Quitting Smoking and Depression
Written by: Jason D
After several attempts to quit smoking I was beginning to get discouraged from the failure of doing so time and time again. Most of my attempts resolved around quitting “cold turkey” and trying to gradually decrease my smoking habit over time. My desire to quit was strong but I lacked the discipline and will power to actually quit smoking. With the challenges in my life along with my failed attempts at quitting smoking I began to find myself suffering from many signs of depression.
The last thing I needed while trying to quit smoking was depression. For me a big part of smoking was not to feel so depressed. I smoked when I needed an energy boost, when I needed help concentrating, thinking, and even to help me sleep at night. I had finally had enough and visited my local doctor to find out more about the feelings I was having along with my attempts to quit smoking. Upon completion of my examination I was diagnosed with mild depression. I was unable to see the full extent of it because I was smoking to alleviate many of the effects of depression.
Taking into account my desire to quit smoking and the extent of my depression I was prescribed Wellbutrin, which is an anti-depressant that has shown to help individuals quit smoking and lessen the effects of nicotine withdrawal. That is exactly what it did for me. Taking Wellbutrin to quit smoking turned out to be a great alternative to many of the other quit smoking aids available. Compared to my previous attempts to quit smoking the feeling associated with depression and nicotine withdrawal was significantly reduced by using Wellbutrin.
There were some mild side affects to using Wellbutrin to quit smoking but they did not pose a problem for me and interfered far less than the nicotine withdrawal I used to encounter. Talking with my doctor about using Wellbutrin to quit smoking was one of the best things I could of ever done. I was able to kick the smoking habit in two short weeks and only needed to take Wellbutrin for a couple of months.
Jason D is an ex-smoker and publisher of a Quitting Smoking website. Visit for information on the Health Effects of Smoking.Health Effects of Smoking
