Cigarettes and anxiety?

[want2beclean]

Hi I was curious if anyone has experienced the worst of anxiety while smoking cigarettes. It used to be cigarettes would calm me down, now it seems I have the worst paranoid thoughts and anxiety when I wake up in the morning and am smoking that first cig by myself outside, my mind tends to race and I just panic.

[AUDRADAVID]

all that i know is that i had more anxiety attacks while i was smoking rather than now that i have quit. I think i have 1 or 2 a year after quitting smoking. and i have read that ciggs can make you more anxious. it is a stimulant like coffee and after having a near heart-attack-feeling anxiety attack i was told by doctors to reduce my caffeine intake to near nothing and quit smoking. both coffee and ciggs together are 2 bad stimulants to those with panic/anxiety disorders.

[Sorta Kinda]

About a month ago, I managed to stop smoking for about a week and noticed considerably steadier hands. I never realize how hooked I am on cigs until I run back to them.

[IceWolf]

Cigs only make anxeity/panic attacks worse. I was so dissapointed to learn that they are a stimulant, not a depressant. Smoking during an attack is like throwing more gas on the fire, don't do it. And yes, they can cause anxeity where it didn't already exist too.

IceWolf

[Sonny McB]

Yah, aside from getting on a strict cardio routine, one of the main reasons I don't smoke anymore.

AND THEY NEVER CALM anyone down. They just calm down your craving for a cigarette. lol

[warholian]

I got the same result - I would feel fine, and then light up a smoke and, suddenly, my heart was in my throat and I would feel like crying or screaming, or vomiting. I had to quit, because I got the feeling everytime I smoked, and it was causing alot of trouble just living day-to-day.

[acon4726]

Cigarettes used to make me really anxious too! I noticed that if I smoked one right before bed I wouldn't be able to sleep for another 30 minutes to an hour. Quitting has made me feel much more at ease.

[repsvssweats]

Smokes thin the blood, and thats the last thing you want to happen if you are having an attack. I’m a disgustingly heavy smoker, but if I ever found myself spending the day with my disorder I hardly touched them.

[littleone]

Originally Posted by warholian

I got the same result - I would feel fine, and then light up a smoke and, suddenly, my heart was in my throat and I would feel like crying or screaming, or vomiting. I had to quit, because I got the feeling everytime I smoked, and it was causing alot of trouble just living day-to-day.

I still smoke but I feel that is doesn't really help me when i get all stressed out maybe just for the first drag or what not but I think I use ciggarettes as and excuse for hiding how I feel, I tell people that is helps me relax when I know inside it doesn't I make the thought " it helps me relax" the way I cope but it doesn't help me at all. I feel that its just to let people know that i will be okay even thought I know im lieing to them and myself. I hide quiet alot of how I feel its like faking a smile.

[Mattcake]

During my smoke-free stints I found that my anxiety and depression lowered dramatically. One of my main anxiety symptoms is dizziness, and smoking causes me to feel just that, feel faint and just "not quite here". I'm fine when I wake up in the morning but as soon as I light up BAM, I need to sit down for a while. I drag myself throughout the rest of the day in a semi-fog.
Also, within 2 days of quitting, I find that my energy, self confidence and motivation goes through the roof. I feel really at ease. Hmm... I should really work on quitting permanently.

M

[Bard]

You're not alone. I use to think it was just me who got that feeling when I smoked. It wasn't all the time. I could smoke 3 in a row on lunch break and be alright. But other times after taking 3-4 drags off of just one it would start. It was a pretty good motivation for me to stop smoking all together.

[mbachman]

From what I have read on the matter (not especially a lot, but much personal experience), nicotine does not have an anxiety-reducing effect, excepting those persons who are addicted to it. For me at least, if I don't chew tobacco for a good six hours, I begin to become more nervous as the initial effects of withdrawal set in.

I wouldn't be able to comment on whether or not smoking would increase/decrease anxiety disregarding the withdrawal, as quitting tobacco use (for good) is just not something I feel like committing myself to at the present time. It's extremely hard, and if there's anyone out there on the fence about getting hooked to help dissipate anxiety, I wouldn't recommend it.

[aNewEternity]

it's a stimulant so it makes sense that it would increase anxiety. if someone is addicted to nicotine it is plausible that alleviation of the withdrawal effects would for a short time decrease anxiety. I have found recently that smoking cigarettes (and use of other methods of delivering nicotine) increases my anxiety levels.

[soberlicious]

I agree with the poster that said it reduces the anxiety of craving, but not anxiety in general. I quit drinking almost 6 years ago and everyone said "Don't worry about the smoking. One thing at a time." I held on to that idea with every fiber of my being. I wish I hadn't believed that it was "just too hard" to quit 2 addictions at once. I have smoked for 30 years. I just quit 5 months ago. Sure it was hard for a week or two. Like super hard. I'm not gonna lie, it was damned hard. But too hard? like impossibly hard? NO. That's just yet another lie addiction likes to tell.

I do believe smoking made me more anxious. There were times I would smoke through difficult times to "calm down" and I would find my throat closing up with increased anxiety. Gagging, but smoking anyway. It is so disgusting.

I cannot describe how good it feels to be free of smoking.

[marty83]

same problem here and things spike like crazy when i smoke weed.

[BuffaloBill]

Absolutely.
I know cigarettes are very bad for my ability to be calm,
and so I am very on-again off-again with them.

They make it impossible for me to sleep.
If I go out drinking I usually find myself craving and smoking other people's.
I did this the other night : I chained down a bunch of rollie cigs from somebody's packet,
and now, two days later, I have noticed my heart is racing, my chest is tight, and I am feeling worried [partly from stupid behaviour done while drinking, but I think mixed with cigarette-anxiety].

[rkock]

i have the same thing. it seems like when I smoke, i get noscious and more anxious. but, nowhere on the internet could i find an article that confirms that cigs actually increase the anxiety/stress and not alleviate. can anybody confirm these conclusions?

[Katt1825]

I agree 100%. I literally tried to be a smoker to help with my anxiety, lol. Baaaad idea. Heart rate increases, palms sweat, total exacerbation.

[soberlicious]

Originally Posted by krock

Can anybody confirm these conclusions?

You have already observed what happens when you smoke. That's all the confirmation you need. Your body is telling you everything you need to know. Listen to it.

[wiscsober]

I agree that smoking a cigarette reduced the anxiety of the craving...I've smoked heavily lately because I thought I was bordering on mania....screwy

I haven't had a smoke in 8 hours yeah. Have patch on..but plan on cold turkey tomorrow