Downgrading From CC19 to CC18 (Mac)

So I stupidly upgraded my project file from CC18 to CC19. Well, CC19 is incredibly difficult to edit in with how much it lags and skips, so I decided to downgrade. Now I can't open my file in CC18.

I tried to wordpad hack, but it's not Mac friendly and I haven't found the Mac equivalent.
Every time I try to export my project as .xml Premiere freezes and ultimately crashes.

So how can I downgrade my project? It's amazing this capability isn't already implemented in such an expensive product. I've already lost an hour trying to revert this project back with no end in sight, and I'm sure that hour is going to soon turn to days. (and if it does, would you recommend Final Cut as an alternative? Because Adobe is ridiculous)