[whilestanding]

I've been able to quit all the substances I used to cope; cigarettes, marijuana, alcohol, after a rather depressing realization that in fact none of them made me feel better in the long run. Short term gains at the cost of long term financial physical and mental health. The model I use to think of it is that drugs steal life energy from your future and give it to you in the present. That's the devil's deal you're given.

[Darmody]

    The model I use to think of it is that drugs steal life energy from your future and give it to you in the present.

I've never seen it this way but it makes a lot of sense. It's just the opposite of making sacrifices today for a better tomorrow (like studying, practising sports, etc).

[nitrogen]

Sometimes borrowing from the future is desirable, if done carefully. In my case, with naturally delayed sleep cycles even without artificial lighting, caffeine lets me take some of that night-time energy and shift it to the day. It's a wasteful conversion, but necessary in the modern world.

[meowkit]

Agreed is can be desirable. An example for readers: This is the fundamental basis of financial credit. Pull from the future to improve the present.

[ornornor]

> The model I use to think of it is that drugs steal life energy from your future and give it to you in the present.

I know this might sound naive but I don’t have firsthand experience: is that also valid for marijuana? What are the long term effects in that case?

[1_player]

Hazy memories that are lost forever and causing my now lifelong general anxiety was the result of 10+ years of smoking marijuana.

YMMV, my 20s are lost to time, and I guess I needed to get to the stage where inhaling it was playing a panic attack russian roulette to finally get serious about quitting that awful herb. It definitely was fun the first few years.

But sure, there's someone bound to tell me there was something wrong with me, and that for them marijuana was a panacea. To be fair, I did not respect it, but neither do the stoners nowadays who think THC and CBD are a miracle cure for any problem and that it's perfectly, 100% safe.

[pennaMan]

n=1 but I thought myself computer science while skipping high school and smoking copious amounts of said "awful herb" and I'm convinced I would of never chased that dream sober. I also have fond and clear memories of said period.

[stadium]

Did you replace the substances with other more positive habits?

[whilestanding]

Mostly yes. I found I had more time and energy to take care of all the things in life that need constant maintenance like cars and motorcycles, housework, lawncare and my body. Basically everything in my life got objectively better, but subjectively I had to face my demons and issues soberly, and that is not easy. This is the abyss that I think people avoid staring into that makes them take the substances. And it very real and very dark I will say. The grass isn't necessarily greener on the sober side, but it is certainly healthier. I do still waste my time when I don't have energy or will to do something productive on things like videogames or zoning out watching twitch or youtube.