Cognitive Quit Smoking

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted stop in a minute and introduce myself. I quit smoking about 3
1/2 years ago, using just about anything that I could think of including
zyban, the patch, AS3, #nosmokers, lots of kind people, and jolly ranchers.
Steve introduced me to cognitive quitting and indeed it was helpful (at least
as much as it could be in the fog I was in). Despite all of this I got
depressed and am still using antidepressents.
In those early days of my quit, I didn’t want to hear about depression
because it set me into a panic. I commend new quitters who are open minded
enough to be on the lookout for depression. Here are some things that I
learned about quitting and depression that may be helpful.
-If you are reaching for St John’s Wort consider getting some professional
help instead. Better to be supervised while you are being medicated even
with St John’s Wort.
-Catch depression earlier rather than later, it is easier to deal with in the

early stages.
-If you think about smoking to get rid of the depression remember then you
will be depressed and smoking. Further, the next time you quit your
depression actually may get worse.
- If you need an antidepressent see a PDoc. They know so much more than most
general practitioners about depression. This is extremely helpful if you
don’t respond to some of the medications.
-Don’t quit an antidepressent (including zyban or St John’s Wort without
getting some medical attention. Quitting an AD can make depression worse.
-If you get depression you might be able to find a cognitive therapist. I
just started it and thus far it has been an intriguing and worthwhile
journey.
-Steve helps a lot even when you are depressed Hope this helps. Keep in touch if you need anything.
Lisa

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 28th, 2003 at 11:41 am and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.