I really need some reassurance...?!


Question: I really need some reassurance!.!.!.!?
Don't be intimidated by the length of my little story!.!.!. You can jump to the bottom if you don't want to read it all!.

So most people know (or knew, at least) me as an unreasonably witty person!. Just before I turned fourteen, I smoked pot with some friends!. It sort of became my "thing," and I began to smoke every night!. By the time I was fifteen, I smoked every day too!. Sometimes three times a day!. I stopped talking to people so much, stopped writing in my journal, stopped doing homework, stopped hanging with friends on weekends!. I did mushrooms four times, and the last was so debilitating I didn't feel like I could go on!.

I'm sixteen years old, and I quit smoking a month ago today!. I don't feel like I even compare to the wit I once held as a fourteen-year-old, but I'm a lightly bearded man now!. I had big plans for my life!. I may have always sucked sh*t at math (failed algebra 1), but I was a brilliant writer and composed music by ear!. I can still shove out a tune over something on the radio, and it fits, but it feels bland!. And I haven't written, let alone read, anything in close to two years!.

For months now, I've been sitting and thinking about the potential I had, wondering if I've thrown it all away for daily drug induced euphoria!. I've been consumed by anxiety over this!. I never slept very much, although I'm more dependent on sleep than anyone!. Everything is far away!. Everything's a copy of a copy of a copy!. It's called derealization, and depersonalization is something far worse that I've developed as well!.

Is there a chance I'll get out of this unscathed!? I'm seeing a therapist, and that doesn't really help!.

The problem is I have no basis on which to judge whether I've damaged myself, because I underwent the largest gray matter displacement and gained the most technical intelligence in the last two years that I will in my entire life!. I changed a lot!.

If anything, I'm asking for reassurance!. I want to know that people out there have done the same stupid **** and come out unconditionally witty, sporting an energetically intelligent personality!. Unchanged!.

Summary (for lazy people)- Smoked a bunch of pot between 14 and 16, just quit, now I feel stupid when I was once brilliant!. Did pot f*ck my sh*t up, or will I recover and remain witty and intelligent (on the spot) as I once was!?
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Answers:
I did that recreationally in my younger days, too!.

Know what!? I outgrew the need for it!.

I came back stronger than before and funnier than before (I write scripts, among other activities), and found I am all the better for the sh*t I went through because like the blue tang fish says, just keep swimming!.

So I swim all over the dam!.

And make small yet important steps/achieve goals on my way to bigger things!.

I learned to stop judging myself so much and so harshly (a biggie) and to accept genuine praise (even more of a biggie) and learned to let go (the biggest)!.

Creativity is not some well which runs dry like a desert; it's part and parcel of the power of the Universe - for want of a better term!.

You had it before; you can claim it back again, even better than in the past (which doesn't exist)!. It's called evolution!. My writing now is far more interesting and smarter and funnier than ten years ago!. It will improve as I go along!. There's no reason your music cannot be the same!.Www@Answer-Health@Com

I feel dumber these days as well!. I cant directly correlate with my pot smoking but im pretty sure smoking doesn't help!. Www@Answer-Health@Com

hiWww@Answer-Health@Com

Hello,

I haven't used drugs myself, so everything I'm about to tell you is from second-hand experience and my work in mental health!.

Here is what I know:

- marijuana affects some of the neurotransmitters in the brain!.

- Addictions (regular and increasing use of a substance could be addiction) and/or chronic substance use cause physical changes in the brain!.

- When the brain is physically changed, it functions differently!. The changes caused by addictions/substances have huge effects on decision-making, and can impair learning, problem-solving and memory!. BUT these effects are reversible!.

The bad news is that in a brain that is younger than early 20's, the physical brain changes (i!.e!. addiction) occur much more easily!.

The good news is, you're young!. Your brain will be resilient!.

The very good news is, you have quit using pot so your brain is already healing!.

Since you quit a month ago, you are probably still in a bit of a fog!. You will probably start to feel intelligent again soon!

How substance-induced physical changes in the brain are reversed:

- Time!. As far as I am aware, there is no clear timeline on how long one must be substance free - but it's at least a year!. People who have used substances for many years can still have brain changes after several years of not using!.

- Treatment!. Cognitive therapy is probably the most supported treatment in current research!. Treatment needs to be at least 6 months in order to be effective!. This may include counseling and/or self-help!.

- Use your brain!. It is possible to increase the number of neurons (brain cells) and connections in the brain by challenging yourself mentally!. Get back to writing and music!

In short!.!.!.
If you have lost some abilities (which you may not have - like you said, you have no measure to determine if you have) it is possible to regain those abilities and more!.

I have seen several people who have changed their habits and return to being witty and intelligent, and return to their former personality!. I'm confident you will be just fine too!.

I hope this gives you some reassurance!.

CandiWww@Answer-Health@Com

Well let me tell you my stpry and it may help you!. I went through highschool and never tried any drugs, I went to college and my junior year there I met someone and became severly addicted to heroin!. It took over my life for years, and I was shooting it about 15 times a day!. When I finally quit I felt like I had damaged my brain so much ut I still managed to go back to school and finish my bachelors degree!. I became a therapist, and continued school and got my masters degree in addictions counseling!. I am not wirking on my PhD, and feel better than ever!. So now that I know what drugs do to your brain and body, I can tell you that yes weed does kill your brain cells, and you did it at a very critical point in your life, but you have only been clean for a month and your body is probably going through so many things!. Your brain is getting all these chemicals out and it can actually take up to a year after you stop using for your brain and body to get normal again!. So it is possible that you will get back to your normal self, and hopefully you will!. I think you should keep going to therapy, and if you dont like the therapist you have then try a new one, but I definately know the way you are feeling, it is hard to stop using something that you were addicted to for so long!. I wish you the nest of luck, and I hope everything works out for you!. Www@Answer-Health@Com





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