Smoking with anxiety

[Bradley007]

Hello I am new here my last cigarette was yesterday I have been a smoker for 15 years and wanted to quit before my 30th birthday coming up next week. The reason I am writing is to see if anyone has had an anxiety disorder which quitting smoking cigarettes cured or at least lessened the effect of anxiety? My first anxiety attack was 11 years ago and up until 4 years ago I was having a panic attack every day (I would pull over and call 911 thinking I was dying of a heart attack) anyways I started taking meds 4 years ago and have maybe 1-2 attacks a year, my question is do you have experience with this did quitting help your panic\anxiety attacks?

[glolin LONG TERM WINNER]

Hi Bradley and welcome to quit support

Congratulations on making the decision to quit smoking as it is the best possible thing that you can do for you health.

Take a read of some of the information under topics as everyone experiences different emotions when quitting.

It is quite common for anxiety levels to increase in the early part of quitting but this does settle down. I have had anxiety for most of my life but am fortunate enough to be able to self manage it. My anxiety increased in the first few months of quitting but now I tend to have a sense of calmness

Make sure you read up on what to expect as part of quitting so that you can prepare yourself

All the very best on your quit journey

[jim224488 34 Months Winner]

I have suffered with a generalised anxiety disorder on and off since I was 15, So 30 years.

I frequently come on and off drug SSRI inhibitors treatment.

Every time I have stopped smoking, and gone past trwo weeks without nicotine, I feel less anxious and able to handle situations better. There is no doubt from my laymans point of view that cigarettes and the chemicals they produce are a major contributor to an existing condition.

About a week ago there were some brilliant posts on here about how smoking affect your chemical balance.

The bottom line is if I take nicotine, after an hour or so I start to get edgy because my body is telling me I am running out. That "edgy " feeling is similar to a general feeling of anxiety.

I haven't smoked since January 12th. I used NRT and reduced. I still use the occasional gum and notice that although it subdues by craving, I feel like more a few hours later, this makes me "edgy". If I don't have any for a day, the craving almost disappears. Yet I have a deep entrenched feeling that I need that buzz. Im just working at removing the nicotine craving completely at some stage , but I have stopped smoking! Completely ! Not One Puff Ever! That's where I want to be.

Regards

Jim

[a1kj]

i also want to quit plz help me

[glolin LONG TERM WINNER in reply to a1kj]

Hello A1kj and welcome to quit support,

Well done on making the decision to quit smoking

Do you plan on using any nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and have you set yourself a quit date?

When quitting, it is very important to plan for it, make a list of the reasons you want to quit,

Being prepared, will make the quitting process a lot easier for you.

If you have any questions, just ask as there is bound to be someone around who has experienced the same thing and will have the answer for you.

All the very best on your quit journey - Believe you can do it and you will

[monky Administrator Cake sniffer outer in reply to a1kj]

Hi ya A1kj a big warm welcome to our quit support group

I see our lovely Glolin has given you some great advice If you could please give us a bit more info on yourself, like - have you tried to quit before ? how many do you smoke a day ? have you tried using any form of NRT to help you to quit before ?

This way, we will get a bigger picture and will be able to focus on what the best way is to help you to quit

Please come back to us A1kj and we will help you the best we can, their a lovely bunch of people on here

Pete

[TristanOsoper 14 Month Winner]

Well i didn't have any anxiety attack while I was smoking. i've experienced it 2 weeks after quitting smoking and it lasted for about a week. After that, I seldom experience it again, although there are other things I've experienced after quitting smoking. But, it gets better by the day! God bless!

[gautama5 4 MONTH WINNER]

I feel a lot less anxiety since quiting and it's good to remember that when the thought of having one comes up.

Remember how anxious we got every 30 to 45 minutes to light one up?

Sometime chain smoking with jumpy nerves and sweaty hands from too much nicotine?

Never Take Another Puff!

Learn breathing exercises and learn to meditate on the spot.

You can learn to chill out anywhere, even riding a roller coaster you can teach your thoughts by just learning to watch your thoughts and feelings and learning to laugh at what you are thinking and feeling.

Then you can learn to back away and separate from it.

Hang in there!!!!!