Doing something active is great for your physical and mental health; fresh air and raising your heartbeat all contribute to relieving the symptoms of stress. 3. Breathe. Breathing exercises or mindfulness practices such as meditation and yoga can help you manage the way your mind and your body respond to stress.
A short walk every day—even for just 15 minutes—will help you manage stress as you withdraw from nicotine. Walking reduces edginess and improves circulation. Exercise releases endorphins (the "feel-good" hormone). When the urge to smoke strikes, head out for a walk around the block.
Try nicotine replacement therapy
The options include: Prescription nicotine in a nasal spray or inhaler. Nicotine patches, gum and lozenges you can buy without a prescription. Prescription non-nicotine stop-smoking drugs such as bupropion (Wellbutrin SR, Wellbutrin XL, others) and varenicline.
Smoking, anxiety and mood
It's a common belief that smoking helps you relax. But smoking actually increases anxiety and tension. Smokers are also more likely than non-smokers to develop depression over time.
Quitting smoking reduces stress
Although withdrawal symptoms from nicotine – such as depression and anxiety – can mask the improvements from a quit attempt, nicotine replacement therapy can help people quit by reducing these symptoms.
Many people who smoke do so because they believe it calms them down. This is because nicotine is a mood-altering drug and it seems to smolder feelings of frustration, anger, and anxiety when it's inhaled.
Although both feeling stressed constantly and being a regular smoker have negative effects on physical and mental wellbeing, smoking is considered worse.
Many people find withdrawal symptoms disappear completely after two to four weeks, although for some people they may last longer. Symptoms tend to come and go over that time. Remember, it will pass, and you will feel better if you hang on and quit for good.
Studies have found that anxiety is one of the most common negative feelings associated with quitting. If anxiety occurs, it usually builds over the first 3 days after quitting and may last several weeks (1).
When you're really happy or really upset, you might notice a sudden craving for a cigarette. Maybe you would always smoke when drinking alcohol. Or maybe you're used to smoking while you drive, or when you go out with friends. Doing these things after you've quit smoking can trigger a craving.
The ensemble of studies to date suggest that under certain conditions nicotine can act as an anxiolytic and an antidepressant, but that following chronic use, adaptations to nicotine can occur resulting in increased anxiety and depression following withdrawal.
Vaping versus smoking
Vaping exposes users to far fewer toxins than cigarette smoking, and vapes do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, 2 of the most harmful substances in tobacco smoke.
There is no safe smoking option — tobacco is always harmful. Light, low-tar and filtered cigarettes aren't any safer — people usually smoke them more deeply or smoke more of them. The only way to reduce harm is to quit smoking.
1: Vaping is less harmful than smoking, but it's still not safe. E-cigarettes heat nicotine (extracted from tobacco), flavorings and other chemicals to create an aerosol that you inhale. Regular tobacco cigarettes contain 7,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic.
Cravings for nicotine can start 30 minutes after your last cigarette. Individual cravings usually pass in 3 to 5 minutes. You may get the most cravings 2 to 3 days after you stop smoking. You should stop getting cravings 4 to 6 weeks after you stop smoking.
Cigarette cravings typically peak in the first few days after quitting and diminish greatly over the course of the first month without smoking. 1 While you might miss smoking from time to time, once you make it past six months, the urge to smoke will be diminished or even gone.
Once you quit smoking, you might notice an increase of symptoms that feel like mental health conditions. This is a result of nicotine withdrawal and not necessarily an indication that your mental health is getting worse. Some of the feelings you may notice include: Depression, sadness, or sense of loss.
Nicotine withdrawal symptoms usually begin a few hours after your last cigarette. They are usually strongest in the first week. For most people, nicotine withdrawal fade and are gone after about 2 to 4 weeks. Chat to your doctor or a Quitline counsellor if you find that nicotine withdrawal is lasting longer.
The first few days of quitting smoking can be the most challenging. You may have strong regular cravings due to nicotine withdrawal and also from smoking triggers. Being prepared and knowing what to expect can make things easier.
Within 20 minutes after you smoke that last cigarette, your body begins a series of changes that continue for years. Your heart rate drops. Carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal. Your heart attack risk begins to drop.