Quitting and Mental Health

[RainbowHeart]

Hi there! This is not something I talk about a lot, but I thought it might help someone or at least get a conversation going. I suffer from schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. It causes all kinds of wild and crazy stuff in my brain. I've heard people over my many years of serial quitting say things along the lines of "mental illness makes it harder for me to quit" or "when I get manic I can't stop myself from smoking" or stuff like that and I just want to say we CAN quit and stay quit. It is no less doable for someone with bipolar than it is for someone with diabetes. What DOES make it harder is a lack of a good support system, which is true of anyone, not just those with mental illness. Lucky for us, there exist sites like this, but even then it can be hard to connect with people who really understand. I just want anybody out there who may be suffering to know that they are not alone, and if you are struggling to quit with your illness, please send me a message. I will try my best to help 💜 I'm definitely not saying I am an expert, and I don't even have a year without a puff under my belt yet, but I am a good listener and absolutely will not judge.

[WhispersQSMB]

So true, my friend who is Bi-polar was able to quit. I think we all suffer from some mental illness and they are not alone

[sweetplt]

Rainbowheart, You are to be admired writing this post and offering help to those with mental illness...wishing you a great day...Colleen 836 DOF

[2021july28]

RainbowHeart, thank you for your information and support of those suffering from mental health issues Your message helped me so much  You are very courageous and admirable for sharing this!  It is so hard to talk about sometimes. Through the years mental health has been easier to talk about for me and I find it easier to admit to having mental health issues since it is much more accepted now (and I know that I’m not the only one that has it). So many more people understand or really try to understand. They realize mental health is not so scary and we ARE wierd sometimes but aren’t we all?🤣. I like to joke😉   It is a disease  like diabetes or kidney disease.  We take the appropriate medications and follow doctors orders. Most of my days are good. But some days my schizophrenia, bi-polar or social anxiety show up and I deal with it and realize what it is.
My quit date is 8/14/21.  I have been a member for 2 days. This  site and community is (I can already tell) going to be so helpful to me. Sounds like it has been for so many!  

loving my community of EX’s

Sharon

quit date 8/14/21

[Juliejules2456]

Hi I suffer from pretty bad anxiety and depression. I think it makes me feel like my quit is harder because I smoked through all these tough emotions. I’m currently using nicoderm patches and gum. It’s been 7 days since I had a cigarette and the cravings are horrible, I fight the urges to go across the street to my neighbors who smoke and ask them for a cigarette. I sometimes feel that the cigarettes will take the edge off, but it’s failed me before and I know that I can’t have just one. I hope that the cravings ease up because I feel so restless. When I feel bored I want a cigarette as well. This has been really hard. I just needed to vent but any advice is appreciated. 

julie

[Barbscloud]

@Juliejules2456 Welcome to the Ex. and congrats on 7 days.  Your name sounds familiar-were you with us before?  I can't specially address your anxiety and depression, accept to say, that quitting would normally help to alleviate some of those symptoms.   If you're on medications, you might want to check with you health care provider to see if any adjustments are warranted with your quit.  

Most of us have used smoking to alleviate the stresses of life.  And even though we got temporarily relief from ingesting nicotine, it doesn't last so we need more to keep that high  going. In that way, we're all alike.   

What tools are you using instead of smoking?   It really helps to stay busy.  Can you go for a walk?  Even short ones help to distract from our cravings and we get an added boost of dopamine.  

Hopefully you'll find these article helpful.

Anxiety and mental health - EX Community

Quitting Smoking Can Improve Mental Health - EX Community

Debunking myths around quitting and mental health - EX Community

One quick tip to improve mental health: Quit smoki... - EX Community

Keep up the good work.  Withdrawal can be hard so appreciate how great you're doing.

We're here for you, so continue to reach out.

Barb

@RainbowHeart 

[RainbowHeart]

Hi @Juliejules2456 I'm so glad you've quit! Yay us!

Yes, your anxiety may feel worse at first, what a lot of that is the craving masquerading as anxiety. But quitting also changes the way you metabolize your medications, so definitely take @Barbscloud 's advice and tell your doc you have quit and what you are feeling so they can adjust dosage as needed.

When you get up in the morning, take a pledge. Either the one here on the site, or just a personal one to yourself. Say, today I won't buy or bum any smokes. Then stay busy. My favorites are walking and videogames, but yours will likely be different. A great tip I got early in my quit was to take up a hobby you've never done before, one you don't associate with smoking. For me it was painting. Before I quit a stick figure was about the best I could do. Now I paint my cat, the dogs, the neighborhood, etc. Just pick something that always looked like fun and get started.

Good luck and I'm so glad you're here!

[Andyneedstoquit]

Hi, I would be honored to join the mental disorder group. I’m a high functioning person with depression/ anxiety disorder who smoked heavily for 30 years. I have 45 days and so thankful every day for that. I firmly agree with the “craving is masquerading as anxiety theory.” I also agree that quitting will likely benefit your mental health as on a chemical level you will have more oxygen in your brain. What really helps me is putting in perspective when I have a craving; hence, I realized that my mental health was an impediment on my productivity when I was smoking, and it is still an impediment when I am not smoking. I don’t fall for my mind saying you will focus better if you have a cigarette because looking at that false thought historically it was never true. I would love to discuss and stay in touch with those who suffer mental illness so we can exchange thoughts. Also, I would be remiss not to mention that those who don’t suffer mental illness on this site have profound insights as well. We are all trying to beat this demon.

[RainbowHeart]

@2021july28 , are you still around the site? I'm so sorry I didn't reply to you last year. I hope that your quit is solid and your health is good.

[RainbowHeart]

Hi @Andyneedstoquit ! I forgot about this blog entirely, but now I will check in from time to time. Congratulations on 45 days! Woot! Welcome to the group!

[Andyneedstoquit]

Thank you for your encouragement and welcome! Look forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts and engaging in a dialogue 

[Juliejules2456]

Hi all

Someone had mentioned that cigarettes make you metabolize medications differently and I need to speak to my doctor about this. One of my medications is now giving me a side effect that I never had before. 

[Barbscloud]

@Juliejules2456 Glad you're following up with you doctor.  Keep us posted.

Barb