Many current and ex smokers are wondering about depression when they quit. More and more, modern research is finding that depression and cigarette smoking are co-existing factors. Fortunately, they don’t have to be. Although depression usually precedes cigarette smoking, there are ways to beat both at the same time.

Smoking is More Common Among Depression Patients

Several recent studies have indicated that those of us who smoke tend to suffer from depression more frequently than the general population. Chemicals in the cigarettes, including nicotine, tend to alleviate the feeling of depression both by acting as anti-depressants and stimulating the nervous system.

Although current medical research does not indicate such, cigarettes also cause damage in the pre-frontal cortex which may be similar to that of depression. This makes quitting all the more important. Unfortunately, depression patients are only about half as likely to succeed in quitting as non-depressives.

How to Cope with Depression When Quitting

The first choice of action then for a depressive attempting to quit smoking is to alleviate your depression. This can be done in several ways.

1. Consider the fact that you are quitting – and all the positive benefits this has to offer you. Your health will improve. Your appearance will improve, you will have more time with friends and family, you will have more money to do things with. Track your progress and make it visible every day.

2. Go outside in the sun. Sunlight has proven effects on our brains and the balance of neurotransmitters within them. It will improve your mood.

3. Engage in physical activity. This can be work, exercise, fun, anything that gets you moving. Like sunlight, it will improve your mood tremendously with the added benefit of acting as a distraction from tobacco.

4. Seek council from a therapist or doctor if your not shy and consider taking medication temporarily to relieve symptoms. Some medications work both for reducing nicotine cravings and depression, like Zybana.

5. Develop a support network. With modern technology, this can either be in real life or on the Internet! You can develop an entire social support group online. What’s important is to have people you can talk to when your lonely and thinking about smoking, or any other time. A good social network will help you focus on other things which are much more positive.

Take the First Step in Helping Yourself During Depression

It is important to understand there are steps you can take when dealing with depression as a side effect of quitting. Usually the hardest part is taking the first action. Once you’re able to get out and move around addressing it with one of the previous options becomes much easier. This is where a social support network can really help – when you don’t feel like moving, someone else can get you up. Failing that – simply set alarms and reminders for yourself, and chart your progress in a big, obvious way.

In recent times a new trend has emerged based on the popular natural health movement. This trend is lung ‘detoxification’, and unsurprisingly it is a special concern amongst smokers and ex-smokers. Like body detoxification, the basic goal of lung detoxification is to clear unwanted debris from your lungs.

The Basics of Lung Detoxification

To begin, we should understand the basic procedures behind lung detoxification. Under normal circumstances, it is said that your body takes up to 15 years to remove all the tar and chemicals in your lungs from cigarette smoking. During this time, the tar causes blockages which prevent white blood cells known as macrophages from efficiently removing debris. The goal of lung detoxification is to speed the natural cleaning process up significantly.

This is usually done in two parts. First, a series of herbs and other supplements are used which (supposedly) act directly on the phlegm, tar, and other debris caught in your lungs. This breaks it up so you can cough it out easier and the macrophages can remove it more efficiently.

The second part involves boosting the efficiency of your overall body through diet and exercise with a special goal of increasing immune system function. This is said to boost the performance of the macrophages and further clear out your lungs.

How Well Does Lung Detox Work?

The only problem with this entire process is the fact that no current scientific evidence exists in support of it. It is of course nearly impossible to check the condition of your lungs before and after, so any claims about faster debris removal are unsubstantiated.

The idea that exercise and diet can boost your immuno-efficiency is good, and of course being healthier always has benefits. This does not necessarily translate into cleaner lungs in a shorter time, however.

That being said, there are many people who have tried different variations of the lung detox program and reported positive results. Since its unlikely to cause any harm, you might say it’ worth trying just to find out if it helps.

Are there any Other Ways to Clean my Lungs?

The short answer is no. There is currently no scientifically valid method of clearing the lungs of debris any faster than would happen naturally. Think of the tar built up in your lungs like that which collects on the underside of your car after driving on a freshly oiled road. It is extremely difficult to remove. And the tar in your lungs collects in the aveoli (air sacs) where it is least accessible to your cilia (lung hairs). On top of that, those cilia are usually damaged from years of smoking also.

Lifestyle Choices can Help Clean your Lungs and Body

While there may not currently be a cure all method of cleaning your lungs, we do know that a healthy diet, exercise, good sleeping habits, and plenty of water can make a significant difference in your body’s waste removal and immune system. So don’t give up hope if a lung detox doesn’t quite live up to your expectations. With time and good habits, you can restore yourself to full capacity as if you never smoked at all!

This is a question frequently asked both by those of us who are considering quitting smoking and by those who have recently quit. Sometimes we ask because we want to take up new activities, other times we’re unsure if the damage that has already been done is permanent – and thus whether quitting is worth the effort. There are often many questions surrounding the quit smoking movement, but here are answers to these very common ones.

How your Lungs Heal after Smoking

Fortunately reality is in our favor. According to our latest scientific information, our lungs do heal substantially after we quit. Three days after quitting, the little hairs in our lungs called ‘cilia’ begin to regenerate – even if they’ve suffered substantial damage. This allows the aveoli to recover, and the result is within three months, we have regained as much as 1/3rd of the original function of our lungs!

In addition to lung capacity is another sometimes less thought of but certainly no less important topic – cancer. Lung cancer is the greatest risk factor associated with smoking. As the cells in your lungs begin to change in response to cigarette chemicals (squamous cell), your risk of all cancer types goes up. And thus if you quit smoking now, your chances of surviving increase significantly.

Diet and Exercise Help Lungs Heal Even More

After you quit smoking, it only makes sense that you follow up with the health benefits of good diet and exercise. Eating several servings of fruits and vegetables every day can speed up the healing process tremendously. They contain anti-oxidants, are low in fat, don’t contribute to excess cholesterol, and provide both the macro and micro-nutrients your body needs for recovery.

And as we all know, exercise has been associated with a range of health benefits as well. A regular program will speed the recovery of your cardiovascular system. It will give you more endurance faster than recovery without exercise. And both diet and exercise with further reduce your chances of developing cancer.

Many people have succeeded in quitting with a healthy diet and exercise program and found they felt as good as at any time in their past life. Their greatest realization is that the damage caused by smoking was absolutely no excuse for not terminating this life-sucking habit immediately.

Many mothers-to-be struggle with the idea of continuing their smoking habit during pregnancy. On one hand, they don’t want to hurt their baby. But on the other hand, they have this very ingrained habit which they have used as a coping mechanism for daily life. It’s difficult to simply stop smoking when you know you’re going to be pregnant.

When making any decision, it helps to know the consequences. And the consequences of smoking during pregnancy are many. Here is what you want to know about how smoking affects you and your baby during pregnancy

What Cigarette Smoke does to your Baby

Probably the most significant risk cigarettes pose to your baby during pregnancy is in the form of reduced oxygen. Nicotine and Carbon monoxide work together to restrict the umbilical cord and blood vessels throughout your body. This can cause anything from stunted growth to birth defects, miscarriage, premature birth, even stillbirth. After your baby is born it can continue to affect him or her by increasing risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, causing withdrawal symptoms, and affecting cardiovascular capacity for the rest of their life – along with any stunting or defects that may have occured.

How Smoking Affects Your Body During Pregnancy

As if these potential risks to your unborne child weren’t enough, cigarettes don’t stop there. You also face problems in your own body. Any mother who thinks a smaller child may be better for birth will be suprised to learn their smoking habit can greatly disrupt normal birthing. It does this through Placenta Previa and Placental Abruption. In the former, your placenta changes position to cover most or all of the opening in your uterus. In Placental Abruption, the placenta pulls away from the uterine wall almost entirely.

In addition to birthing problems, smoking mothers-to-be (and fathers) may also face fertility problems – as the same chemicals which affect fetal development can cause infertility in both genders, and changes in chromosones.

Why it’s Never too Late to Quit Smoking

If you are already smoking during pregnancy, it is still possible to greatly reduce the risk of side effects by quitting now. Some studies indicate that quitting during the first trimester is associated with no increased risk of premature birth or stillbirth.

Also by quitting early, you can prevent your baby from having a lifetime of smoking by serving as a good role model when they get older. After all, by the time they’re in highschool, fewer people will be smoking than at any other time in history.

Thinking about quitting smoking? Then you probably have many questions. And as it turns out – you’re not alone! Many of us are wondering about the same things, so here are the most common smoking Questions and Answers:

How Long Does Nicotine Stay in your Body?

Your brain becomes free of nicotine within approximately 40 minutes of your last cigarette. However, small residual amounts of the drug stay with you for over two weeks. The exact period varies depending upon several factors such as your smoking rate, body weight, and lifestyle habits. What most of us want to know is: How long will my withdrawal last?! And that answer is: symptoms peak at about 3 days. After that, its a downward curve for about another 2 weeks – the same time nicotine remains in your bloodstream. Be aware your body adjusts quickly, however, and many systems will begin rebalancing within those first 3 days.

How Can I Quit Smoking without Gaining Weight?

Immediately after you quit smoking, your appetite can still be driven by chemical changes caused from years of smoking. At the same time, your used to ‘lighting up’ when you feel anxiety. This ‘double whammy’ means some of us form an emotional habit of eating to comfort themselves. Eating releases endorphins and increases your blood sugar – making you feel better. The solution here is to simply replace the desire to eat with a healthier activity before the habit forms. Go for a walk (or other exercise), go to the movies, chew a stick of gum, get involved in a conversation, drink some water, or anything which will put your mind into the ‘flow’ and out of your stream of emotions.

Why Should I Quit Smoking?

The best reason that could ever possibly be for quitting smoking is that we care about ourselves and those around us. Unfortunately, some of us struggle with depression issues at the same time, and this makes it more difficult to be positive in this way. If this is your case, it could make quitting more difficult and the depression may need to be solved as a separate issue.

In reality, you will feel better over time after you quit. Regardless how much your mind wants to think that cigarettes help you cope, in fact they always make it worse in a way not so obvious when we’re using them. Additionally, you will have a longer, healthier life as damage starts to reverse itself and your chances of stroke, heart disease, and cancer drop significantly. The further you go into the future without smoking, the greater your damage is healed.

A final reason is simply the expense! We through away hundreds of dollars a month to rich corporate barons who want nothing more than our money for our lives! Some of these ‘evil’ corporations are the greatest obstacle to piece and prosperity in our world! It’s time we stop our donations to them!

What’s the Best Way to Quit Smoking?

Really, this is a choice you should make based upon knowing yourself. There are thousands of products out there, and statistically some are definitely better than others. Some of us swear by simply going ‘cold turkey’ – stopping without any help and never looking back. Others find Hypnosis, NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming), and herbal supplements to reduce any suffering tremendously. Nicotine replacement therapy is also available, though more of us are finding we simply remain addicted to the ‘treatment’ and continue wasting our time and money.

Whichever choice you make, a program that focuses on your emotional habits as well as the withdrawal symptoms is always the safest choice, and usually the most effective. This has made NLP or Hypnosis combined with Herbal supplements a very popular choice in recent times.

Just remember that quitting, like anything in life, starts with believing in yourself. This is 90% of the battle.

If you have recently quit cigarettes or are thinking about quitting, you may be concerned about feeling sick and other bad withdrawal symptoms. You’re not alone. Nausea is one of the most common side effects of nicotine withdrawal. It can occur days after you quit, or one night after your last cigarette. And the period for which it lasts can vary from minute to weeks.

What Makes Us Feel Sick After Quitting

A variety of factors come together to create that nauseating feeling in our stomach when we haven’t had our ‘nicotine fix’. First, nicotine is a powerful stimulant. This causes our nervous system, stomach, and intestines to overreact. Eventually, our body learns to compensate. When the nicotine is gone, our hormones and body chemicals fluctuate, with the ensuing chaos causing feelings of nausea.

Another factor in nausea from nicotine withdrawal is our blood sugar. When we smoke, our bodies adjust to the constant glucose spikes brought on by the chemical reactions of nicotine in our bloodstream. After we quit, symptoms of low blood sugar may be present while we readjust. This can include nausea as well as headaches.

Additionally, nicotine can cause or contribute to these further digestive issues:

• Leaky Gut Syndrome
• Heartburn
• Ulcers
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome

The exact experience varies significantly from person to person. In worst case scenarios, a few people have reported symptoms lasting for weeks, with a resurgence every morning. Usually, however, they disappear after a week or so, when our body readjusts

Relief from Nicotine Induced Nausea

You currently have several options for reducing nausea from nicotine withdrawal. The most common are prescription medications. While these can sometimes be effective, they often induce many side effects themselves including dizziness and nausea (go figure).

Some of us find a few simple diet modifications are enough. Drinking green tea with honey and eating a light, healthy, easily digested meal may be enough to cure mild nausea right after quitting.

Becoming increasingly available are a new generation of quit smoking cessation programs. These systems are taking into account both the psychological dependence as well as the physical nicotine addiction. By addressing the problem holistically, a multitude of withdrawal symptoms which often co-exist can be eliminated. This includes nausea, anxiety, depression, cravings, and more.