"Smokers who believe that their habit relieves stress and depression are mistaken, according to research.
A study found that the effect of quitting smoking was the same, if not better, in tackling mental health problems such as depression and anxiety as taking antidepressants.
The team of researchers, from the universities of Birmingham, Oxford, and King's College London, acknowledged that many smokers, including those with mental health problems, believe their habit helps them wind down
But Professor Paul Aveyard, from Oxford University, said; 'I hope doctors will now reassure patients there's a good chance that stopping smoking will in fact make you less stressed. In fact, for people with chronic mental health problems, stopping smoking might be an effective treatment.'
Writing in the British Medical Journal, the researchers said; 'Smoking cessation is associated with reduced depression and stress, and improved positive mood, compared with continuing to smoke.' "
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Thanks for that smoke, very interesting. and quite believable..
Whilst I have to say that this article makes interesting reading I can not from my own personal experience, agree with it.
I have been quit for a little over 6 months and now find myself diagnosed with depression. Never suffered at all whilst I smoked but boy, am I suffering now. Not nice at all and quitting smoking has not helped me in the slightest as it seems my depression started not long after I quit.
Like with everything else, we are not all exactly alike and doctors of all people, should understand that.
Like you say, we are not all the same, everyone of us are different we all take different times and have different ways to help us on our quitting journey
May I say a big big well done to you for reaching 6 Months quit
I'm so so sorry that you are now suffering with depression, and my heart goes out to you BUT, has your doctor told you that quitting smoking coursed this ?
I am 58 Years old now, soooo ave been around a bit eh 1 of my close friends has suffered with depression for nearly 5 Years now, and i tell you, he has never smoked in his life
A member of my family also suffered with depression, ooo a long time ago now, but she was still smoking at the time !
Ifeelfine, when we stop smoking, its not just the nicotine we get rid of, but its also the habit and, well, I think the habit bit for me is the worst !!
You have to find a new habit, a new hobby, a new life and enjoyyyyy it
May I ask, apart from the depression, are you benefiting from stopping smoking, as feeling more healthy, more money, cleaner teeth, smell nicer, softer skin etc, etc
Hi Ellie, I had a bit of a todo with erm, er-in-doors and her Brother, who both live and smoke in the house to cut a long story short, I asked them if they would quit the smokes, their reply was, Why should they ! to which I replied, cos you will live longer
They replied with, '' I would rather die young and happy, than live longer and be miserable '' !!
I totally agree with them, we are all going to die anyway so why not do what you enjoy, a little of what you fancy does you good is my motto. Why be miserable for the want of a smoke !!!
I have this that may help ..it came off the net. It was really helpful in persuading me about not being a 'happy' smoker.
How do you feel about a friend who has to go everywhere with you? Not only does he tag along all the time, but since he is so offensive and vulgar, you become unwelcome when with him. He has a peculiar odor that sticks to you wherever you go. Others think both of you stink.
He controls you totally. When he says jump, you jump. Sometimes in the middle of a blizzard or storm, he wants you to come to the store and pick him up. You would give your spouse hell if he or she did that to you all the time, but you can't argue with your friend. Sometimes, when you are out at a movie or play he says he wants you to go stand in the lobby with him and miss important scenes. Since he calls all the shots in your life, you go. Your friend doesn't like your choice of clothing either. Instead of politely telling you that you have lousy taste, he burns little holes in these items so you will want to throw them out. Sometimes, he tires of the furniture and gets rid of it too. Occasionally, he gets really nasty and decides the whole house must go.
He gets pretty expensive to support. Not only is his knack of property destruction costly, but you must pay to keep him with you. In fact, he will cost you thousands of dollars over your lifetime. And you can count on one thing, he will never pay you a penny in return.
Often at picnics you watch others playing vigorous activities and having lots of fun doing them. But your friend won't let you. He doesn't believe in physical activity. In his opinion, you are too old to have that kind of fun. So he kind of sits on your chest and makes it difficult for you to breathe. Now you don't want to go off and play with other people when you can't breathe, do you?
Your friend does not believe in being healthy. He is really repulsed by the thought of you living a long and productive life. So every chance he gets he makes you sick. He helps you catch colds and flu. Not just by running out in the middle of the lousy weather to pick him up at the store. He is more creative than that. He carries thousands of poisons with him which he constantly blows in your face. When you inhale some of them, they wipe out cilia in your lungs which would have helped you prevent these diseases.
But colds and flu are just his form of child's play. He especially likes diseases that slowly cripple you - like emphysema. He considers this disease great. Once he gets you to have this, you will give up all your other friends, family, career goals, activities - everything. You will just sit home and caress him, telling him what a great friend he is while you desperately gasp for air.
But eventually your friend tires of you. He decides he no longer wishes to have your company. Instead of letting you go your separate ways, he decides to kill you. He has a wonderful arsenal of weapons behind him. In fact, he has been plotting your death since the day you met him. He picked all the top killers in society and did everything in his power to ensure you would get one of them. He overworked your heart and lungs. He clogged up the arteries to your heart, brain, and every other part of your body. In case you were too strong to succumb to this, he constantly exposed you to cancer causing agents. He knew he would get you sooner or later.
Funnily enough that easy way book also says the same and explains how we are not helping relieve anxiety but just quelling a craving! I don't suffer from depression or anxiety so can't comment but I agree we are all different x
I suffered from a diagnosed Clinical depression which was bad enough to put me in hospital for over 6 months over 20 years ago.I was on antidepressants up until 10 years ago (they were fairly heavy duty too) and I firmly believe that smoking did make me feel worse but that at the time coping with the depression & other personal stuff that was going on, made stopping smoking an impossibility.I am thankfully now extremely well but still have an very odd day now and then when that blanket of blackness descends just so you know it's still there ! I agree with Pete that it's the habit that's the hardest to break not necessarily the dependence on nicotine.I have noticed that since I quit the black moods have practically all but gone & in fact as a person I feel absolutely unstoppable (well, if the back was O.K I would be anyway!!!!!!
Ifeelfine, my heart goes out to you but trust me,the black feelings will not last forever I absolutely CAN guarantee this.Stick with whatever your care provider has prescribed and you'll get there.
I've honestly never told anyone about my mental health problems,just something that is never mentioned.I guess it shows that there are others out there & maybe more than you think.Helen x
Thank you for your reply - it helps to reinforce my belief that it can only get better but as with anything in life, it's just not happening fast enough for me at the moment.
I know that there are some healthcare professionals (and others that are not) who believe that the contents of a cigarette are an effective anti-depressant. How true this is I don't know and there is and always will be differing 'stories' for want of a better word.
All I know is that since I stopped smoking I feel yuk - this word just about sums up how I am. Little or no energy, no interest in anything and in all honesty just want to curl up in a corner and be left alone. Life sucks and it is not helped by the amount of extra weight I have gained either.
I just have to keep saying to myself that it will and can get better and I just hope that it happens sooner rather than later.
Sometimes I wonder if it was worth stopping the cigs but I know that is just the demon talking but he can be very convincing.
Wow big respect to you! I was just wondering if it was the champix making you feel so bad, as i tried with them a few years ago, and the way you have described how you felt is how they made me feel, but obviously they are not contributing factor for you x
morning ; mnnnn i have read this with interest, took me back to some telly news a few weeks ago. it was a " so called health professional" justifying banning smoking in hospital grounds and banning staff from helping patients to go outside for a smoke. must have had this research in mind as he said " its smoking that causes stress not the actual fact that your being prohibbited from having a smoke.! echhh i do agree that if you dont smoke, then not being allowed to smoke causes you no stress, however if you do smoke, being prohibbited from lighting up causes you major stress; its an addiction!! continued stress can lead to depression. so called scientific evidence in many cases can be used in whatever way the researcher wishes to use it, like any statistics. i think this group should use their abilities to research something alot more usefull, i think they have done smoking to death; excuse the punn. its clear smoking kills you, the individual that smokes would be much better off if they stopped, so best not to do it. end of, move on. smoking dosnt lead to every ailment, every illness, every problem we have, there are lots of other things we need researching that would really help people, but i bet they dont get so much funding for that. just my thoughts.
Ifeelfine,I absolutely want to tell you to go out and get some NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) but question that since you've gone cold turkey it might not be the answer.Your antidepressants (I'm guessing that you have been prescribed some medication) can take up to 6 weeks to work so try very hard to be patient,it's not easy but will be worth it in the long run.If your black mood persists or seems not to be getting any better please please go and see your G.P.asap.H please pm me if I can help in any way.
Thank you for caring but I do feel that NRT would be a backward step. Yes, I have some pills from the doctor and she did say it would take a while for them to work - her exact words were "it won't happen overnight so be patient" and she did say that I should have gone to see her sooner but I'm still not certain that I've done the right thing. Time will tell but at the moment, things just seem bigger than they actually are if you can understand what I mean and I think that is because I am making them that way by getting worked up about stuff. Just know that I need to keep strong as far as the cigarettes go and trust my doctor to help me with the other. Is a pm some sort of note that only the two of us can read? If so, how do I send you one - sorry but am not really that familiar with a computer and because I'm not it takes me ages to do stuff that others can do in the blink of an eye but I do get there, eventually!
Ifeel, the PM is a private message, that only you and the people in the convo can see, the only way i know how to do it, is to click on the person you want to message, and it brings up their profile, then on the right hand side there is a message option i think....hold on i will just check lol x
OK so that's what the envelope is for - learnt something new again and so early in the morning! LOL
When I have posted this I will move my little arrow and click on both the red circle with the number in and if that doesn't work then I will try clicking on the envelope and if that doesn't work I will post HELP on here!!
Whether I succeed or not, thank you for all your help - just talking to another person who seems to understand means such a lot.
Hi Folks,
It's a bit like drinking coffee, isn't it?
It "relaxes" you only because you're actually craving for another 'hit' of caffeine, because you are a coffee drinker.
If you didn't drink coffee, you'd notice just how much of a 'hit' it gave you when you drank it.
Pretty similar with smoking too, I guess. If you didn't smoke, then smoking a cigarette wouldn't give you any sense of relieving stress. Really it's probably only relieving the cravings for another tobacco 'hit'.
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we all take different times and have different ways to help us on our quitting journey 
1 of my close friends has suffered with depression for nearly 5 Years now, and i tell you, he has never smoked in his life 
x
Breathless Concerns
New Pathways Part 7
3 months
