Quitting Smoking & Mental Health

[EIHYPI]

Personally I struggle with this issue at times more than others. One thing I noticed is that when I am doing better I gain control over the urge to smoke and it's as if cigarettes are non-existent in my life. On the other hand when I'm not myself I get this weird urge to bumb a cigarette from my friend when he is smoking next to me and then I feel like buying a pack.

It's possible that many others struggle with things similar to this too. It can become more of an obsession rather than a habit and it's so easy to fall into the trap. I smoked a few cigarettes over the last month and I don't regret it because it's part of the growth process.

Nevertheless it feels great to be back, being myself and smoke free. For all those struggling with similar issues I really feel for you because I can definitely relate. I'm sure that I am touching apon an issue that is prominent amongst our vaping community and amongst smokers also. If someone else relates to what I'm saying please feel free to let me know and please don't feel uncomfortable. Obviously this isn't a mental health forum but the two and two definitely go hand in hand.

I must say that I am very grateful for all the support this forum has given me through my ups and downs over the year(s). Thank you all for being there for me. Like I said it feels great to be back to myself feeling better than ever

 

[Baditude]

Good to hear that you are doing better. And here is hoping that you continue to feel better.

I experienced some situational/clinical depression a few years ago when I lost my job, my apartment, my car, etc. because of a medical disability. I was pretty much a mess. I had no incoming funds and exhausted my savings. I felt emotionally isolated and dependent upon family. My self esteem was at a lifetime low, but being able to help people on this forum helped my self esteem improve. I wasn't too proud or ashamed to seek and receive professional medical treatment for a couple of years. After over two years of no income, I finally won my disability case. I've been able to drop the antidepressant under my physician assistant's care and am doing very well now.

Back on topic, I don't believe my affliction affected my vaping in any way. Had I still been a smoker, it wouldn't have surprised me to increase my smoking. When I was a smoker, cigarette usage increased when I was under stress.

Trying to quit smoking can be quite stressful in itself. Just remember, its not how many cigarettes you smoke in a day that is important, its how many you DON'T smoke that is.

 

[ajbr]

Personally I struggle with this issue at times more than others. One thing I noticed is that when I am doing better I gain control over the urge to smoke and it's as if cigarettes are non-existent in my life. On the other hand when I'm not myself I get this weird urge to bumb a cigarette from my friend when he is smoking next to me and then I feel like buying a pack.

It's possible that many others struggle with things similar to this too. It can become more of an obsession rather than a habit and it's so easy to fall into the trap. I smoked a few cigarettes over the last month and I don't regret it because it's part of the growth process.

Nevertheless it feels great to be back, being myself and smoke free. For all those struggling with similar issues I really feel for you because I can definitely relate. I'm sure that I am touching apon an issue that is prominent amongst our vaping community and amongst smokers also. If someone else relates to what I'm saying please feel free to let me know and please don't feel uncomfortable. Obviously this isn't a mental health forum but the two and two definitely go hand in hand.

I must say that I am very grateful for all the support this forum has given me through my ups and downs over the year(s). Thank you all for being there for me. Like I said it feels great to be back to myself feeling better than ever

I believe what you are feeling is quite normal as I was a dual user for quite sometime before I converted to e cigs exclusively. Any time I was in a stressful situation, I would start smoking again. Before e cigs became available I was doing OK with the patch until a hurricane was forecast to hit (live in Florida) and it took no more than 3 seconds to rip off the patch and go buy some smokes! I believe this is due to the significant nicotine hit you get with a cigarette compared to a vape. One suggestion is to get a Juul which provides a hit very similar to a cigarette to use during stressful times (the Juul has a very high nicotine content). I have not had a cigarette in 8 years but during stressful situations I use twice as much juice per day as I usually do. Hang in there and eventually you will overcome the obsession to grab a cigarette in certain situations!!

Good Luck!

 

[stols001]

Tere used to be this "MH myth" that it was harder to quit smoking with an MI. I can certainly see why that could be the case, nicotine can be helpful with focus and attention, and other substances in tobacco are pretty heavy hitters (the MAOI alkaloids) when it comes to anxiety and depression, etc.

I can see why vaping helps with that, I am also a stress smoker and under severe stress are usually the times I want to smoke. However, there are also plans that work with that, and there are plenty of folks with MI diagnoses who never started smoking.

Whatever the case may be, I tend to feel happier and less stressed when I'm stable, but that is true of everything, not just vaping.

I'd guess the relationship between MI and smoking is as individual as the person. I pretty fervently believed (and wished) that each and every person with either MI, or chronic pain or stress should be able to smoke for a lifetime with zero health effects (only seemed fair, really) unfortunately OR fortunately, my own particular Creator was having none of that and was like, "Well Anna, you smoke the way you do for as long as you have, you are going to start down the road to COPD, if anything I've probably given you a little grace period, so would you care to exit the ride now?"

I did care to exit the ride and not only that had a HUGE grace period to rehabilitate my life in as I was becoming an ex smoker, and I needed it.

Quitting smoking WITH vaping ranks up there with one of the hardest things I have EVER done. I've done some hard things. I know a big part of the key was belief that I COULD do it, which ECF gave me a huge part of. I'm very grateful.

Note: I started smoking before I was diagnosed with any MI, and frankly, IDK if it would have been easier "without" the dx or not. IDK.

Anna

 

[United States]

Smoking cessation can be like throwing darts at a bulls eye. Once you stop you've hit the bulls eye.

Sometimes life requires a toss at the bulls eye again. For some they hit it easily. For others it can be a miss.

To have a few in a couple of months does not mean failure. It just means the bulls eye went and moved on ya.

Sounds like you hit it again. Bravo!!

Being a dual user I find myself wanting to smoke and vape less over time. Instead of smoking 30-40 a day and vaping like mad it's now 20 and an occasional vape. But during stress I go for the vape as a way to be rid of the crutch called a cigarette. I get all jacked on nicotine then a couple of drags on a cigarette ends up in "yuck" so it's kinda when I quit drinking I'd have a milkshake to calm the nerves instead of bourbon. Eventually the milkshake is the preferred tonic.

My brother told a story of his former smoking coworker had a cigarette Friday. But he only had 1. It kept him sane and then he was ok. I suppose that meant he still gets to see his wife and kids every evening instead of visiting day at the jailhouse had he not chosen to have the cigarette.

 

[bnrkwest]

Hang in there! There was a time for me when I had to tell my brain that NO I will not die if I don't have a cigarette right now. Then it was kind of comical to me that I had to fight with myself and the urge so hard. I would just tell myself have a vape first for 15 min then see how that works. I think we all go thru hard times and our brains trying to trick us. Sometimes we have to outsmart ourselves

 

[Anise]

I have anxiety issues along with bipolar. I'm having serious health issues at the same time I'm having major problems paying the bills and mortgage. The only things that have kept me from smoking is knowing it will make my health issues even worse and we can't afford them. I went manic and bought a ton of vape stuff that I'll be paying for forever but at least I'm stocked up vape wise. All I know is when I'm stressed I still want a cigarette but I'm assuming it's mostly from habit. I just remind myself what the cigarettes will cost me, both monetarily and health wise and I get past the urge. Good luck to you .

 

[Philabos]

I never really thought about vaping as quitting smoking.
I just have a cig that tastes a whole lot better

 

[mountainbikermark]

Smoking is 99.9% mental. When the urge to smoke hits, very little of it is physical and most is mental.
Most of us want to smoke during times of high stress. Why? Because at work we are forced to step away from our job area and spend time, often alone, in the hell hole called the smoking area. We think it's the nicotine hit that brings us back to sanity but in reality it is stepping away from the source of stress mentally and changing the subject in our mind, if only long enough to remember where our lighter went, look for a co-worker that smokes, etc. Seldom to we read or hear about someone saying they smoked a cigarette because they craved that inside of a balloon chemical taste after a delicious meal though it also does happen, again a mental decision to chase a flavor.
There are other factors involved as the human mind is a very complex thing.
What I have found over the years is every time I smoked after quitting was inevitably a mental decision, if for no other reason than to shake my fist at a deity in spite because I'm ...... off at Him at the moment. When the stress hits hard,I sometimes want to smoke. When I'm in excruciating pain,I sometimes want to smoke. When I'm bored I often want to smoke. When my buddies are having a smoke in the smoking area I sometimes want to go bum one and join in the "fun". I smoked for 40+ years. There's a gazillion life events I've been through where my old buddy the cigarette was present and a part of the event. Those habits and feelings don't just poof out of existence because we chose vaping . The physical effects of nicotine withdrawal last about 3 minutes from start to finish. The mental isn't so quick to disappear.


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[Doffy]

i am mentally interesting, and generally turned into a not nice person early on

the addition of WTA to my eliquid, increase in nicotine, and addition of swedish snus keeps me more level/pleasant/whatever

unsure how much is MI, and how much is just me being a jerk without it

 

[ozm8ey]

I was going through with psychosis, anxiety, panic attacks and derealization before i started vaping and after therapy, medication and karate i got better. In fact smoking was the main cause of mu anxiety and that switching to vaping made me feel much better. I used to get chest pain while a smoker, i got an eeg chest x-ray, etc and they found nothing bad but i didn't want to take the risk so i found a much healthier solution.

I no longer have psychosis but still take the medication to prevent it but i still need the medication for the anxiety but if i was a smoker i would be getting panic attacks still

 

[EIHYPI]

I was going through with psychosis, anxiety, panic attacks and derealization before i started vaping and after therapy, medication and karate i got better. In fact smoking was the main cause of mu anxiety and that switching to vaping made me feel much better. I used to get chest pain while a smoker, i got an eeg chest x-ray, etc and they found nothing bad but i didn't want to take the risk so i found a much healthier solution.

I no longer have psychosis but still take the medication to prevent it but i still need the medication for the anxiety but if i was a smoker i would be getting panic attacks still

I struggle with very similar issues and when I'm in that state of mind it's hard to not smoke cigarettes because of poor judgment. Then I can get hooked to the cigarettes so I must say I'm also in a good state of mind when I'm able to stick to vaping without the desire to smoke cigarettes like nowadays.

 

[EIHYPI]

Smoking is 99.9% mental. When the urge to smoke hits, very little of it is physical and most is mental.
Most of us want to smoke during times of high stress. Why? Because at work we are forced to step away from our job area and spend time, often alone, in the hell hole called the smoking area. We think it's the nicotine hit that brings us back to sanity but in reality it is stepping away from the source of stress mentally and changing the subject in our mind, if only long enough to remember where our lighter went, look for a co-worker that smokes, etc. Seldom to we read or hear about someone saying they smoked a cigarette because they craved that inside of a balloon chemical taste after a delicious meal though it also does happen, again a mental decision to chase a flavor.
There are other factors involved as the human mind is a very complex thing.
What I have found over the years is every time I smoked after quitting was inevitably a mental decision, if for no other reason than to shake my fist at a deity in spite because I'm ...... off at Him at the moment. When the stress hits hard,I sometimes want to smoke. When I'm in excruciating pain,I sometimes want to smoke. When I'm bored I often want to smoke. When my buddies are having a smoke in the smoking area I sometimes want to go bum one and join in the "fun". I smoked for 40+ years. There's a gazillion life events I've been through where my old buddy the cigarette was present and a part of the event. Those habits and feelings don't just poof out of existence because we chose vaping . The physical effects of nicotine withdrawal last about 3 minutes from start to finish. The mental isn't so quick to disappear.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

When I quit cigarettes basically for good about four years ago and chose vaping, the withdrawal was not there being that I was still getting nicotine. There have been times though that I managed to go without any nicotine for a week plus. I noticed that the physical withdrawal does last about a week. But it's important to not confuse physical with psychological being that the two work hand in hand. A physical withdrawal triggers one psychologically and vice versa. After about a week, depending on the person it should be only psychological and this is only talking about the nicotine withdrawal. Other than that it's mostly psychological for example the hand to mouth motion which vaping solves immediately. Although the additives/chemicals in cigarettes which are designed to keep one attached to them are an additional matter in which one can withdrawal from even if one starts to vape. Even then that withdrawal may only last as long as the nicotine withdrawal but by solving the nicotine withdrawal through vaping one may not even notice the additives/chemicals withdrawal.

 

[dripster]

I never really thought about vaping as quitting smoking.
I just have a cig that tastes a whole lot better

Same here. I started vaping out of purely curiousness, i.e. with zero intention to quit smoking. I never was a dual user, only smoked one final cigarette that was after 3 days and that I wouldn't have smoked if it hadn't been for the fact I simply hadn't familiarized myself with the various settings of my mod carefully enough yet at the time.

Cravings were astonishingly easy for me to completely avoid by aggressively chain vaping and also by remembering to vape more than a few minutes beforehand instead of waiting until feeling the urge to pick up my mod again so learning to anticipate cravings in a timely fashion definitely also played an important part, but I also know I could never have done this successfully without jumping head first into using an RDA with handmade Nichrome 80 fused clapton coils. That's just because nothing besides an RDA can keep on wicking the juice fast enough to properly sustain such heavy chain vaping, and, counting the number of drops when you drip 6mg juice in cohort with counting the number of 0mg drops that you drip straight on top of the coils immediately after that is what makes it possible to be in perfect control of the nic strength at all times, a tactic that proved to be extremely effective for prolonged chain vaping sessions without getting nic sick as a consequence.