Just wondering if anyone else here, suffering from mental illness of any sort, tend to find cigarettes to be a crutch that helps them relax or pull themselves together and find themselves going through a pack to two packs a day.

I'm also wondering if anyone has been able to overcome the addiction despite. During times where I'm trying to relieve stress or anxiety I find it monstrously hard to refrain from smoking because the stress of denying myself a nicotine fix piles unecessarily ontop of the stress that is already there that I'm trying to overcome.

I do.
I suffer from an anxiety disorder and depression....
And I smoke to "fix my problems"
I smoke 2 packs a day, and I know it's terrible for me health, but I can't live without it.
I don't even WANT to quit....

I was told by Psychiatrists and the Police that people with Mental Health Illnesses tend to smoke and listen to music a lot.

It is our way of DE-stressing in our minds although it's an agitator in fact.

Most people with Mental Illnesses tend to have an addiction also which is called a Co-Occurrence situation. Some it's alcohol, others it's street substances, smoking and some even listening to music all the time to relax. It's the way our brain is wired.

My Therapist has never told me to quit smoking because he told me if I did he'd be terrified at what I'd turn to to replace it although he does NOT condone smoking.

We have a very good Co-Occurrence Department with specialized Psychiatrists and staff that deal only with the two issues that keep contributing to the other making it a circle of futility on our part but with the proper help can be attained.

They say smoking can actually help heighten anxiety & depression, not just the other way around.

It is odd though. If you have ever visited a mental institution or a psyc ward, a lot of the inmates smoke. What is even more shocking it that they seem less prone to lung cancer? I suppose we could google shizophrenia and lung cancer to see if this were the case.

I suspect nicotine has a calming effect on people with psychiatric illnesses. The other thing is some people are really heavily medicated with mental illness so smoking might be different some how.

there's actually a study i was reading recently that said that there's a connection between smoking in schitzophrenics and how well they are able to maintain their cognitive functions... apparently those that smoke retain higher cognitive abilities than those that don't...

Same here, I'm Bi-Polar and have depression,I usually find myself smoking a pack maybe every two days. I recently had to stop because I had a tooth pulled, but I did find myself smoking because of the stress and agree that when your not able to smoke, it adds on to everything your feeling. I havn't had a smoke for 3 days, and don't find myself wanting one cause I don't even want to think about what can happen, and for some reason feel lazy with no urge to smoke until this stupid hole in my mouth heals.

get yourself some weed thats what i do talk about de-stressing will take that anxiety down to a minimum and will make you a lot better man

I haven't smoked for nearly a week. It's been hard to breathe. All I feel like doing is sleeping and eating chocolate. I just don't really want to smoke right now. At the same time, I don't want to drink (haven't had one for a few days) and use medication to calm myself. I sure hope this passes soon.