Addiction Recovery

How to Stop Smoking Weed – Overcoming Social Pressures

One of the biggest obstacles you can face when trying to figure out how to stop smoking weed is how to overcome the social pressures of the task. This can come in many forms from friends and family who smoke to those that do not and not to mention the complex social interactions between all of this with you at the center trying to quit!

So how do you deal with these problems, keep your friends and family happy and still manage to quit? The answer lies with empathy.

The ability to feel what others may be feeling and to be able to judge what they might be thinking is an invaluable tool in navigating social issues. Since most of the time the problems comes from revealing you are trying to quit to friends or family that are still using pot, the way you approach this and how you need to change your social dynamics is where you need a good sense of empathy.

For instance, a common situation is the worry that hanging with your friends who smoke pot will tempt you to smoke but telling them might make things awkward to the degree they ostracize you from the group. This is a reasonable fear but why they would do this is what you need to focus on. In most situations when someone reacts badly to your announcement it is because they feel you are judging their lifestyle by wanting to change yours from them … there is an instant disconnect and hurt feelings.

This can be avoided with the right approach which must be dealt with by wording it a way that does not condemn them and their habits but puts the focus on your need to do something different rather than saying smoking is a problem but it is just a problem for YOU. This can sometimes get you allies who might have been thinking the same for some time or might gain support even in words and encouragement or even being polite and not offering you joints or not smoking near you.