Stop Smoking And Antidepressant – How To Subdue The Habit

There aren’t that many medically inclined people in the United States, and there are even doctors and medical practitioners who smoke rather extensively. The thing is, many smokers don’t have a clue as to why they smoke, and they don’t care, because the experience seems so cool and smooth, and they seem to derive so much pleasure from it.

The fact is that the nicotine in tobacco acts as a stimulant that contributes in a huge way to the addiction to cigarette smoking. It enters the bloodstream and promotes the flow of adrenaline, which is a stimulating hormone. Amongst other things, it speeds up the heartbeat to an irregular pace that raises blood pressure and reduces the appetite. Although this may cause nausea and vomiting, another related substance also in the tobacco appears to destroy an important brain enzyme known as monoamine oxidase B, otherwise known as MAO B. It is an enzyme that breaks down excess amounts of the dopamine neurotransmitter in your system. With no MAO B to control its secretion, the excess dopamine, which triggers pleasure-seeking behavior, begins to work overtime to make you want to smoke again. And that is where the craving for cigarette or nicotine comes from.

Experiments have shown that habitual smokers have seriously decreased levels of MAO B and abnormally high levels of dopamine, encouraging them to seek the pleasure of more tobacco smoke. When the smoker cannot have a cigarette, dopamine ejected into their system is accompanied by serotonin, and causes them to experience the severe withdrawal symptoms of irritability, headaches, nausea, anxiety, and of course, the stronger desire for more and more tobacco. Basically, these symptoms are identical to those of depression, which is why some forms of antidepressant medications can be used in treatments for smoking cessation. Researchers have found that depressed people essentially have the same altered levels of neurotransmitters in their bodies, and too little activity among neurotransmitters in the areas of the brain that control mood and emotion will certainly result in the same indicators.

There are different types of antidepressants, and they interact with your neurotransmitters in different ways. They can change the rate at which the neurotransmitters are either created or broken down by the body, or block the process by which neurotransmitters are recycled and reused. They can block the re-absorption of neurotransmitters into the nerve cells and thereby leave some available to trigger activity among nerve cells, or they can interfere with the binding of a neurotransmitter to neighboring nerve cells, thus leaving the neurotransmitter available for other bodily functions.

Specifically to help smokers trying to quit the habit, MAO inhibitors are ideal because they decrease the rate at which neurotransmitters are broken down by the body so they are more available to interact with nerve cells, or neurons. In the United States, you can get prescriptions for such MAO inhibitors as phenelzine and tranylcypromine from most mental health professionals, especially when they are convinced that your condition is sufficiently critical. To regulate the levels of serotonin, you may have to take serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors such as venlafaxine or the more common bupropion, sold as Wellbutrin.

Stop smoking antidepressant medications are ideal because they help you bide the rough tide and stay focused while you are trying to quit smoking. Once you are past the withdrawal phase, you should discontinue the treatment.