Regain a sense of choice beyond cannabis dependency
When cannabis becomes something you need in order to function, unwind or escape everyday stress, it can begin to take control of your life. At Pathways, medical, psychological and personal care are brought together to explore the factors underlying your dependency and help you regain that control.
Understanding cannabis dependency
As with alcohol, some people use cannabis without developing an addiction, while others experience a dependency with substantial psychological and physical consequences. The fact that other people appear able to use it in moderation does not diminish the difficulties you may be facing.
For someone struggling with cannabis dependency, its place in daily life can become increasingly difficult to change. Treatment needs to recognise the individual nature of that relationship and the impact it has on health and wellbeing.
Recognising the signs of cannabis addiction
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Continuing to use cannabis despite the distress it causes, or finding yourself unable to stop when you want to, can indicate dependency. Other signs include:
- Relying on cannabis to sleep, feel creative, socialise or relax.
- Increasing tolerance and withdrawal symptoms such as insomnia, paranoia or increased appetite.
- Choosing relationships, events or activities according to whether you can smoke.
- Continuing to use cannabis even when it causes paranoia, anxiety or greater fear while high.
- Using cannabis to manage sadness, boredom, anxiety or other mental health difficulties.
How we treat cannabis/marijuana addiction
Treatment tailored to your relationship with cannabis
Each person experiences cannabis dependency differently. At Pathways, an individual treatment plan takes the place of a fixed pathway, recognising the complexity of your relationship with cannabis and the circumstances that brought you to treatment.
Your time is structured around a combination of therapeutic elements selected to address physical, emotional and psychological health. This includes considering mental health difficulties that cannabis may have been masking. The different elements are brought together to help loosen the hold the substance has on your life.
Understanding the underlying factors
Our whole-person approach brings functional medicine and interdisciplinary care into the treatment plan where appropriate. The emphasis is on understanding how difficulties developed and which influences are sustaining them, so that care addresses underlying factors alongside symptoms.
Cannabis use may become a way of dealing with chronic stress, anxiety or earlier trauma. For some people, its calming effects temporarily soften overwhelming feelings or intrusive thoughts. Over time, reliance on that relief can become an important part of the dependency.
Physical and cellular aspects of dependency
Frequent cannabis use can affect the endocannabinoid system, which helps regulate mood, appetite and sleep. Changes in this system can contribute to a cycle in which the body comes to crave cannabis.
Altered receptor sensitivity in the brain can further reinforce dependency. These cellular changes help explain why stopping may bring irritability, insomnia or heightened anxiety. Understanding these physical processes is part of considering cannabis dependency alongside its emotional and psychological dimensions.
Psychotherapy and integrated treatment
Alongside a clinically appropriate detoxification process, treatment may include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), trauma-focused therapy, nutritional therapy and acupuncture. The therapies selected for your plan depend on your assessed needs and the care agreed with you.
The aim is to address psychological and physical wellbeing together. Intensive psychotherapy, biochemical restoration, nutritional therapy and complementary therapies can contribute to a coordinated programme that reduces stress while attending to the deeper factors that sustain cannabis use.
Addressing effects as well as causes
Treatment also considers the lasting effects of cannabis use, including neurological or physical difficulties associated with substance use. These concerns need attention alongside the emotional and psychological factors that may have contributed to the addiction.
At Pathways, professional input is organised around your individual care plan. Medical, psychological and personal support are brought together to help you work through the different aspects of recovery, with emotional support forming an important part of the process.
Care for co-occurring difficulties
Pragmatism and empathy guide a personalised approach: understanding where you are now and planning the care that responds to your needs. Cannabis dependency may exist alongside other dependencies or mental health conditions, and these concerns are considered together.
The programme developed with you reflects that wider picture. Rather than treating cannabis use as an isolated issue, the focus is on coordinated support for the person experiencing it. Residential treatment and detoxification options can be discussed as part of planning the appropriate next step at Pathways.