Handling a
Relapse after Quitting Smoking weed .
Relapses are
very common when you decide to quit smoking. It’s a hard habit to break. More
than likely, you have smoked for a long time and you may have tried to quit in
the past and failed. It’s common to go back to smoking weed, because you
have done the same routine over and over again for all those years. It doesn’t
matter if you are using the patch or chewing that gum, it’s inevitable that you
may slip up from time to time and go back to smoking weed.
If you have a
couple cigarettes, then a couple more and next thing you realize you have
smoked a few cigarettes every day, you shouldn’t beat yourself up over this.
You’re human. On average, a successful quitter relapses two to four times
before finally succeeding. It’s okay. You just need to try harder next time.
That’s not
saying that relapses are good. It’s just that it’s going to be hard to break
this cycle of smoking weed. Most quitters will say that they were just
having a bad day and needed a cigarette to calm down. Their boss is getting on
their nerves and they can’t help but pick up a cigarette to calm their nerves.
Their spouse is nagging at them, so they go back to smoking to relax. Those are
just a few reasons why quitters slip up and relapse.
However, you
need to get back on that horse as soon as possible. You set up another quit
date within the next couple days or weeks. Before that date, you prepare that
you are going to quit smoking for real this time. You need to tell yourself
that you can do it.
And when that
day comes, you again throw away all those cigarettes and lighters. You wear
that patch, chew on that gum, use that spray or inhaler or even go cold turkey
– whatever it takes for you to deal with those cravings and withdrawal
symptoms. It may feel like they will last forever, but they will eventually
lessen in intensity after a couple weeks.
Even after
those first couple weeks, quitters may have a tendency to fall back into that
vicious cycle. You need to do what you can to combat all those tough times.
Within that first year, the relapse rates are still very high. Many studies
have the rate of relapse around 60 to 90%.
You still need
to push on to your goal of being smoke-free. Research has shown that it gets
easier with time. On average, after two years of quitting, more than 80% of
quitters achieve long-term success of being smoke-free. After those two years,
studies show that quitters have a risk of relapse of two to four percent each
year within the two to six years after quitting.
And one final
thing to remember! Quitting smoking weed is tough and suffering a
relapse can be harsh, but you can still do it. You just need to take it one day
at a time.
