Anxiety Support Group

Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...

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Anxiety and Nicotine

OLA1123
OLA1123
Hi !

Does anyone have any information on nicotine and anxiety? I have noticed that my anxiety shoots up when i have a smoke...is it just me??

Any help with this would be great.
mellowamethyst
mellowamethyst
Hello OLA1123,

As an ex-smoker, cigarettes always use to calm my anxiety. BUT, I've also heard from many others that nicotine can have the opposite effect as well.

Here's some interesting research on the topic:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12151749

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2756080

-Amethyst
mellowamethyst
mellowamethyst
Forgot to add one:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24763184
immarcie
immarcie
I'm currently fighting to stay off the darn things myself. Aside from the anxiety caused by
that, I have noticed my "regular" anxiety is also ramped up.

I'm quitting because nicotine tends to worsen chronic pain which I already have more than enough of.

For me, they did lessen my anxiety but I also have heard they can have the opposite effect.

Seems it boils down to how each person's body
processes the nicotine, just as with any other drug.

Peace be with you....
mc
George70101
George70101
Soldiers were given free cigarettes for decades, they came in three packs of cigarettes in our C-Rations in Vietnam even. Nicotine differently calmed our nerves and anxiety a little, but it still wasn't worth it.