View Full Version : How many of us Health Anx ers smoke?
claireypoo
13-11-07, 19:54
Just wondered if my restarting smoking has anything to do with a resurgence in my health anx symptoms?
Just interested really!
Claireypoo x
Yep, i smoke about 15 - 20 a day, roll-ups, and i have smoked for 24 years. I know i should give up, but don't want to and couldn't at the moment anyway.x
Interesting that at something like 44% the rate of smoking in HA sufferers is nearly twice the National average! If we include exsmokers its 66%!
Ill be interested to see how the numbers add up on this poll.
cheers
I smoked 20+ a day for years. In the end, everytime i lit up i was worrying about it so much that it took all of the enjoyment out of it for me, and after several attempts i gave up.
I reckon that i did worry more about my health when i smoked, though sadly i still worry(!)
I used to be what you called a social smoker , haven't smoked for about 3yrs yrs now , but i can remember if i went out and smoked i used to worry sick about it. I still worry a little about the damage ive maybe done by doing this in the past................xx
I smoke loads. We can't smoke at work, but we can go out for the odd fag, but once I get home, I can go through 20 in a night. I do worry about my health more now I am older (41), it didn't bother me so much until about 3 years ago. Howver, my mum is 66 and smokes about 60 a day and has never been ill in her life so I'm hoping that I take after her, which lessens my worry, but I still think about what damage it is doing and probably has already done.
Les
nomorepanic
14-11-07, 15:40
I always remember something that Paul Salkovskis said at a conference when he talked about Health Anxiety.
He said that the majority of HA sufferers he saw smoked and he asked them how they could worry about their health yet continue to smoke which they knew would be slowly killing them.
Interesting analogy don't you think?
I smoke and suffer from HA. Various attempt to give it up but to no avail. However, contrary to what lots of people think, we know it's not a good thing to do, we worry about it and then smoke because we're worried. It's a vicious circle. Until you've been hooked on this incredibly powerful drug, then it is difficult to understand why we smokers continue our evil habit!!
I gave up 4 years ago when pregnant, i'd also been going through a terrible ha attack about mouth cancer which lasted years and turned out to be TMJ.
Stopping smoking did stop me worrying about my mouth so much and i accepted what it was.
I don't regret it buts stopping drinking wine is another thing :blush:
anx xx
i worry sick about smoking. However, like many people, as soon as i become anxious, i dive for a ciggy.
Only today, i have booked an appointment with the smoking cessation clinic at my gp surgery. It is the first serious attempt at giving up - so fingers crossed.
When I smoked I didn't have anxiety, I got anxiety when I had given up.
Anyway, a healthy lifestyle doesn't mean you live longer, just feels like it ;)
I have asked the docs for stuff to help me stop smoking and they actualy told me it's not a good time to stop.I have cut the night smoking out though.I think we all know that we shouldnt smoke but when you wiegh it up.!!!!
I've never smoked fags, but used to smoke the green stuff. Alot better since I stopped, a panic attack while stoned is not to be recommended! I'm alot less anxious in general.
The green stuff? what Thai curry paste?
louwilliams
17-11-07, 20:43
No silly Jaco-he means mushy peas
Nicola,
I've always wondered about this myself....
I always remember something that Paul Salkovskis said at a conference when he talked about Health Anxiety.
He said that the majority of HA sufferers he saw smoked and he asked them how they could worry about their health yet continue to smoke which they knew would be slowly killing them.
Interesting analogy don't you think?
__________________
Nicola
I've lost So many good friends due to a direct link to smoking. I'd be terrified even just to try one and I used to avoid pubs etc because of passive smoking. It does seem a strange paradox to worry about breathing when smoking congests the lungs.
I've always found so odd to see nurses smoke when they see the consequences of it in their job.
My sister smokes heavily and I worry about her too because she's older than me. The reason she keeps smoking is because she says it helps to ease her stress, just as medication does so I think I understand the reasons why so many find it so hard to give up.
Personally though, I'd rather find a safe method but I know how addictive smoking can be just like when I was addicted to diazepam and self harming. It's not easy to give up without finding a better alternative so just like learning to cope with anxiety, it takes Alot of willpower and determination but both are achievable in time.
Strange but true it was actually my health anxiety that made me stop smoking 6 years ago (I had smoked for 4 years)
Angie x
ive recently given up smoking.5 weeks now.my HA has been under control for a few years now.then 5 weeks ago i found a lump in my neck,went to the doctors,came out the doctors lit up,was so worried threw it away and haven't touched another ciggie.my HA is just completely out of control at the moment.
miss motown
17-12-07, 23:03
i was told only today that if i was to pack in smoking the risk of heart desease would drop dromaticly im really going to give it a go after newyear. i did pack in the fags for 5weeks once and i couldent belive the awful smell when someone lit up ur when i walked into a pub it was awful but guess wot it never stoped me from starting it up againe grrrr
I have smoked for many years.I know it is bad for my health yet I have no interest in stopping.
Dying_Swan
21-12-07, 16:50
I know what you mean chalky.
I've actually noticed just how many people at NMP do smoke. Generally speaking, we're in the minority now (which is a good thing), but loads of NMPers seem to smoke.
I have been told off by a consultant today for smoking. And for weighing too much. I guess it's a case of priority. Stopping smoking would be more beneficial to my health (and my budget), but weight loss is a bigger personal priority for me. And, let's face it...losing weight is slightly easier than quitting the fags.
Smoking is just so hideously addictive. I don't understand it though, as half the cigarettes you have aren't pleasurable anyway :shrug:
Ho hum. Good luck Judi! Go for it girl! xxx :flowers:
OK Guys and Gals, i dont smoke.
Now the thing that amazes me is the fact that like others on here im so worried about my health there is no way i would dare put a cigarette near my mouth, I tell you what for me it puts everything into perspective for us panickers and HA sufferers , you worry about health but you wont stop doing the single most body destroying thing that has ever been invented.
Now i dont want to sound like a dickhead so please read what i have put, i dont care that people smoke and i know that bad things also happen to the fittest people , but you think about one thing as a HA sufferer.
When you get all your symptoms and panic and feel like this is it im going to die, you just think to yourself but its not that bad cos i will still smoke after this panic has gone,
You know my personal feelings of health anxiety i think when it all comes down to it 95% of HA sufferers only feel like they do because they feel guilty about how they treat there bodies. and thats the bottom line. i would love to hear our views on this so i can defend my statement. in a constructive way might i add.
Hope you take this for what it is and not as a personal attack on anyone.
Just so you know i am not preaching
I am slightly overweight and have in the past drunk lots and lots of beer, i also had one of my school PE teachers die of sudden heart problems and he was the fittest bloke i know. NOW after hearing that news and getting extremely drunk i had my first panic attack 3 years ago , a really big one too.
But the reason i had this was that i thought if he could be that fit and die from heart problems, and heres me abusing myself like this i must be prone to heart disease.
And thats how i see things now i feel guilty that i abused my body like i did and ultimately will i now pay the price ???
Thats where i come to my point , i think thats in a way how most HA sufferers feel , wether it be weight , smoking,drinking, lack of fitness,drugs.
To make you all feel slightly better im positive that people only really do get sick when they genuinely from birth have something wrong with them.
I know at least 2 of my friends that i have always considered really really fit. and one of them who is 34 years old has a pacemaker fitted after he was found to have a heart beat rate of 33 bpm . now i look at things this way.
This guy is fit, he was healthy to look at and has felt fine apart from a little dizzy twice in his life. he went to doctors about dizziness thinking he might have diabetes, now the doctor checked him out and said his pulse was low so after tests decided to give him a pacemaker.
My theory is this guy not knowing until this year that he had been living with a heart condition this long , could have suddenly died of heart problems and that would have totally freaked me out, but now i know that he had heart problems all along but never felt bad enough to have a test.
Most of us have had tests and most of us have been cleared of any major conditions, this should make us all feel better, the recommended amount of ECGs to have according to medical science in our lives is 1 to none.
now i personally have had at least 5 all clear.there has got to be some comfort in that for us all .
Anyway sorry to go on , i just thought would try and explain my theory.
If you suffer with HA, then please get rid of the guilt, lose weight or stop smoking or stop drinking so much or do excercise. it will make you feel alot better in your mind i promise you !!
Thinking of you all
Flinty X
Don't smoke, never smoked. Don't drink either.:)
lilbozo@lycos.com
24-06-08, 03:49
Me to!!!
lilbozo@lycos.com
24-06-08, 03:52
Got so much to say, but no body to talk to. Been to Hell & back, but it's not nice to moan to other people that are suffering!! Sorry, Little miss Bozo!! Hope you's all ok and got a good nights sleep. XX
lilbozo@lycos.com
24-06-08, 03:54
ME!!! I would love to pack in, but its such a haabit!!:)
itoldyouiwasill
24-06-08, 11:52
I always remember something that Paul Salkovskis said at a conference when he talked about Health Anxiety.
He said that the majority of HA sufferers he saw smoked and he asked them how they could worry about their health yet continue to smoke which they knew would be slowly killing them.
Interesting analogy don't you think?
To sort of continue that thinking, I was for ever moaning about all my buzzing and twitching etc etc that was caused by my anxiety and was just waiting around waiting for it to stop!
It was only when I looked at the bigger picture that a had a :emot-bulb: moment. Whilst I was 'suffering', I had put my life on hold and had almost given up on myself....I was eating rubbish, not going out or getting exercise, vegging in front of the TV, going to bed late and getting up late etc etc....I just found it weird that when I was most worried about my health I was actually doing the most to jepodise it. How the hell did I expect to feel living like that!!
i smoke it can be 20 or sometimes more a day its the only thing that helps with the stress off these anxiety attacks which im going through a bad time with them now i stopped once for 3 months but i had a anxiety attack and ended up smoking again
I, too, stopped when I realsied how much worrying it was causing me! i figured ti was the easiest thing I could do to help me be healthier and to stop me worrying so much. it has worked, and when I hear my parents hacking and wheezing, I am sooo glad I did stop. Wasn't easy, and I'm still addicted to nicotine tablets (3 years now...!), but I don't smell horrible and I could afford a house as a result!
I smoke about 20 a day. I lay in bed and worry about what it's doing to me or going to do to me. I seem to have a determination to give up in the night when I can't sleep and then when I wake the first thing that I do is reach for one. I wish that they would just stop selling them and make it simpler for us all!!!!!!:shrug:
I smoke too. Started quite late, 19 years old. I have phases of going quitting but they never last long. I would like to give up. The first smoke of the day really does me in but first thing I really need one.
My inlaws are of to Turkey in a couple of weeks and asked if I want some cigarettes brought back. I'm supposed to be trying to stop next week again but I know I'll postpone it again.
All the best
Nechtan
quit smoking and drinking because of HA
hiya not been on here for a while jsut reading about us smokers and health anxeity i had smoked for over 25 yrs packed up for 8 yrs been suffering anxiety and panic attacks since i was 12 am now 53 i can not say i felt any diffrent in my mind about health anxeity in the 8 yrs i i stopped smokin bye for now trish
lamentinglaura
20-09-08, 22:28
Yes, I'm a smoker and it causes a vicious cycle. I use cigarettes to ease anxiety but the smoking causes me a lot of worry so I end up smoking to calm my nerves which in turn causes even more anxiety and the cycle continues. I want to be able to throw these things away.
Quiet-Lift
21-09-08, 00:09
Hey...I know it's not easy, but I'm so glad I stopped.
It's the brave thing to do and it's the right thing to do.
There is plenty of help out there to get you started if you want to quit and the benefits of stopping far outweigh the disadvantages.
Take it from me...a Born Again Boring Old Non Smoker. Hallelujah.:yesyes:
No...seriously. What a useless habit. Stinky cigarette smoke full of poisonous chemicals. Why not suck on a Fisherman's Friend instead? Or a Polo. Or chew carrots. Or squirt Rescue Remedy up your nose?
Anything but stand outside the pub in the freezing cold thinking you're Humphrey Bogart or James Dean, when really you don't look cool at all. You just look daft for sucking on something that doesn't really make you feel any better. It's just that you've satisfied the craving for the nicotine. But once that wears off you'll be sucking on another.
Apologies for the tub thumping. I'm not trying to make a guilty smoker feel any worse. Lord knows I did it for long enough. I'm not even past the two year mark yet. So if I have a relapse I'll let you know and you can laugh and yah at me.
Hope I don't though...
If you are trying to stop - good luck. If not - enjoy the fags and maybe you will try to stop one day.
I smoke 15-20 a day and have done for 8 years...i worry about it all the time, in fact that is my main health worries heart attack and lung cancer/copd/breathing problems. Vicious circle.
pinkpiglet
26-10-08, 19:57
I stopped smoking three years ago when i started trying for a baby. I fell pregnant soon after and that, for me, this was enough motivation to stay off the fags. If i am honest i was more of a social smoker anyway & never really enjoyed the taste, or the effects. I used feel dizzy and breathless after my first fag of the day & the rest never felt much better either (this never helped with my anxiety).
Hi,
This is funny, as I suffer with health anxiety but when I used to smoke, I never worried about that, strange but true.
Red
I used to be a social smoker, smoked quite a lot during the weekends but then none for a week or two, then more when I had a boyfriend who smoked... the usual. I gave up five years ago when I was 22, before HA kicked in.
Hereford Al
27-10-08, 14:55
I smoke around 25 hand rolled cigarettes a day. If I have a really bad day with my nerves I can end up smoking 40. If I have difficulty sleeping, I will lay in my bed smoking fags like there is no tomorrow, and can wake up in the morning (assuming I manage to sleep at all!) with about 10+ ends in my ashtray.
Wish I could give up, but I do not think this is the right time to try because I doubt my nerves could handle it right now. Maybe a few months down the line when I am a bit more back to normal.
I kind of wish I had never given in to peer pressure when I was 15-16 and smoked just so I could hang out with the "cool kids" at school.
I smoked socially as a student, not every day or anything but when I was out. I haven't smoked anything in years, but the thought that I did still worries the hell out of me! I'd never smoke or binge drink now - my HA is way too bad for that!
Best of luck to you all my friends who want to quit smoking!!!!!
I gave up smoking when I got pregnant with my daughter. A couple of months after my dad suffered a heart attack. I was the one who was giving him first aid, until ambulance arrived. (he survived thank god) I haven't had a fag since although I fine it hard.
I have never smoked although my mum and dad smoked heavily - my dad until he was around 58 and had to take volunteered redundancy because of his arthritus in his hands and he couldn't afford to smoke and my mum quit smoking at 70 when she had a collapsed lung through smoking. She died 11 years later with empysema which I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy because she was on oxygen 24 hours a day the last year or two and paniced if she couldn't have it although it's not good to have it so much and she should have only had it about 12 hours a day I think.
monkeyness
13-11-08, 13:51
Hi, I gave up smoking four years ago. It was HA that made me give up. I scared myself silly and everytime I had a cigarette I got chest pains and thought I had lung disease. This is the one thing that I have to be greatful for with all this anxiety. I would probably still be smoking now if I hadn't have been so worried about my health!:yesyes:
Hi everyone,
Interesting poll! I used to be a 'social' smoker too - before HA struck - and did enjoy it. I did feel a bit hypocritical though because I work on treatments for Cystic Fibrosis lung disease...I think that was one of the reasons I quit (October 2006). I haven't touched one since.
With hindsight, I wish I'd never started - I'm sure it contributed to me developing thyroid disease, which is now the bain of my life :unsure:
Anna. x
Natural Mystic
13-11-08, 19:31
I am a smoker, not too heavy though.
Have just purchased an electronic ciggie for £40, waiting for it to arrive
wish me luck :yahoo:
PhoenixGrey
17-11-08, 11:44
I smoked since I was 15, I am now 20 and have just given up, but thats when my health anxiety started (about 5 weeks ago when I gave up) completely panicked about the damage I have done to myself - I don't think I smoked all that heavily, but it varied day to day - and I smoked a lot of the green too....
I just want some reassurance that it won't come and bite me in the butt.... I'm so scared it will - currently waiting on phone call from doctors to try and get appointment as I have a slightly croaky throat (worried about various cancers of the throat and chest!)
I hate this health anxiety! It's horrible and I wish it had never started.
Joeycrazycat
15-12-08, 21:11
I used to smoke a bit, but I gave up 5 years ago, just after I started to work for a company that manufactures instruments for the cigarettes industry.
I know exactly what's inside those nasty things as we have smoking machines that measure all chemical properties of cigarettes: acetone, ammonia, carbon monoxide, benxene, arsenic, etc...
and I didn't want my life to be dictated by a little white filter.
Quintessence
08-01-09, 10:42
I gave up 8 and a half years ago. Overnight, never looked back. It's the only time in my life I've been able to use my health anxiety in a positive way. I just suddenly saw things clearly and realized it was something I didn't need to do. Mind you, and I think this was important, I never told myself I had given up. I just told myself I wasn't smoking at the moment. It worked for me.
I also have a secret deal with myself: if I live to be 80 (the number varies, sometimes 70 or 75), I shall celebrate by starting to smoke one Gitane (if they still make them! otherwise a cigar) in the evening. With a very large glass of armagnac.
Come to think of it, I might bring the number down to 43... ;)
Quintessence
08-01-09, 10:51
I smoked since I was 15, I am now 20 and have just given up, but thats when my health anxiety started (about 5 weeks ago when I gave up) completely panicked about the damage I have done to myself - I don't think I smoked all that heavily, but it varied day to day - and I smoked a lot of the green too....
I just want some reassurance that it won't come and bite me in the butt.... I'm so scared it will - currently waiting on phone call from doctors to try and get appointment as I have a slightly croaky throat (worried about various cancers of the throat and chest!)
I hate this health anxiety! It's horrible and I wish it had never started.
Hi Laura - in five years there's no way you've done yourself any irreversible harm. It's a great thing to have stopped so young. Keep on not smoking, that's all. The croak in your throat will just be a frog, hibernating from this cold winter. You'll be fine :)
Health anxiety is horrible, but the great thing is that there is much more awareness about it now. You can get help to change your habits of thinking. Talk to your doctor about it.
Hi everyone, I smoked for 30 years and then 2.1/2 years ago I had a heart attack at the age of 53, I had to have a stent inserted into an artery as it was so clogged up but I stopped immediately and I can't believe how easy it was. I had tried so many times but I guess my heart wasn't really in it but when I knew I had to it made it so easy. I am so much better now, I don't cough or anything and I can at least go to sleep at night knowing I'm not doing anything to myself. It's definitely a state of mind this addiction thing, I was really unlucky to have had a heart attack so young and I had had an awful lot of stress for about 4 years too so I expect that contributed to it and it was only a mild attack (they said)! I still wish I could have one occasionally but it is only a couple of seconds and then the thought is gone again. Good luck to anyone trying to give up!! Keep at it, it's worth it.
Love Fran
stopped smoking 20 a day 4 years ago. while i smoked I never had any health worries - maybe I should start again!!
Sarah Jane
10-01-09, 01:03
Only second hand.
sunshine-lady
10-01-09, 01:14
I used to smoke 30 plus per day. but having asthma and having to take steriods along side with my inhalers and having to use a nebuliser, I thought sod it after my hubby said to me "you will die" I stopped smoking. It was tough to start with, but got easier. I used the nicotine patches and bit my nails, but over a year later I am still a non smoker. I never thoght I would ever give up! good luck to anyone who wants to quit, it can be done.
Dominic1975
10-01-09, 15:30
I find when i am feeling anxious, I feel like I want a cigarette... but smoking makes you heart beat faster, shorter breaths etc... so this can make me feel more anxious and even progress to an attack
I definately think smoking adds to anxiety??
Cyberchondriac
12-01-09, 13:39
Its funny, I guess, that while we worry obsessively about our health, we still find ourselves smoking. I smoked a lot when my anxiety was at its peak. We're talking 20 a day, sometimes more at weekends!
I quit last year - feel fantastic and its one less thing to worry about ;)
MissChampers
13-01-09, 13:51
I smoke between 10-20 roll ups a day and have smoked for 24 years since I was 13. At the moment it doesn't seem to be interfering with my health as I can run long distances and I took part in the London marathon last year. I do find however, when I light my first ciggy of the day up I get the feeling of anxiety and impending doom come over me so I really should give it up.
ive given up for nearly 4 weeks,i was worrying everytime i smoked and as i worry about my heart alot i just had to give up.
i do miss it though !
itsonlydark
27-02-09, 14:28
i have recently quit smoking but was a light smoker at 3-5 a day. i started after feeling i was over my health anxiety and then quit just before it began to come back. i still struggle on nights out, and also struggle with the worry of the damage i have done.
crystalshimmer
23-03-09, 15:23
My health anxiety only started when I stopped smoking 3 1/2 years ago. Up till then I had only been at the doctors for HRT every 6 months. Since then I have never been away from them.I haven't had a full night's sleep since I stopped. I only smoked less than 5 a day as i couldnt afford any more,but when i went back to work full time it was 20 at least,and latterly after I retired it was 30+ I smoked the low tar ones and kidded myself thst they were safer.I smoked for 50 years all in,and used to say I didn't need valium,as I had my fags,and that was true. But when I turned 65,I was getting badly out of breath walking up a hill,and when I got a bad chest infection I finally decided to quit I had tried the year before after reading Allen Carr's book,but went back on after 3 months.I had thrown out all the ashtrays,lighters etc,but one day my son opened a drawer in the kitchen and i was able to see a packet of fags right at the back that I had missed.Well I jumped out of bed next morning and after my tea I went and opened them and there were 18 in the packet.I succumbed to temptation, and lit one up,and I tell you the wonderful feeling when I took that first drag. I can still remember it
That packet lasted me for 4 days as I didnt want my husband to find out,but it wasn't long before I was up at tescos buying more. I felt"normal" again. Smoking had been a big part of my life for 50 years and I didnt feel normal without it.However,as much as I enjoyed them I was annoyed at myself and a few months later,when I had a chest infection, I gave them up again . I used the inhalator as it was the hand to mouth craving I missed most. That was 3 1/2 years ago,and I am still off them despite losing my Mum 2 years ago,going on holiday with 3 smoking relatives,and seeing their fags and lighters lying about( That was tempting) Since then I have been diagnosed with mild COPD and have had tests for heart disease,and lots of aches and pains which brought me to this site.Now I have multiple gallstones and am waiting on keyhole surgery to have my gallbladder removed. I have to say, I wouldnt go back on them as I know the health risks. Also,I couldnt go through the "stopping " again.My mother smoked till she was 82 and when she stopped the "joie de vivre" went out of her She was never the same,and seemed to visibly shrink from a vivacious cheery person, to a shadow of her self.
The day they say they have made a mistake,and that its actually good for you to smoke (and thats a possibilty,as they keep moving the goalposts for everything else) I will be right down to the nearest tobacconists.Until then,I am a non smoking hypochondriac.
I also think more people's lives have been ruined by alcohol than by nicotine
I;ve had a number of tries in giving up smoking and i remember reading the allen carrs book and it saying that smoking actually causes anxiety and his book wasn't on panic or anxiety just giving up smoking...... Have to say my mum read it and she has been off the cigs for 3 and a half years now and best still has never craved a single one.
I did notice though that i didn't suffer health anx while being off them, but i think thats because i did aerobics and had completely changed my lifestyle.
i am seriously thinking of giving up again though.
What a great question! I've had people ask me all the time, why would someone like me who is always terrified of my health smoke? They don't get it, I don't get. I quit smoking about 2 months ago (I think I've had a few here and there since, but I haven't bought a pack in 2 months). I finally quit because I was scared of my heart palpitations and PVC's. Since I quit, I haven't noticed any difference really. So I know it wasn't the smokes, but I still have this visual image in my head of a damaged heart every time I get a craving.
Its just so interesting to be a smoker with health anxiety. We are walking contradictions.
California Girl
23-03-09, 18:27
I gave up because of HA it worried me so much
yes i suffer from ha but smoke about 10-15 roll up fags a day i do wonder why i continue smoking when all i do is worry about my health but i cant seem to quit. I have been smoking for four years so to light up a fag is second nature to me, quitting never really crosses my mind much x
i have just started puffing again after 2 months off them i dont feel any different with or without them but maybe thats just me
Sambapati85
23-03-09, 21:31
Recently quit, when my healthy anxiety became unbearable. havent had a cig in 2 weeks, cold turkey.
I started almost 2 years ago, after 7 years of not smoking. For the 1st year I was good and also little anxiety. When I get chest pains or some symptom of some sort I regret the smokes and try to quit. I usually do for about a week and then feel better and have one. Most times it is less than 10 a day. It does now create so much anxiety for me because I know it is bad and not good for me and well as an anxious person this is not good.
I enjoy the smoke but afraid to death of the side effects which is definetly not in the mind it is bad. Today is my first day once again with no smokes.
I seen a picture at the eye doctors today showing 10 chemicals inside the cigarette.This my friends makes you really think of what is going down the pipe.
TT
Sambapati85
24-03-09, 00:08
Just imagine if smoking was actually healthy and had vitamins and supplements , and whole grain goodness and .... oh my i would chain smoke like a mother.,
i smoked for 20 years up to 20 cigs a day, i finally gave up sept '07. I think they caused me to be anxious a lot of the time as smoking is a vicious cycle. If i had not had a cig for a while i would get withdrawal symptoms and feel crap, then i would have one and the rush would make me feel anxious. I think also the fact that began to hate myself for smoking made me more anxious. As far as the health implications, i was wheezing terrible and waking myself up in the night almost whistling from my chest !. Anyway i gave up and have not looked back, i feel more healthy and less lethargic, not to mention the horrible smell has gone.
I would not lecture anyone tho, as i know some people really enjoy it, but if you do, you have to accept the health implications that come with it.
Well, I've set my quit day for tomorrow. Have smoked for 22 years. Am feeling really down about myself at the moment and hate the fact that I smoke so am hoping it gives me a boost in the confidence stakes. It's not that I find it hard to stop, it literally is a crutch.
I've set it as tomorrow as I have a hair appointment for a re-style AND a hospital appointment to see my gastro consultant (my stomach pain is causing my panics) so I HOPE it's going to be a fresh start.
Sam
Ophelia105
22-07-09, 11:06
I smoked 20+ a day for years. In the end, everytime i lit up i was worrying about it so much that it took all of the enjoyment out of it for me, and after several attempts i gave up.
I reckon that i did worry more about my health when i smoked, though sadly i still worry(!)
This is what happened to me! I'd love to have a fag but I stopped because I worried about mouth cancer, lung cancer, throat cancer..
Now I worry about ovarian cancer, breast cancer, skin cancer, liver cancer...
Ophelia105
22-07-09, 11:47
ooops sorry
cigarette for those who are from USA etc
tiredOfOcd
22-07-09, 15:20
Just wondered if my restarting smoking has anything to do with a resurgence in my health anx symptoms?
Just interested really!
Claireypoo x
Isn't nicotine a stimulant?
My health anxiety only started when I stopped smoking 3 1/2 years ago. Up till then I had only been at the doctors for HRT every 6 months. Since then I have never been away from them.I haven't had a full night's sleep since I stopped. I only smoked less than 5 a day as i couldnt afford any more,but when i went back to work full time it was 20 at least,and latterly after I retired it was 30+ I smoked the low tar ones and kidded myself thst they were safer.I smoked for 50 years all in,and used to say I didn't need valium,as I had my fags,and that was true. But when I turned 65,I was getting badly out of breath walking up a hill,and when I got a bad chest infection I finally decided to quit I had tried the year before after reading Allen Carr's book,but went back on after 3 months.I had thrown out all the ashtrays,lighters etc,but one day my son opened a drawer in the kitchen and i was able to see a packet of fags right at the back that I had missed.Well I jumped out of bed next morning and after my tea I went and opened them and there were 18 in the packet.I succumbed to temptation, and lit one up,and I tell you the wonderful feeling when I took that first drag. I can still remember it
That packet lasted me for 4 days as I didnt want my husband to find out,but it wasn't long before I was up at tescos buying more. I felt"normal" again. Smoking had been a big part of my life for 50 years and I didnt feel normal without it.However,as much as I enjoyed them I was annoyed at myself and a few months later,when I had a chest infection, I gave them up again . I used the inhalator as it was the hand to mouth craving I missed most. That was 3 1/2 years ago,and I am still off them despite losing my Mum 2 years ago,going on holiday with 3 smoking relatives,and seeing their fags and lighters lying about( That was tempting) Since then I have been diagnosed with mild COPD and have had tests for heart disease,and lots of aches and pains which brought me to this site.Now I have multiple gallstones and am waiting on keyhole surgery to have my gallbladder removed. I have to say, I wouldnt go back on them as I know the health risks. Also,I couldnt go through the "stopping " again.My mother smoked till she was 82 and when she stopped the "joie de vivre" went out of her She was never the same,and seemed to visibly shrink from a vivacious cheery person, to a shadow of her self.
The day they say they have made a mistake,and that its actually good for you to smoke (and thats a possibilty,as they keep moving the goalposts for everything else) I will be right down to the nearest tobacconists.Until then,I am a non smoking hypochondriac.
I also think more people's lives have been ruined by alcohol than by nicotine
What a thoughtful interesting post.
My late Mum was the same, her 'light' or 'lighter' as you might say went out at 90 years when she couldn't have a smoke, hospital ban etc. Nicotine I have read, is an anti-depressant and gives a bit of a lift. The patient in the next bed to her in hospital used to say her fags were all she lived for (she'd had a broken hip and after going to physio she was allowed a smoke in the hospital entrance ).
I'm in France and smoking seems to be the norm, even the docs. don't tell you off, they don't even ask if you smoke , at least mine doesn't. Just one yellowing poster in the surgery against the dreaded weed.
yes, I smoke, 8 per day, want to stop completely but cling to them like a life raft when stressed.
all the best to you
sarah jayne
22-09-09, 11:48
I used to smoke, when i started getting anxious about my health i stopped. Thats the only good thing to come out of this ! x
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