Pot may/may not be addicting if you compare it’s side effects with that of heroin. There may be withdrawal side effects if you are a new smoker. The more you smoke, the less signal anxiety you maintain. This signal anxiety is normal and says to you: Pay attentions, look out, prepare yourself for a test situation for example. Without this normal kind of anxiety, life can run you over like stepping off a curb without looking for that Mac truck coming your way. Yes, pot makes you dumb and the more you smoke, the dumber you get. THC, the major chemical in pot is fat soluble. It accummulates in your brain and is excreated very slowly. It may take weeks/months to get it out of your system, even if you stop tomarrow. Addictions speciallists suggest strongly that you belong to a self-help group like NA or even AA. Why? Because when you stop using and your brain clears, you begin to re-experience the return of anxiety and thoughts you were trying to avoid in the first place. You feel worse! If you have been in a self help program, you have learned to depend upon others to help you though this difficult time, since they have also weathered the storm of becoming normal again. It is a process that gradually helps you grow again. It has be said, that when you use, that you stop growing and when you stop using, that you start growing again. That is why you need a support system of people in the process. It takes time for your brain to heal and function again, and it takes time to learn about your self and your subconscious conflicts that led to the problem(s) to begin with. As you become clean and sober, you become more serious about your own health and growth and learn to turn toward people whom you feel you can trust. As an adolescent, your family may become a strong support system, especially if they can come to understand what your struggles are all about. I include them when I treat children and adolescent as I consider your problem a family one. You are not alone in your growth but it is your decision to choose to grow and not theirs. No one can make you do anything you don’t want to do. But as an older person they can ask you to leave the house by age 18, if things don’t work out. So, one hand washes the other as it is said and your investment in yourself with others helping you through the process, I believe is your best bet. If you think you have a better bet, then discuss it with your parents. I will be glad to help out if I can and you wish to use me in the process. I have known several youths who have lived out of their trucks and worked their way toward independence, but that was when there were a lot of jobs available and gas was a lot cheaper. These are hard times. Think carefully. I can be reached at 630-527-1631 in Naperville. I am a Blue Cross PPO Provider. My practice is mainly geared toward treating children/adolescents and their families.
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