TribeTokes asked r/trees one question: what has cannabis taught you about yourself? The most upvoted answer had nothing to do with strains, dosing, or effects. It was one sentence about perspective, 226 votes, and it opened something the rest of the thread kept running with.
Important: Medical Disclaimer
Everything in this article is personal experience shared publicly by Reddit community members. TribeTokes makes no health claims based on these accounts. Cannabis affects everyone differently, and individual experiences with self-reflection, emotional regulation, and personal insight vary widely. If you are managing a mental health condition, speak with a qualified healthcare provider before making any changes to your routine.
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Source: r/trees: “What’s one thing cannabis has taught you about yourself?” posted by TribeTokes , 92 upvotes, 117 comments
The Thread at a Glance
The question TribeTokes posted to r/trees was deliberately open: not “how does cannabis help you” or “what are the benefits,” but what has it taught you about yourself. That framing unlocked something different. People didn’t describe effects. They described realisations , about their relationship with anger, with happiness, with how they think, with who they are when they slow down.
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#1
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The answers ranged from three words to full paragraphs. Some were funny. Some were unexpectedly raw. A few were the kind of thing you say out loud and sit with for a minute. This is what cannabis and self-discovery actually looks like when real people describe it , not in a clinical study, not in a brand manifesto, but on a Tuesday night on a cannabis forum.
Nothing Is That Serious: The 226-Upvote Answer
The top comment in the thread pulled 226 upvotes, more than double the post’s own score. It arrived with no preamble and no explanation:
The top comment in the thread pulled 226 upvotes, more than double the post’s own score. It arrived with no preamble and no explanation:
u/SalamanderExpress710, r/trees
226 upvotes
The community found that funny and true at the same time. Two hundred and twenty-six people hit the upvote button on “we are just intelligent apes” , which is possibly the most Reddit sentence ever written, and also happens to be a pretty solid perspective shift.
The second and third highest-voted comments in the thread extended the same idea in different directions. u/cigarlifer collected 120 upvotes with something that reads less like a cannabis insight and more like a philosophy:
“Stop resisting. Just go with the flow. The harder you resist the harder it punishes you.”
120 upvotes
And u/ClarencePCatsworth (98 upvotes) went for the more personal version of the same realisation:
“It taught me that I really like being stoned. For real tho, shit ain’t worth staying mad about. I still get mad, but I never stay mad anymore. I guess really, it taught me how to say ‘fuck it’ and actually mean it.”
98 upvotes
Three of the top comments in the thread, each hitting the same note from a different angle: the stakes of most things are lower than they feel. That’s what cannabis and self-awareness look like at the top of the r/trees leaderboard.
What the community is describing
Perspective shift is not the same as not caring. u/ClarencePCatsworth still gets mad. u/cigarlifer is talking about acceptance, not surrender. The community is describing a recalibration of what is worth the emotional weight, which is a different thing from indifference.
What Cannabis Taught People About Themselves
Below the top three, the thread split into dozens of smaller, quieter answers. Several were about self-acceptance , not the motivational poster version, but the specific, personal kind that’s hard to arrive at sober.
u/Educational_Long1380 (48 upvotes) gave the most minimal answer in the thread and somehow one of the most affecting:
The reply from u/Fantastic_Acadian (22 upvotes) was the best follow-up in the thread:
“Similarly, I don’t actually hate myself. Used to be a big time escapism drinker. Turns out, it was the gin that hated me. Weed thinks I’m fine. And that’s on harm reduction.”
22 upvotes
That answer does something most cannabis content doesn’t: it names what was there before, and what changed. That’s the actual shape of self-discovery , not a revelation in a vacuum, but a contrast with what used to be true.
u/vanetti put it in a way that landed differently again (3 upvotes, but it deserved more):
“The qualities that I always wished I had (kindness, patience, selflessness) were actually already present inside me all along, I just needed to slow down and find them.”
3 upvotes
Perspective
“Despite the decades of difficulty, there’s a core, immutable part of me that loves myself, and wants to give me grace when I make mistakes. I like to think I’m a better person to myself now.”
20 upvotes
The thread also included one answer that was simply three words: u/Zealousideal-Ad697 wrote “That I’m a trans woman” with 2 upvotes. It requires no commentary. Cannabis as self-discovery means different things to different people, and sometimes what gets unlocked is fundamental.
The Brain Goes Quiet: Thought Patterns and Self-Reflection
A distinct cluster of answers was less about identity and more about observing how the mind works: noticing thought patterns, recognising when things spiral, and finding a quieter vantage point from which to watch it all.
u/thelespickle (7 upvotes) gave the most detailed account of this:
“Weed significantly quiets the negative side of my internal monologue so that I can hear myself think. And once my mind is quiet enough, I know that both sides are me, both sides are under control, both sides are okay. It’s helped me realize I’m not my anger. I am a soul, who can step back and monitor the anger and talk it down. It helps me view my emotions from a more level perspective.”
7 upvotes
What thelespickle is describing, the ability to observe thoughts rather than be consumed by them, is something that comes up repeatedly in mindfulness research. The community didn’t use that language. They just described the experience.
The capacity to observe one’s own thoughts as separate from the self is sometimes called metacognition or mindful awareness. Research exploring this in the context of cannabis use is ongoing and results vary by individual, context, and frequency of use. The accounts in this thread are personal experiences, not clinical findings.
u/AdequateRoarer (7 upvotes) added the honest counterpoint most people skip:
“It’s so nice when the brain finally goes quiet. Alternately when I take too much and end up having thoughts that even I didn’t know could race that fast it’s pretty overwhelming lol.”
7 upvotes
And u/New-Gas3080 (5 upvotes) arrived at something that reads more like a personal operating system than a cannabis insight:
“It taught me that I overthink and become irrational and anxious. Control anxiety by thinking about the issue calmly and logically; reach a conclusion and drop it. Don’t revisit and obsess in loops. Love the introspectiveness of cannabis.”
5 upvotes
The community describes cannabis as a tool for slowing down enough to actually hear what’s going on inside.
Creativity, Presence, and Slowing Down
A third cluster of answers was about time, specifically, about what happens when you stop rushing through it. Several people described cannabis as a way of doing less, more deliberately. Others found it opened something creative that was harder to access sober.
u/VuDuBaBy (1 upvote but one of the most eloquent answers in the thread) wrote:
“Life can be a whirlwind that easily disorients you from your true goals and desires. Cannabis helps me stay in touch with those, but can also be a distraction if abused. After finding a happy middle ground between being motivated and constantly baked, I have learned that without cannabis it is so easy for me to by default get caught up in the trivial minutia of life and spend all my time worrying about things that really don’t matter. With cannabis I have learned to find that inspiration that gives my life a larger purpose than just existing.”
1 upvote
The honest admission in that answer (“can also be a distraction if abused”) is what makes it useful. This is the community being clear-eyed about what cannabis and personal growth actually requires: intentional use, not automatic use.
Creativity
“I’m full of creative ideas, I just have to let them come through.”
2 upvotes
Presence
“To stop and enjoy the moment. Nothing like spending money that you earned on some top shelf flower and enjoying the aromas, effects and flavour of it at night on the porch by yourself.”
2 upvotes
Slowing Down
“Sometimes the best thing you can do is pause, take a breath, or do nothing altogether. You will eventually gain the clarity you need. Sometimes things reveal themselves with time.”
3 upvotes
Alone Time
“My alone time is sacred and nothing will get in the way of it. I’m old as f*** already, I don’t have time to entertain nonsense that I don’t create.”
u/DiggingUpTheCorpses, r/trees
3 upvotes
u/Arbys322 (13 upvotes) gave an answer that quietly says something bigger than it sounds:
“Pay yourself first. Buy the best bud you can afford and enjoy it while you still can. Life moves fast, responsibilities pile up, and it’s easy to forget you’re allowed to treat yourself. Good flower reminds me that I deserve quality in the little moments, not just the big ones.”
13 upvotes
More Honest Answers from the Community
Some of the best answers in the thread don’t fit neatly into a theme. They just say something true, in a very Reddit way.
The most relatable exchange in the thread
u/rgnadt_10 (8 upvotes)
“it taught me I have no self control. flicks lighter”
u/NGK420 (5 upvotes)
“it taught me I have no self control. flicks lighter”
Brain Discoveries
“That my brain can, in fact, sometimes, unpredictably, work.”
2 upvotes
Self-Awareness
“I’m happier when I take myself less seriously. I take my happiness more seriously now.”
5 upvotes
The Qualities Within
“Waste not, want not is one of my core philosophies.”
2 upvotes
And u/Black863 (10 upvotes), who came to cannabis after military service, put it in a way that lands differently than anything else in the thread:
“I had my first edible and flower after the military. My first thought is not understanding why this is illegal because it feels great.”
10 upvotes
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Frequently Asked Questions
According to 117 r/trees community members, the most common lessons are about perspective and self-acceptance rather than specific effects. The top-voted answer in the TribeTokes thread , 226 upvotes , was simply that things aren’t as serious as they feel. Other common self-discoveries include noticing thought patterns more clearly, finding that the qualities you wished you had were already present, learning what kind of alone time you actually need, and recognising how your relationship with anger or anxiety tends to work. These are observations about the self, reported by community members, not clinical findings. Individual experiences with cannabis and self-reflection vary widely depending on the person, context, dose, and product. No two people in the thread described the same discovery, which is part of what makes the thread more useful than a list of supposed benefits.
The r/trees community broadly says yes, with caveats. Multiple commenters in the TribeTokes thread described cannabis as quieting the internal monologue enough to observe thoughts more clearly, step back from anger, or notice when overthinking is happening. u/thelespickle described being able to see emotions from a more level perspective and recognising they are not their anger. u/New-Gas3080 described using that clarity to break a loop of revisiting anxious thoughts. The caveat the community added consistently: dose matters, and too much reverses the effect. u/AdequateRoarer noted the brain going quiet is great until you take too much and it races instead. Mindful, intentional use is the frame the community returns to. Starting with a lower dose than expected and paying attention to what surfaces is the most consistent piece of advice across the thread.
The r/trees community describes cannabis as useful for self-discovery when used as a tool for reflection rather than as an escape. u/VuDuBaBy made this distinction explicitly: cannabis helps them stay in touch with goals and desires, but can become a distraction if not used intentionally. u/vanetti described finding qualities like patience and kindness that were already there but needed quieter conditions to surface. u/Fantastic_Acadian described a shift from escapism drinking to something that felt like genuine self-acceptance. None of these are universal claims about cannabis and personal growth. They are individual observations from people describing their own experience, shared publicly in an online forum. What the accounts share is a direction of use: toward something, rather than away from something. That distinction is not small.
Several r/trees members connected cannabis to creative unlocking rather than creative production. u/binkkit described being full of creative ideas that just needed to come through. u/anonpotat0 described the simple act of slowing down enough to actually enjoy what’s in front of you as a discovery in itself. u/piratecheese13 landed on a practical observation: podcasts work better sober, music works better stoned. The community isn’t claiming cannabis makes you a better artist. They’re describing a shift in attention and presence that some people find creatively useful. How that lands depends entirely on the person and the context. The common thread in the creativity-related answers is less about output and more about access: something that was already there becomes easier to reach. Whether that translates into actual creative work depends on what someone does with that access.
The r/trees thread surfaced a consistent distinction between intentional and automatic use. u/VuDuBaBy described finding a happy middle ground between being motivated and constantly baked, noting that without that balance it’s easy to get caught up in trivial things. u/AdequateRoarer described the dose boundary where quieting the mind becomes overwhelming it. The community’s implicit framework for mindful cannabis use involves choosing the right context, starting with less than you think you need, paying attention to what the experience surfaces rather than using it to avoid something, and recognising when it’s working and when it isn’t. This aligns with a general principle of intentional consumption rather than habitual use. The community does not frame mindful use as abstaining or being restrictive. They frame it as choosing the conditions deliberately and paying attention to what happens.
Community members in the TribeTokes r/trees thread described a range of introspective experiences. Some noticed their relationship with anger more clearly. Some found it easier to accept themselves. Some discovered preferences they hadn’t previously articulated , like the podcasts-sober-music-stoned observation from u/piratecheese13. u/thelespickle described being able to hear themselves think once the internal monologue quieted. u/radrax described gaining clarity by doing nothing at all. What connects these accounts is not a specific effect but a quality of attention: things slow down enough to notice them. These are personal accounts, not clinical outcomes, and the range of individual responses to cannabis is wide. What connects them is not a specific effect but a quality of attention: the usual pace slows down enough for things to become visible. That is not the same as insight being guaranteed.
Community members in the thread describe cannabis as sometimes creating better conditions for emotional processing rather than doing the processing itself. u/thelespickle described being able to step back from anger and talk it down rather than be consumed by it. u/New-Gas3080 described learning to reach a conclusion about something anxious and then drop it instead of looping. u/cigarlifer described a shift toward accepting what is rather than resisting it. These are individual descriptions of emotional experience and do not represent clinical claims about cannabis as a treatment for any condition. The research on cannabis and emotional regulation is ongoing and results vary considerably by person and context. These accounts describe a process that some people find useful, not an outcome that is predictable or universal. Whether it works in this way for any individual depends on factors the thread does not address.
Across the TribeTokes r/trees thread, the most common self-discovery was a shift in perspective about the seriousness of daily life. The top comment with 226 upvotes, the third-highest with 98 upvotes, and multiple lower-voted comments all circled the same territory: things matter less than they feel like they do, staying angry is a choice, and going with the flow is harder and more useful than resisting. The second most common theme was self-acceptance: discovering something about themselves that was harder to see or believe without slowing down. These are patterns in 117 community responses, not survey data. What any individual person discovers from cannabis use depends entirely on that person. The question TribeTokes asked was open by design, and the answers reflect that: 117 people, 117 different things they noticed about themselves when they slowed down enough to look.
Slow Down. Find the Good Stuff.
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Disclaimer
This article presents personal experiences shared publicly by members of the r/trees community on Reddit. All quotes are reproduced with usernames as they appeared in the original thread. TribeTokes does not endorse, verify, or make any claims based on individual community experiences.
Cannabis and hemp-derived products are not FDA-approved to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition. Individual responses vary widely. Cannabis may interact with prescription medications and is not appropriate for everyone.
The legal status of cannabis and hemp-derived cannabinoid products varies by state. TribeTokes products are hemp-derived and comply with the 2018 Farm Bill. Always verify local laws before purchasing or using any cannabis product.
Do not stop taking prescribed medication without medical supervision. If you are managing a mental health condition, speak with a qualified healthcare provider before using cannabis products.