Managing Your Feelings

Tobacco, nicotine and smoke all contribute to helping the user manage such unpleasant feelings as depression or anxiety. This "corking effect" can help the user deal with frustrations or fears without becoming emotionally upset.

Anxiety and depression often develop as the result of cumulative and/or long-term stress. They can also be caused by inherited imbalances in brain chemistry, and can also cause imbalances in the brain chemistry to occur. In anxiety-prone people, the effects of the stress result in a frequent state of hyperarousal and tension that can amplify the stress. In depression-prone people, the result is the opposite: a state of numbness or "neutral" that blocks the tension from being felt, but also impedes the resolution of the stress.

The good news is that the occurrence and/or severity of depression and anxiety often can be lessened or eliminated through self-care treatments, exercise, psychotherapy, and/or medication. The more of these types of strategies that you can include in your reducing or quitting plan, the better your probability for success. They can also speed the recovery of your body from the effects of your tobacco use, and reduce or eliminate common problems encountered when you reduce or quit.

Causes of Depression When You Reduce or Quit Using Tobacco

If you believe that you are experiencing depression while you are in the reducing or quitting process, consider these possibilities for its cause:

•  
• The depression may be due to nicotine withdrawal. Consider using nicotine replacement therapies, nutrition, exercise, social support, nicotine replacement therapies, Zyban and self-care to help with this process.
• The depression may have existed before you even started using tobacco, and is re-emerging now that you have reduced or quit. It can also be a symptom of imbalances in your brain chemistry. Nicotine and smoking are both excellent mood moderators and brain chemistry managers. You may have been self-medicating with your tobacco use. Talk to your physician about possibilities, and get information about medical and psychological approaches for treating depression. Information is available on the web, local libraries, bookstores, and local non-profit mental health organizations.
• The depression may be related to the quitting device or strategy that you are using, such as the patch, Zyban, or gradual reduction. Gather information about the strategy that you are using and other options.

Figuring out which of the above is the cause of your depression can be difficult -- trust your instincts, consult appropriate professionals, read up on the topic and follow your hunches. Often, your hunches are correct.

Causes of Anxiety When You Reduce or Quit Using Tobacco

If you believe that you are experiencing anxiety while you are in the reducing or quitting process, consider these possibilities for its cause:

•  
• The anxiety may be due to nicotine withdrawal. Consider using nicotine replacement therapies (gum, nasal spray, inhaler, patch), nutrition, exercise, social support, prescription medications and self-care to help with this process.
• The anxiety may have existed before you even started using tobacco, and is re-emerging now that you have reduced or quit. It can also be a symptom of imbalances in your brain chemistry. Nicotine and smoking are both excellent mood moderators and brain chemistry managers. You may have been self-medicating with your tobacco use. Talk to your physician about possibilities, and get information about medical and psychological approaches for treating anxiety. Information is available on the web, local libraries, bookstores, and local non-profit mental health organizations.
• The anxiety may be related to a quitting device or strategy that you are using, such as the patch, Zyban, or gradual reduction. Gather information about the strategy that you are using and their common side effects, and explore other options.

Figuring out the cause of your anxiety can be difficult -- trust your instincts, consult appropriate professionals, read up on the topic and follow your hunches. Often, your hunches are correct.

Signs of Depression

Depression can take a variety of forms and differing levels of intensity. It can range from being a mild twinge of uneasiness to a labyrinth of despair. The depression is often associated with a situation or relationship, but it can also highlight a melancholy disposition that experiences a chronic, usually mild to moderate, depression. Depression is often characterized by:

• A depressed mood for most of the day, or for more days than not, for at least two years.
• The occurrence of two or more of the following:
  • Poor appetite or overeating
  • Insomnia or hypersomnia
  • Low energy or fatigue
  • Low self-esteem
  • Poor concentration or difficulty making decisions
  • Feelings of hopelessness
• Your symptoms cause significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of your life.

Signs of Anxiety

Anxiety can take a variety of forms and differing levels of intensity. It can range from being a mild twinge of uneasiness to an intense panic attack. Anxiety is often associated with a situation or relationship, but it can also be "free-floating" or spontaneous. Anxiety is often characterized by:

• Shortness of breath.
• Heart palpitations (rapid or irregular heartbeat)
• Restlessness or feeling tense
• Feeling easily fatigued
• Irritability
• Sleep difficulties
• Trembling or shaking
• Sweating
• Choking
• Nausea or abdominal distress
• Numbness
• Dizziness or unsteadiness
• A feeling of detachment from yourself
• Hot flashes or chills
• Fear of going crazy
• Fear of failure
• Fear of rejection or abandonment
• Fear of not being able to cope or going out of control
• Fear of dying

Holistic Strategies for Changing Depression and Anxiety

A holistic approach is strongly recommended because it imposes healthy interventions that can affect your life on many levels: body, behavior, feelings, mind, relationships, spirituality and self-esteem.

Learning to command the "relaxation response" and enhancing personal wellness are of prime importance to everyone's health. The probability of your success is enhanced when you adopt changes that promote a more balanced and relaxed lifestyle. It is very important to upgrade your level of physical health. Therefore, skills for stress management, relaxation, exercise, and nutrition, in addition to the traditional behavioral and cognitive (mental) skills that are usually recommended, are important parts of a wholistic approach.

It is easier to cope with cravings for tobacco or the common irritability associated with nicotine withdrawal if you know how to reduce your stress and tension through relaxation skills. It is also easier to identify and change negative self-talk when you feel physically healthy and strong. A holistic approach reduces your predisposition to counterproductive attitudes, feelings and self-talk.

The good news is that both depression and anxiety are highly treatable in a variety of ways:

•  
• Talk to a friend.
• Write in your diary or journal.
• Exercise regularly, or just get moving with gardening or housework.
• Listen to relaxing or energizing music, and dance.
• Breathe deeply often.
• Eat nutritional, well-balanced meals with three to five food groups in each. Eat breakfast.
• Take stress-relieving nutritional supplements.
• Learn relaxation skills.
• Drink alcohol only in moderation (moderation is drinking no more than three drinks in a day, drinking no more than three days a week, and drinking no more than six to eight drinks in a week).
• Drink caffeinated drinks in moderation (moderation is drinking two to three cups per day, and not drinking caffeinated drinks within six hours of sleep).
• Learn to talk to yourself in a more positive and constructive manner. Use affirmations to counter mistaken belief and negative thoughts. Control the intensity and amount of your internal, highly critical thoughts.
• Learn to perceive the opportunities for growth in your problems.
• Learn how to prevent outside circumstances or people from causing you depression or anxiety. Practice de-sensitization skills.
• Develop a personal mission and goals for your life. Set out on a personal mission quest.
• Learn assertive communication skills.
• Enhance your self-esteem by learning skills that improve your self-mastery.
• Learn more about treating anxiety and depression.
• Talk to your physician or psychiatrist about the use of medications.