Speaking of habits. I've smoked in one form or another for more years than I didn't. I started smoking cigars at 18, working construction and picking up all kinds of interesting new habits. Then I started smoking cigarettes and put away a pack a day for 20 years. Tried the vape thing and that just didn't seem to do it for me so I started smoking the occasional cigar. As we all know, moderation is not something I'm capable of, so the occasional turned into the frequent and now I think I'm smoking as often as I ever did. It's time to quit this shit. Smoking is the one vice I just don't seem to be able to quit. Drugs I quit. Drinking, well, that's a once in a while thing now instead of an every day thing as it once was. I've even managed to get the eating under control. Now it's time to work on the next one. It's time to stop.
Though I'm loath to admit it, I'm getting old. 42 is next month. How much longer can I smoke before it becomes a serious issue? I feel it every morning when I wake up, that ever present reminder that I smoke. And yet I keep at it. I've seen the pictures, I've read the "literature" and heard the lectures. I've known the people who died of cancer or other smoking related issues. And yet I continue. I know why I continue, what I don't know yet is how to stop. Living with depression, nicotine has a different effect on me than many people. The addiction is actually worse.
Nicotine has been shown to have effects on anxiety and depression in both human and animal studies.These studies suggest that nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) can modulate the function of pathways involved in stress response, anxiety and depression in the normal brain, and that smoking can result in alterations of anxiety level and mood.(1) It's a bit like an antidepressant with some nasty effects that you get addicted to. Patients with depression tend to smoke a lot, which led to the idea that nicotine may ease depressive symptoms. Research has shown how the process works. Nicotine binds to particular receptor molecules on the surface of nerve cells in the brain, first activating the receptors, which actually increases depressive symptoms, but then when the receptors turn off, an antidepressant-like effect does seem to follow.(3)
In the UK, smoking rates among adults with depression are about twice as high as among adults without depression. People with depression have particular difficulty when they try to stop smoking and have more severe withdrawal symptoms during attempts to give up. Nicotine stimulates the release of the chemical dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is involved in triggering positive feelings. It is often found to be low in people with depression, who may then use cigarettes as a way of temporarily increasing their dopamine supply. However, smoking encourages the brain to switch off its own mechanism for making dopamine so in the long term the supply decreases, which in turn prompts people to smoke more.(4)
So here's to quitting, or losing my mind. Or both.
- Effect of nicotine and nicotinic receptors on anxiety and depression Marina R. Picciotto,CA Darlene H. Brunzell and Barbara J. Caldarone
- Virginia Commonwealth University. "Why nicotine in cigarettes can relieve anxiety in smokers." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 November 2012. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121108181723.htm>.
- Smoking and Depression: Targeting Nicotine Receptors To Relieve Depression
- Smoking and Mental Health
- Nicotine dependence and levels of depression and anxiety in smokers in the process of smoking cessation
No comments:
Post a Comment