Are you fooling yourself?
It’s how addiction works. Feelings of low mood, irritability and anxiety manifest when blood levels of nicotine drop and these feelings are relieved by smoking another cigarette. Smokers may think smoking another relieves psychological distress; however, distress is caused by withdrawal. Smoking another actually makes it worse as tolerance builds. With cigarettes, withdrawal symptoms start pretty quickly. Almost instantaneously. With cannabis, alcohol or other drugs, blood levels drop more slowly, but the effect is the same–depression and irritability after awhile. If you can’t quit your addiction, please get help. You’ve only got one life to enjoy. Why kill yourself feeling awful on the way down?—MR
Quitting Smoking May Ease Anxiety, Depression
People who quit smoking for at least 15 weeks may see improvements in their mental health, a secondary analysis of the EAGLES trial showed.
