Oh. My. Goodness. It’s 2020. I don’t…I can’t…I have no words.
How can it be 2020 when 1980 was only 20 years ago?
I can hear it all now: the newly purchased gym memberships, the newly declared diets, all the young hopefuls shouting “New Year, New Me!”.
By the time you’re reading this, we’ll have made it through the holiday season in one piece, I’ll have moved into my new home, and we’ll all be taking our first steps into this new year. This new decade.
I don’t know about you, but I like to take a little time at the beginning of the year to reflect….on all the bulls*** I made it through. Last year my husband went through nerve graph surgery, both of us took a leap and accepted new jobs, not to mention the move into our first house. Add the stresses of health concerns, car issues, and those bills that just won’t stop coming in every month, you can guess that we smoked through our fair share of pounds this year.
This is the time of year where I find myself having to take two dabs instead of one, eat 100mg instead of 50. As much as I hate to admit it every time…it’s time for a t-break. My money’s not stretching as far and I’m getting sober a whole lot faster than I’d like. I’m sure there’s more than a few of you out there running into the same issue.
T-breaks, or tolerance breaks, are different depending on the individual. Some people get lucky and manage to nearly completely reset their cannabinoid levels within just a couple of days. For others, like myself, it could take a week or two. I may not like the break too much while I’m on it, but the results are worth it.
Research has shown that, over time, our bodies can build up, or develop a higher tolerance, to cannabinoids. This comes down to our CB1 receptors downregulating THC after long-term or heavy use. Now though this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does mean that you’ll find yourself having to take a little more and a little more to reach your desired effects. For me, I don’t like seeing $5 turn to $10, and $10 turn to $20 and so on.
Only you can determine what will work best for you, but you really need to dig deep and be honest with yourself. Habits are hard to break. You have to find your “why” and make that your central focus. Whether it be saving money, resetting your tolerance levels, simply refocusing yourself, or a complete physical and spiritual reboot, whatever the reason, focus on it and hold on tight.
For my own routine, I’ve found that cold turkey t-breaks tend to do the trick. Sometimes I cave and puff down on a joint about 3 days in before taking another stretch of break. Other individuals I know simply implement heavy cutbacks. Rather than smoking every few hours or less, they’ll just have a few hits in the morning and a few hits in the evening for a while. There are even ways of supplementing with a bit of CBD to help with any day to day pain and anxiety without risking the purpose of the t-break in the first place. Studies have shown that your receptors begin to significantly reset after 2-3 days and will continue to do so for 3-4 weeks.
If you do choose to take a bit of a step back from the herb, be sure to keep yourself busy. Crafting, gaming, things to do with your hands rather than just rolling the next one. It’s also always a great idea to keep yourself in good shape. We all use cannabis for a reason. Pain relief, anxiety relief, countering depression, just to have fun. Take cannabis away, and you have to have a routine to help aid you in those aspects still. Exercise, healthy eating habits, and staying hydrated are great ways to keep up a preventative wellness routine until you decide to light up again. And remember, keep your mind focused on your “why”. It will help to carry you through.
When that glorious time finally does come around and you’re ready to spark up again after a break, you’ll want to be careful not to overindulge. You’ll probably find that your previous level of intake may be quite a bit higher than what you need now. Start low, go slow. You can always go a little higher, but it can be a difficult task to come back down.
This year take some time for yourself. Give your body, and your cannabis, the respect it deserves. You’ll thank yourself for it, and so will your tolerance.
