Vaping and depression? Veteran vapers.

[fishtaco]

Ok I am 54 I was a very heavy smoker 50 a day in the end but have not had one single smoke or even a puff in over 2 years.

I am wondering if vaping causes depression? When I smoked I was very active in fact i have always been a bit hyper active but since I stopped smoking I have become very inactive and just cant be bothered any more to do all the things I used to do and enjoy?

As anyone else experienced this? it could be unrelated to vaping or smoking but its the only thing that has changed in my life since i started vaping full time.

Cheers.

 

[Lessifer]

There are MAOI's in cigarettes that can help with depression, they are not present in e-cigs(except maybe WTA). It's possible you were "self-medicating" with cigarettes and now that you no longer smoke, your body is missing that.

Psych Central - Depression and Smoking

 

[four2109]

Ok I am 54 I was a very heavy smoker 50 a day in the end but have not had one single smoke or even a puff in over 2 years.

I am wondering if vaping causes depression? When I smoked I was very active in fact i have always been a bit hyper active but since I stopped smoking I have become very inactive and just cant be bothered any more to do all the things I used to do and enjoy?

As anyone else experienced this? it could be unrelated to vaping or smoking but its the only thing that has changed in my life since i started vaping full time.

Cheers.

Yes, so if you figure it out and can nail it down, let me know. Lack of something in analogs? Something in eliquid? I don't know, but I think I know what you mean. I have tried WTA and just ordered some more, but that doesn't seem to hold an answer for me either.

 

[montara]

I have a family member with issues... make sure your WTA experience is with real WTA...

A
R
O
M
A

 

[BigEgo]

How long did you smoke? Did you ever have any issues with depression before you started smoking? It is well known that people with mental illnesses are inclined to smoke cigarettes more than the general population (twice as likely to smoke, in fact). The study I linked found that about 40% of people who had issues with a mental illness in the past month were smokers. (The study used data from over 4000 people and is cited by 1600 other scholarly articles, so it was a huge study). One very astonishing finding:

Persons with a mental disorder in the past month consumed approximately 44.3% of cigarettes smoked by this nationally representative sample.

So the question here is did you smoke because of depression or did stopping smoking trigger depression? Since depression is usually (not always) a life-long disorder, I find the former more likely.

(Full disclosure: I am not a psychiatrist, but I am someone who has suffered from depression since my teen years, seen many doctors and read many research papers. I highly recommend you see a physician or a psychiatrist if this is a problem for you. Best of luck).

 

[montara]

The family member I refer to is clinical diagnosed bipolar and under Dr care. DR's I have spoke to say that vaping (the original reference was "smoking" but could not promote it...) can actually be beneficial and therapeutic. And to the original question, depression takes the lead, smoking did not cause the mental imbalance.

WTA has a noticeable and positive effect on this one... Now if only I could add Aroma juice to my Amazon subscription...

 

[alopezg1]

no vaping would not cause depression....unless you're spending all your money on it maybe. Withdrawal from cigarettes
certainly can ... it just seems strange that you have noticed this only after 2 years?

 

[four2109]

no vaping would not cause depression....unless you're spending all your money on it maybe. Withdrawal from cigarettes
certainly can ... it just seems strange that you have noticed this only after 2 years?

And you know this how?

 

[AndriaD]

Depression can be hard to notice sometimes, if it's the creeping-apathy kind you mention -- it doesn't always mean feeling sad; it can also be lack of energy or interest in your usual pasttimes, being easily angered over the smallest things, and just the general feeling of wanting to "give up". I notice mine worst in the morning, when I first get up; just getting dressed seems like an insurmountable obstacle, why bother. But I do make myself "bother" because I know if I give in, it'll just get worse. And I do think it has a great deal to do with no longer getting those MAOIs from cigarettes. Definitely try WTA. It's helped me a great deal.

Though I confess, I've been feeling down this evening, despite being busy most all day with cooking, and then eating yummies, and being very thankful to no longer be a smoker. I'm trying to vape more (I always have WTA in my vape). Maybe it's the high level of tryptophans from the turkey, playing hell with my normal neurotransmitter balance.

Andria

 

[alopezg1]

And you know this how?

because i have stopped smoking many times and suffered the subsequent depression

 

[alopezg1]

And you know this how?

and vaping itself is most likely not a cause ...nicotine is unlikely to cause depression , and if it did in the OP then smoking would have
made them depressed .... as far as I am aware propylene glycol and vg have no psychotropic effects... people consume quantities of them
fairly regularly in certain foods

 

[Maiar]

Depression generally speaking is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Simply put it's often a reduction of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. Which is what most anti depressants work to increase. And from everything I've read and researched about it (I have major depression, general anxiety disorder, and PTSD) this stuff often stems from life experience and how your brain deals with it. But sometimes it just happens for who the .... knows what reasons. Mid 50's are when my father started suffering from major depression with no traceable causes. As you age things in your brain change and sometimes these things happen. There's always help though and lots of times medication isn't necessary.

 

[Rickajho]

For lack of a better way to put it, "normal" depression when quitting smoking can be experienced as a sudden drop in mood about 14 days after quitting and the depressed feelings can last for a few weeks to several months depending on the individual. But for the typical person any feelings of depression related to quitting smoking back off with time. If you go past the six month mark and are still feeling noticeable depression then it's time for a consult.

It is known that people with diagnosed depression or at least indicators for depression do have a much harder time quitting smoking and tend to smoke much more than the mean. There is something to be said regarding the MAOI effects of smoking and it can be a very difficult self-medication habit to break. Monoamine Oxidase Inhibition Dramatically Increases the Motivation to Self-Administer Nicotine in Rats

 

[AndriaD]

I have major depression, general anxiety disorder, and PTSD

Same here, exactly. I've given up believing I will ever be "cured" -- it seems to be a continuum, and I'll gladly settle for "moderately ok." Now and then there are moments of "happy" -- remembering that, after 39 yrs of smoking, I'm no longer a slave to tobacco, can bring those on!

Depression generally speaking is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Simply put it's often a reduction of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine.

The MAOIs from tobacco, harman and norharman, are also present in WTA -- 'whole tobacco alkaloids' -- without which, I could not have remained smoke-free. Those MAOIs inhibit the action of monoamine oxidase, an enzyme, from destroying those neurotransmitters. WTA makes a huge difference in my state of mind; I may still have occasions of feeling slightly down, but compared to "let me go to sleep and never wake up", "slightly down" is definitely preferable.

Andria

 

[firerat]

Wow I had no idea tobacco had MAOI's.

Learn something new everyday.

 

[AndriaD]

Wow I had no idea tobacco had MAOI's.

Learn something new everyday.

For a long time I figured those were among the things that BT nefariously adds to make cigarettes more addictive -- but when I went researching what's actually in WTA, I learned that the MAOIs are actually present in tobacco naturally, not BT's fault at all -- though BT *does* add other stuff to make cigarettes more "efficient" -- i.e., more addictive!

Andria

PS: I love your avatar! It's so cute, everytime I see it I go 'awwww'...

 

[Rickajho]

Wow I had no idea tobacco had MAOI's.

Learn something new everyday.

That's why quit smoking withdrawal isn't a simple matter of just replacing nicotine with nicotine from vaping. Smoking is a vicious cycle of your brain firing off "want more MAOI's!" and the boost of nicotine enhancing the experience, among other things going on.

 

[AndriaD]

That's why quit smoking withdrawal isn't a simple matter of just replacing nicotine with nicotine from vaping. Smoking is a vicious cycle of your brain firing off "want more MAOI's!" and the boost of nicotine enhancing the experience, among other things going on.

For me, after my appendectomy, I think my brain was hollering "need more anabatine!" (for its anti-inflammatory properties) but all those "want more" msgs just end up getting translated to "MUST SMOKE NOW!" cravings since that's how our brains got used to getting all those want-more substances. Fortunately I discovered that WTA satisfies those demands quite adequately.

Andria

 

[alopezg1]

WTA was not enough for me.... it was certainly an improvement on regular liquid , but still wanted a cig a lot of the day .... I have to use snus as well as WTA to stay sane , it has taken a very long time to find the right balance just about getting there now after about 14 months

 

[alopezg1]

but then again snus on it's own was bad ... i think snus is incredibly strong and was causing me anxiety attacks and making me feel depressed
with the WTA i can just have one snus in the morning , then vape all of the day then snus when i come home in the evening .... now just have to wait for the FDA to ban WTA liquid ! and for the EU to restrict all snus sales ha!