HOW VAPING AND SMOKING AFFECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH.

When we discuss the negative aspects of smoking or vaping, we tend to focus on physical health -The lungs, heart, cancer risk. But it is now recognised by health professionals that the impact on mental health can also be a serious side effect. Whether it’s traditional cigarettes or e-cigarettes, nicotine can shape your mood, anxiety and stress levels, quietly taking control of your emotional well-being.

ANXIETY AND STRESS-DOES IT HELP?

According to a recent JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) study of nearly 30,000 people above the age of 18, who currently vape, it is noticeable that frequent vaping increases the chances anxiety and depression by 2.4x

Nicotine and mood are connected. Researchers have seen how it affects certain chemicals in the brain and can cause feelings of nervousness, panic and racing thoughts. Long term it can contribute to emotional numbness or persistent low mood.

The NHS discloses how adults with depression are far more likely to smoke than adults without depression. When smokers haven’t smoked or vaped for a while, the craving for another one makes them feel irritable and anxious. These feelings can dissipate when they have another hit. Therefore, smokers associate the improved mood with smoking/vaping. In fact, it is likely that the effect of smoking itself that has caused or increased feelings of anxiety, stress or depression in the first place.

SLEEP PROBLEMS AND MENTAL FATIGUE.

Nicotine is a stimulant and therefore it is a myth that it helps relaxation. It triggers the release of adrenaline, increasing the heart rate and blood pressure. This can seriously affect your well-being and the quality and duration of your sleep. Poor sleep doesn’t just lead to tiredness but significantly affects mental health, increasing the risk of anxiety and depression, poor concentration and emotional reactivity.

HOW DOES HYPNOTHERAPY HELP?

Hypnotherapy helps with stopping vaping or smoking, by targeting the habit and learned behaviours that are tied by routines, emotions and triggers that lead to the use of a nicotine product. Hypnotherapy works on the subconscious mind, where these automatic habits live, as cravings are largely mental.  By entering into a deeply relaxed focused state, hypnotherapy helps you to:

• Break associations (“I need a vape/cigarette to help me relax”)
• Reframe smoking as undesirable rather than comforting.
• Put in place coping mechanisms, reducing the urge to reach for nicotine.
• Lower anxiety.
• Improve sleep quality.
• Increase your sense of control and confidence.
• Changes beliefs about stress and coping.
• Boosts motivation and commitment.
• Weaken the emotional pull of cigarettes or vapes.

FINAL THOUGHT.

Stopping vaping/smoking can not only improve  physical health, but benefits mental health considerably. The NHS studies show that cutting out smoking improves mood and reduces stress levels, anxiety and depression. Hypnotherapy is a great tool for stopping as it helps reduce cravings, lowers anxiety and makes quitting feel more natural than forced.