The Highest Club

Tag: mental-health

  • The Ruby Twist Ball Vape (From VgoodiEZ) – Pros & Cons – My Thoughts After One Year

    Use Code Buddy10 To get it for $180 at VgoodiEZ.com!

    I was just about to load a bowl in my Ruby Twist, and realized I’ve had this thing for about a year now, so I wanted to share my thoughts on it now that some time has passed.

    I was a little bit nervous before buying this, for a couple of reasons. One is that I had tried a dry herb vape before, the Arizer Solo 2. As someone who was ripping bongs all day every day, the Solo 2 didn’t do much for me. It was a slow, soft hitting, session vape that just never got me where I wanted to go, unless I took a tolerance break first. That experience kept me away from the Ruby Twist for way too long, before I realized I was totally wrong, and this thing hits HARD, but more on that later.

    The second thing I was worried about was set up and maintenance. Maybe some of you guys can relate, but ball vapes intimidated me a lot when I first looked into them. I thought they’d be complicated to figure out, and maybe even require upkeep, like cleaning the rubies or changing a coil, the way you would on a nicotine vape. Once again, I was wrong. That’s why I made another video showing the unboxing/setup of this device, it’s so much easier than I expected.

    So, now that I’ve been using this thing just about daily for the past year, here are the biggest pros and cons I’ve noticed:

    Pros: My lungs feel healthier. This is the biggest reason I bought this vape, and probably what I like most about it. daily smoking felt like it was starting to put stress on my body. Sometimes I’d have coughing fits, or pains in my lungs, or a little too much phlegm in the morning. Those things all went away, pretty much entirely, in the first few weeks of using this. It’s been years since I could breathe this deep and clear, and I didn’t even fully notice how much smoking was impacting me like that until I switched. I spent $180 on the Ruby Twist, and it feels like I’m saving myself much more than that in future medical bills alone.

    And saving money brings me to my next point, Efficiency. I only put 0.10 to 0.15g of flower in the ruby twists titanium bowl, and it lasts longer and gets me higher than 0.40g of the same flower in my regular pipe. I’m no scientist, I don’t know how it works exactly, but this thing really seems to give you every single cannabinoid that must just be wasted in combustion.

    Stronger Highs! As I mentioned in the last one, this genuinely gets me feeling higher than combustion does. It really makes the flower feel more like a dab experience, I love it. A tiny bowl of this tickles my brain more than a big gram+ blunt would, it’s wild.

    Flavor. You really get to experience the terpenes in your flower. I hear a lot of people say that all weed tastes the same, which just isn’t true if you have a vape! Now if I smoke again, it all just tastes like smoke, but with this ruby twist, I could do a blind taste test and tell you which strain I was hitting.

    Fast heat up & you can use any bong you want. I bought the ‘Cell’ bong, because I like how I can just let the heater sit comfortably on top, but you can use any glass water pipe you have!

    Cons: When vaping several times a day, every day, I seem to get more cottonmouth. I’m not positive why it seems worse than with smoking, but I definitely need to drink more water, especially between and during sessions.

    I need to clean the glass I use it with pretty constantly, hitting it daily. It gets a fair amount of gunk built up inside of It after about 10 bowls, which really impacts the flavor. Luckily, it’s super easy to shake a little isopropyl alcohol and salt around in it to get it spotless again.

    The heat element! When it’s on, you need to be careful to not let anything touch it, and it stays on for at least an hour, depending on how long you program it to stay on.

    Overall, I can’t believe how much of a lifechanger this vape is, and I’m very thankful for it. I would have spent much more than $180 on this thing, for sure!

    Check it out on youtube here:

  • How Mushrooms Cured My Depression & Anxiety – My Healing Journey

    In the final days of December 2023, I had a very sudden realization: I wasn’t happy with who I was. Having dealt with depression and anxiety for about 20 years by this point, I was no stranger to this feeling, but I was fed up. I never wanted to go out, be with people, go to work, I never really wanted to do anything. I would suck it up and force myself to do things sometimes, but it was harder than it should have been. All I wanted to do was curl up in my bed and hide from the world, all the time. I was never even sure what I was hiding from, I just knew I didn’t enjoy much, and I was sick of it. I had to make a change.

    This wasn’t my first time trying to make a change. I’ve tried all the classics, like regular exercise, healthy diet and talk therapy. These all helped me immensely to become the person I am today, but I still had the lingering feeling that just wouldn’t go away. I just didn’t feel like I was a part of, or had a place in, this world. I had heard of people having success with mushrooms, so I started to look into that option. It made me nervous to even think about, but it made me more nervous to think about continuing to live without a major change. And besides, I had tried shrooms a couple times in my younger years, how bad could this be? I decided I wanted to try this option, but this left me with one question: Where would I get shrooms?

    Apparently, the world had heard my shouts into the void, and decided to give me a little tease. On December 31, 2023, I went into work and ran into a coworker I hadn’t seen since before the holidays. He pulled me aside, saying he had a little gift he’d been waiting to give me, and pulled out a small jar filled with shrooms, about 2 grams total. He handed it to me, explaining how his friend had grown them, and given them out as Christmas presents. I was blessed enough to receive some as well, and my journey truly began. 

    That night, New Years Eve, my girlfriend and I split the mushrooms I’d been given, and spent time listening to music, painting, and finally, watching the ball drop. For the first time in years, I felt at peace. Like a deep fog had been lifted from my mind, and I could just BE. Be present, be mindful, be myself, be part of the world, be part of the universe. I could finally live and breathe without the weight of depression on my shoulders, for the first time in years. We had a magical night together, and I was excited for 2024. 

    This wild coincidence felt like some kind of divine timing, like the universe telling me that I was right, this was the path that I should be taking. My issues weren’t quite solved yet, though. After all, I didn’t actually have a source for more mushrooms, this was a one time thing. 

    One thing my coworker mentioned stuck with me though, his friend grew them? How? At the time, I had no clue that someone could just do that! Obviously mushrooms grow from somewhere, but the concept of just growing them at home was brand new to me. 

    So, I found myself a mushroom grow guide on reddit, and began trying to learn the entire process. This guide that I found was very detailed, and I mean DETAILED. It had so much information, that I was completely overwhelmed. It seemed impossible, I just didn’t think I could do it. Over the next couple weeks, I spent hours reading and re-reading the guide, slowly getting comfortable, but trying to make sure I had a full grasp on it. I had many conversations with people on the forum, and asked many questions, sometimes getting different answers. Every grower has their own technique, it seems! 

    2-3 weeks of constant googling later, and I felt prepared. I finally had all the steps memorized, knew what I needed, and knew where to get it all, for the best prices even. I bit the bullet, nervous that I may have just wasted $150, but excited to try out a new hobby. A few days later it all arrived, and it was finally time to start the process.

    (Click here if you want to know the exact process I used, from start to finish, and where to get the materials)

    2 months later, I had my first full harvest, and a head full of new knowledge and amazement. The main thing I had learned, was that the whole process was actually SUPER easy! I had massively over prepared, worried about nothing, and even spent a little bit more money than I really needed to. It was so easy, that the hardest part was just having patience. Once I had all the materials, I only had to do about 2 hours of work, and 2 months of just waiting for things to happen. It was so easy, that I wrote the simplified guide I linked above, just to help other people in the same position I was in. 

    Now that my harvest was done and dried, I found myself with 2 ounces of product. This would have cost me somewhere around $4-500 from less legal sources, yet I had only put in about $150. I was thrilled! This was so much more than enough to begin my experiments, enough to last me years! So I began my journey. I put myself on a schedule of taking 0.2 grams, every 3 days. 

    On those days, I’d come home from work and take my 0.2 grams. I’d put on some music, and begin journaling about myself, my feelings, the ways I’d been living, the things I was sick of, everything. Just analyzing my entire life, and allowing myself to be vulnerable and open with, well, myself. And it felt great, every time. I wasn’t necessarily having grandiose, life changing epiphanies or anything, but I could feel my thought patterns somehow healing for the better. The best way I can think to put it, is like this: If my mind was a business, I was just the manager, lost in the daily grind and operations of keeping things afloat. But when I took my mushroom micro dose, I was a consultant, brought in to look around and optimize workflow. 

    After each time, I’d feel a decent amount better, but I wasn’t having any big “aha!” Moments, like I had expected. But after about a month of continuing this, I realized that I was indeed changing. I was spending less time in my bed, hiding from the world. I found myself waking up excited to get started on some new project, or even go some place, like the thrift store or grocery store. While I used to think of these tasks as draining chores, I suddenly found myself with a brand new perspective, happy to be around others and taking care of myself. 

    A few more months of this, and I realize I can hold conversations without second guessing my words. I realize I can just leave my house and go to the store, without even a second thought. No more hyping myself up to do a quick grocery run, no more rehearsing my order in line at the coffee shop. I was finally living the way I always imagined regular, healthy people do, the way my depression had always stopped me from living. At long last, I became a part of this world again, and I have mushrooms to thank for this transformation. There’s no doubt in my mind that this was the best thing I have ever done for myself, and the effects have been long-lasting. 

    Mushrooms gave me my life back. Thanks for reading my story, I hope it helps someone out there achieve the same results I had. 

    My simplified grow guide, complete with links to everything and anything you’ll need for a full harvest, can be found Here.

  • How to take a break from weed.

    So, you’ve been smoking for a while now. You’re getting pretty used to the effects you’ve been feeling. Maybe even.. too used to them? Or maybe you just can’t partake right now for any number of other reasons.

    If you’ve found this page, I’m assuming you’ve already realized what point you’re at, and what you need to do about it. You may need a tolerance break!

    Luckily, taking a tolerance break doesn’t have to be as hard as it seems! Just about every seasoned stoner has been there. It’s all in your mindset and perspective, my friend. Let’s dive into this a bit;

    How do I know I might need a tolerance break?

    • Weed isn’t getting you as high as you want to be
    • You’re feeling brain fog
    • You’re anxious, sad or irritable every time you smoke
    • You’re spending too much money on weed
    • You’re spending too much time on weed

    If I take a tolerance break, what effects will I experience?

    That depends pretty heavily on how long you’ve been smoking, how good your product is, how often you smoke, and probably many more factors. But generally, most people will experience a few or all of these symptoms:

    • Decreased sleep quality
    • Decreased appetite
    • Mood Swings
    • Boredom
    • Intense dreams
    • Cold sweats at night

    How can I make my tolerance break easier?

    Essentially, a lot of self care.

    • Exercise – Hit the gym, go for a run, get on the floor and do some pushups if you need to. The more physically tired you get yourself, the better. For one thing, you’ll sleep much better if your body is tired out. You might not even notice the insomnia! Another benefit is the natural release of endorphins when you exercise. The runners high is no joke! When all your body wants is that elevated feeling, exercise can certainly duplicate it.
    • Hobbies – One of the hardest parts of a tolerance break can be the extreme boredom. The goal here is to keep your mind off of your tolerance break. If you’re sitting there fantasizing about smoking again, you’re just going to feel worse and worse. Instead, fill your time with just about anything. Read or write a book, draw some doodles, craft something, play an instrument, do a puzzle, play some video games, get lost in a movie, or even discover a brand new hobby. The world is still your oyster, even without the green.
    • Replace your Rituals – Personally, I love the ritual of smoking or vaping about as much as the act itself, so I replace it as well. Rather than grind up flower and pack a bowl, I’ll boil some water and steep a tea bag. I find it to be a great way to achieve a similar level of relaxation in my day. I get the process of physically preparing something, and then I can sit down and have a nice sip sesh as well.
    • CBD Flower – If you have access to it, CBD flower can be helpful in achieving a very similar ritual, as well as providing your body with all the benefits of your green, without any of the high. This method could be useful for helping you get back to sleep if you’re struggling with that. Personally, I find that this method can be a slippery slope, and usually just makes me want the real thing even more. Many people do have success with this, though!

    How long will these tolerance break side effects last?

    I find that the worst of it is over in about one week, though everyone is different. It could take you a couple of weeks. Generally speaking, after one week your appetite, sleep pattern and mood regulation should be much closer to normal again. Boredom can still be in full force, if you’re not actively fighting it!

    How long should my tolerance break be?

    This one is personal preference. If you’re a heavy smoker, even one day off will make a big difference in the effects you feel when you smoke again. I like to take occasional 7 day breaks to help my tolerance, and then a 30 day break when my body lets me know it needs one. This ensures my tolerance stays lower for longer once I come back to smoking.

    How should I come back to smoking?

    When you smoke again, start small! It won’t take much at all. After a few days off, I make sure to start with one puff to see how it’ll hit. Jumping right back in to the heavy hitters is a surefire way to raise your tolerance right back to where it was before.