3 Negative Effects of Joints on Personality

Marijuana is currently the most widely used illegal drug, and that's partly because so many people use it. seen as a “soft drug”, not being aware of its negative effects and health hazards mental.

In this article I will explain 3 effects of joints on personality that very few people know about (Because if they did, they would consider quitting marijuana as soon as possible.)

Negative effects of joints on personality

These are the main effects of joints on the way people behave.

1. Individualism and lack of empathy

Almost every day I am contacted by relatives and partners of people with marijuana addiction problems, who smoke almost every day or even several times a day (and see it as normal).

I have been told hundreds of times how these people have changed over the years because of the joints. Mothers and wives no longer recognized their loved ones, who they had become vastly more individualistic and more disconnected from the emotions of others.

When smoking joints as a lifestyle, you become a more withdrawn person, too aware of their own thoughts and taking time out to smoke the next joint. In the end, your life revolves around marijuana, and you are neglecting relationships with the people who love you.

Many of the people I have helped overcome their addiction to joints have told me how they realized they had changed. They felt much more selfish, and it got to a point where all they cared about was locking themselves in their room smoking dope and isolating themselves from the world.

• Related article: "Marijuana: science reveals its long-term effects on the brain"

2. Anxiety and irritability, emotional instability

Smoking marijuana greatly unbalances the endocannabinoid system of the brain, which directly affects our mood. Many people abuse marijuana seeking quick relief from day-to-day stress and anxiety. day, not knowing that long-term use unbalances your nervous system and increases your anxiety basal.

That means that people who smoke more joints in an effort to avoid stress end up being much more sensitive to stress and anxiety when they're not smoking.

Many people I worked with in therapy admitted that they had a problem with joints when they realized they were much more irritable with people. They had a greater tendency to “jump around”, get angry easily and lose control, as well as have sudden mood swings for no apparent reason.

Fortunately, this is reversible in most cases. When people manage to go without smoking joints for a few months, they usually go back to normal, the way they were before. This isn't just about getting the marijuana out of your system and getting your nervous system back into balance. Quitting joints is also an opportunity to learn how to deal with stress or irritability naturally, without letting ourselves be carried away by automatic and impulsive thoughts.

• You may be interested in: "Emotional instability: what is it and in what signs can it be detected?"

3. Less ambition and desire to do things

When we talk about the negative effects of joints on personality, we cannot ignore the amotivational syndrome and the symptoms of depression. Many people who smoke joints frequently lose ambition and motivation, they lose the desire to do things beyond the minimum. I have worked with many people who had dropped out of school or who had a hard time going to work because they just wanted to run out and smoke a joint.

Basically, marijuana had become their only joy in life, because it kept them from enjoying everything else. More than one person admitted to me that she felt like the "living dead" during her worst days when she was hooked on joints.

It makes sense, because cannabis is a nervous system depressant, which makes people live much sleepier, with less energy, and more disconnected from their surroundings.

Many of these people felt sorry for themselves, missing the person they were in the past before they began to depend on marijuana to survive from day to day.

• Related article: "The main theories of personality"

How to Quit the Joints and Get Back to Being You

The good news is that most of the personality effects of joints wear off after a while if the person stops using joints. The nervous system and the mind of the person they return to normal if the person works little by little to recover his life.

To quit joints, the person will have to:

• Understand your addiction and how your dependence on joints developed.
• Identify stressful situations and unpleasant emotions that the person was trying to avoid by smoking joints.
• Learn new strategies to deal with anxiety, irritability, or sadness.
• Make changes in your lifestyle to avoid relapses in marijuana use (for example, staying away from people you smoked with in the past, playing sports, etc.).
• Ask for professional help.

Many people have realized that they need to give up joints to get their life back, but do not dare to ask for professional help because they are ashamed or their pride has them trapped. The reality is that, if you have already tried to stop using joints and you have not succeeded, it is best to ask for help from professionals to avoid repeating the same mistakes of the past and constantly relapsing, over and over again (which brings a lot of frustration and makes many people give up and sink even deeper into the addiction).

My name is Luis Miguel Real and I am a psychologist specializing in addictions. Over the years I have helped hundreds of people to quit using joints and get back to enjoying their lives without being dependent on any drugs. If you need help, contact me and we will start working.