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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – We’re all well-aware of the harmful physical effects of smoking. From lung disease to increased risk of heart attack and stroke, drooping skin, and more, smoking cigarettes is truly one of the most harmful habits you can find yourself attached to. But did you know that smoking actually affects more than just your body? It can also affect your mind.
Many people smoke cigarettes to calm anxiety or stress and help “calm down” after a long day at work or after a long project. While it sounds good in theory, smoking can actually increase your anxiety levels rather than help them. Not to mention, knowing that you’re eventually going to have to handle the negative consequences of a life-long smoking habit can cause dread and even greater anxiety.
So, does quitting smoking help your mental health? Let’s look closer at what lighting up does to your brain.
Cigarette Chemicals
When you consider all of the harmful chemicals and toxins that live in a single cigarette, you gain a greater appreciation for the incredible resilience of the human body. Inside that cigarette are around 4-7,000 chemicals. Around 70 of these are known carcinogens and the other few thousand aren’t exactly medicinal. And yet, the body still manages to function even with heavy smoking, pushing onward and trying its best to circulate blood and airflow despite being metaphorically shot in the foot.
Those chemicals don’t just rip through your heart, lungs, throat, skin, and other bodily systems; they also wreak havoc on your brain. Nicotine is actually the main issue here. While we think cigarettes calm our anxiety, we’re actually being tricked by an addiction to nicotine.
Nicotine withdrawal can begin a few minutes after you’ve finished your cigarette and peak about two hours later. This is why smokers tend to light up every couple of hours. While your brain thinks that lighting up is helping your anxiety, you’re actually just fulfilling that nicotine addiction; and temporarily dealing with the anxiety, restlessness, and irritability that accompanies nicotine withdrawal.
Essentially, you’re using cigarettes to try to address the anxiety caused by…cigarettes. Doesn’t make much sense, does it?
Smoking and Depression
Did you know that smokers are actually more likely to have depression than non-smokers? This sobering fact begs the question why? What is it about smoking cigarettes that wreaks such havoc on the mind? The CDC says that people with depression are more likely to smoke higher amounts, more often, and have more trouble quitting.
While we’re not yet sure why cigarettes are linked to depression, it could be something to do with nicotine. We smoke to feel better, right? Again, smoking doesn’t actually relieve anxiety; just the withdrawal symptoms from nicotine. You can smoke as many cigarettes as you want, and that monster that is depression will still be waiting for you.
Whatever the case may be, the bottom line remains: smoking is detrimental to both physical and mental health. It’s time we addressed this health pandemic and start focusing on alternatives like vape products and tobaccoless dip.
Big Tobacco Doesn’t Want You To Quit
The tobacco industry brings in billions of dollars in revenue worldwide annually. While smoking has actually decreased over the last few decades, there are still enough smokers to keep big tobacco rich; which means they’ve got plenty of money to keep advertising and contributing to the public health crisis that is smoking.
With a product that contains a high number of carcinogens and harmful chemicals, shouldn’t cigarettes be illegal? The sad fact is that despite the harmful effects that cigarettes can have on human health, the decision to start smoking is a personal one, and tobacco companies prey on that choice as well as the ensuing addiction to their products.
You can give up the habit for good; despite what your anxiety-ridden thoughts might have to say. The only thing you’re doing is taking years off your life and contributing to your own mental health crisis. Not to mention, the average smokers spends hundreds of dollars per month on cigarettes, so you’re putting a hole in your wallet, too.
It’s Time To Quit
There’s never been a better time in history to give up smoking for good. The internet has connected us with the world at large, and given us unlimited resources to help solve just about any problem you can think of, including quitting smoking.
There are apps, online support groups, advice forums, helpful articles like this one, and so much more on the web. You don’t have to take the journey alone! Make your physical and mental health a priority and ditch the cigarettes forever. You’ll feel happier, healthier, and more ready to take on life’s challenges without the crutch of cigarettes. Who could say no to that?