- Studies reveal that smokers have a higher risk of developing more psychological problems than former and non-smokers.
- A 68-year-old corporate employee has shared his motivation to quit smoking and how he dealt with his withdrawal process.
Every smoker has their own motivation and justification to smoke. Many people perceive that smoking may reduce their stress and enhance the feeling of pleasure. But current smokers have a higher risk of exhibiting more psychological problems than former and non-smokers, finds a 2014 NCBI study.
Mr. Mohit Jaiswal, a 68-year old retired corporate employee, shared his experience with smoking for almost 45 years. He started smoking in high school and eventually got addicted to it. He kept his habit of smoking through his late teens and early twenties. He thought of continuing smoking till the time he was physically active. “I was very well aware of the health risks, but I never worried about my health,” he shared with MindHelp. Mr. Jaiswal thought that as long as he stayed active, it would be harmless to smoke.
On the eve of his granddaughter’s birthday, he experienced severe chest pain and was admitted to a hospital. When he gained consciousness, he was informed by the doctors that he had suffered a heart attack and needed two stents, which are tiny medical tubes. Jaiswal added, “I felt like 90 at 64. I looked over at my worried son and wife. Within a moment, I realized that I had to quit smoking.”
Quitting smoking was one of the most difficult jobs for him as he used to smoke around 10-15 cigarettes a day. “I knew that I had to quit it for my health and find new ways to manage my stress,” he said. When asked about his withdrawal motivation, Mr. Mohit Jaiswal shared that whenever he felt tempted to smoke, he used to take deep breaths and look at his family photos. It helped him a lot to stay grounded, and he has not touched even a single cigarette in the last four years.
According to the National Health Service (NHS), regular inhalation of nicotine is associated with a broad range of severe psychological disorders, including chronic stress, depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. A recent 2020 study by the Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine has estimated that the prevalence of tobacco use among men in India for the studied period was 45.5%, smoking was 24.6%, smokeless tobacco use was 29.1%, and both smoked and smokeless tobacco use was 8.4%.
The National Health Service (NHS) has claimed that quitting smoking improves one’s lung capacity by 10% within nine months, provides more energy, and reduces the risk of depression and other psychological illnesses. The British Lung Foundation (BLF) experts suggest that nicotine replacement therapy is one of the most effective ways through which people can start their withdrawal process.
P.s: Names and places changed due to privacy concerns