does nicotine affect depression?

[Karen]

I am not doing well at all lately and I'm wondering if there is a direct link between nicotine and depression? I have bipolar and I've been stable with my meds for about 5 years but now that I've quit smoking my depression is coming back BIG time:( Maybe it's other stressers in my life or maybe it's no nicotine, I don't know.

Lots of stuff going on right now, none of it simple to solve.

At any rate got in to see my shrink yesterday and he increased my antidepressant so I PRAY that helps me not get sucked into that dark black hole that I fear so much. Thanks for any feedback on this.

 

[beacon]

I think so.  What I have noticed from being on these nonsmoking boards that a lot of people suffer from some sort of depression or anxiety. Not everyone, but a lot, including me. I wonder if some of the reasons we smoked was to try to help with this.  I do know that I did not feel so great in a way after I quit.  For me was a great well of anger rose up and stayed with me for a while including some paranoia.  It did go away after some time. I still feel like I am more serious now that I do not smoke, less carefree, but that could be all in my mind.  Now, I do not regret quitting one bit and I also felt great joy in achieving this goal after so many years of smoking. 

 

[beacon]

p.s. What helped a lot was some daily exercise and I started to do meditation after taking a class. 

 

[Sunnyside]

Karen, it certainly can have an effect. I have suffered with depression on and off for years. When I quit. I sank very deep, there were other things happening but quitting did have a major effect on me at that time.

 

I am now being tapered off them slowly. And i am feeling fine at the moment. I hope the dosage works out for you and you start to stabilise. The black hole is not a nice place to be.

 

I don't know weather you suffer with anxiety too but that definitely got worst before it got better. It does happen Karen, I promise you, when you do get through this you will be pleased that you keep going.

[BAT]

My toughest time was a little over a month after I quit, but it didn't last long. Remember your mind will try to trick you into making an excuse for you to get back on the nicotine drug. Sounds like it's time for you to get out and take a walk and jolt your mind into thinking of something else.

 

Stay strong. It gets better  :)

[JudiMD]

I am not doing well at all lately and I'm wondering if there is a direct link between nicotine and depression? I have bipolar and I've been stable with my meds for about 5 years but now that I've quit smoking my depression is coming back BIG time:( Maybe it's other stressers in my life or maybe it's no nicotine, I don't know.

Lots of stuff going on right now, none of it simple to solve.

At any rate got in to see my shrink yesterday and he increased my antidepressant so I PRAY that helps me not get sucked into that dark black hole that I fear so much. Thanks for any feedback on this.

Definitely has been for me. I've suffered with depression most of my life, but really escalated after I quit smoking. Everybody is different, however.

[Morgan]

I dont struggle too much with depression - and this quit, I am actually remaining pretty OK overall. But I exercise a LOT - I still have my moments but my overall control over my emotions is doing OK this time around. I remember the first time I quit smoking though (man 5 years ago!) and all i did was lay in bed and cry for months when I wasn't at work. It was like... go to work, go home, lay in bed and cry - it was really quite crazy -- so I completely think quitting smoking can effect your mood. At least for me the first time around, I finally did even out after several months. I actually started running and that is what helped me.

[IndigoChilde]

I'm bipolar so I suffer from depression at times. It didn't really hit me hard until after about a month, and then I was just out of it. But once I pulled out of it my cravings lessened big time to being almost gone, so I think I just had to go through that. The first three days my depression really kicked my butt too.

[MarylandQuitter]

Karen,

 

These are difficult times for sure and nobody knows that better than you.  What you're going through and what you're feeling are temporary and I say that because there is always a solution; medication can always be adjusted, changed etc.  The important thing is that you don't entertain the notion that smoking will solve any of this because as we all know, it can't and it never will.  Stay strong!  :)

 

Quitting Smoking & Mental Health

Video discusses how most people experience minor emotional reactions when first quitting, but also how people with pre-existing mental health issues may need physician assistance in dealing with problems that seem to be exacerbated after quitting.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ysFk0-pQ3A

 

Medication Adjustments That May Be Necessary After Smoking Cessation

Video discusses how many medications that were prescribed to people while they were still smoking may need to be adjusted after they quit.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cILrIM3PQPY

 

Going Back To Normal After Quitting Smoking

Video discusses how after quitting smoking a person will eventually get back to normal. Normal does not mean going back to the normal they experienced when they were smoking but more accurately, what they were like before they ever took up smoking with effects of aging now thrown in.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUKBBcZ26BQ

[Karen]

I'm starting to feel a little better due to the increased med. Yes, this one acts quickly with my brain, thank God. Thank you so much for all of your replies. This place is beautiful :heart:

[buMbLeB]

Glad you're feeling better, looks like you got a lot of good replies. I'll just add that I also experienced a crushing depression about a month after I quit, and it did persist for a while. But once it lifted I felt better than I had in years, and it never came back. What really helped me in those times was the realization that my brain was going a little screwy as I undid my nicotine wiring, and those emotions weren't "real", they were chemical artifacts. If you can disassociate yourself from those "feelings" you might find it easier to put them in perspective.

[I can do this]

Glad you are feeling better.

My anxiety has been awful since quitting. Don't know if they are related or I'm just paying closer attention. Trying to work through it without meds.

[Frezflops]

I agree with beacon how most of us possibly used nicotine to self medicate essentially.....I know I always had anxiety and I think I used cigs to ease it up(even though it increases anxiety) now i am some medication that has been helping so far.