People addicted to marijuana have probably once thought about stopping using it when addiction is a problem in their life. Here are some reasons to quit smoking marijuana:
- Psychological reasons: reduction of anxiety and depression. Also, the person is able to be more relaxed and happy without the need for the substance.
- Physical reasons: feeling better, with more energy, and reduced risk of lung cancer.
- Establish new relationships: quitting marijuana allows you to spend time meeting people in contexts other than the one you use.
- Financial reasons: the money that was invested in the use of marijuana can be used for other purposes.
- Legal reasons: the addicted person can stay out of trouble with the law.
How to overcome marijuana addiction: treatment
If you are addicted to marijuana and have decided that the time has come to quit, there are some steps you can take to begin the recovery of your life. Overcoming marijuana addiction can be very difficult because it involves changing your life. You probably have anxiety and depression, and have changed your group of friends due to substance use. The addiction led you to another path and with the treatment you must change direction.
Here are some options to overcome your addiction:
- Rehabilitation: This is often the most common method of treatment for addictions. At first, the person must go to the center daily, and then increase the period of time between sessions (weekly, monthly). In these sessions group or individual therapy is done with the aim, among others, of recognizing and avoiding those situations that trigger the addiction of the person.
- Internal rehabilitation: generally, in cases of marijuana it is not usually necessary for the person to be admitted to a center, except in those cases in which the addiction co-occurs with a mental disorder or another addiction.
- Behavioral therapy: there are people who decide to smoke because they are bored or need a stimulus to cheer up. Behavioral therapy can teach these people how to overcome their addiction through changes in their behavior. These positive changes will be aimed at making the person more productive and carry out rewarding activities that stimulate him without the need to resort to drugs.
- Cognitive therapy: This method of treatment will help the addict to think in a way that does not facilitate tobacco use. For example, it would work to change thoughts such as " to relax, the only thing I can do is consume marijuana."
- Community reinforcement - Many people who use marijuana have trouble feeling good or happy without using drugs due to chemical changes in the brain caused by addiction. Community reinforcement programs can help provide a reward for meeting recovery goals, such as not smoking for a month, or for making a series of commitments and sticking to them.
- Self-help groups: there are many self-help groups that follow recovery models based on steps or phases that the addict must go through to rebuild his life without addictions.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Marijuana addiction: symptoms and treatment, we recommend that you enter our Addictions category.