It can be like this even when you are 18
My friend, it seems like your anxiety is nicotine withdrawal. That explains why smoking makes your anxiety go away; you’re getting another hit of nicotine to ease off the withdrawal.
Vaping isn’t harmless. Especially since you’re 18, it will inhibit your brain development and the chemicals in the vape are chronically toxic. Nicotine is extremely addictive. Many people get addicted after just a few goes.
I appreciate your concern, though I’ve picked up vaping because of my anxiety… Now that I think about it, in the long run it could make it worse.
I know that it would be more logical to pay for a session with a therapist instead of wasting money on vapes, but every time I think about it, I come to the conclusion that I don’t want help. But that’s my problem, not this community’s. Wouldn’t want to turn a meme’s comment section into a depressing place.
though I’ve picked up vaping because of my anxiety…
Seems like you’re already figured this out, but that doesn’t really mean anything. People start drinking alcohol (a depressant) because they’re depressed.
Signed, a previously anxious pothead.
I don’t think a substance being a depressant necessarily says anything about its effect on actual depression, but otherwise I agree with your sentiment.
What do you mean… It’s literally how it works? Alcohol suppresses your neurotransmitters from firing at a regular rate. Thus causing depression. How it effects your gaba receptors I believe is what causes the i-can-do-anything happy effect.
For me if I stay drinking I keep the energy and false happiness but that wears off faster than the affect it has on neurotransmitters.
I’m more normal and function when I drink and it gives me energy because usually my anxiety or BPD is so draining I assume. I pass as a normal person lol. But shortly after stopping the depression is felt.
…iirc… Just what I gathered from psychology class and personal life.
No, you’re conflating two different concepts that share the term. Alcohol directly causes central nervous system depression, which is distinct from depressive disorder (aka depression) - the neurological condition. Regular alcohol use/abuse can lead to depressive disorder, but in an indirect way. CNS depressants (alcohol) actually increase GABA neurotransmitter activity, which slows brain activity. This effect on your nervous system has no known direct link to depressive disorder.
I’m not aware of the supression of neurotransmission directly resulting in depression. I know alcohol does worsen depression, but I don’t think that’s a result of it being a depressant.
Here’s an article that seems to agree with me.
Oh hey I’ve gone through all three. Alcohol sucks. Weed kinda sucks too unless you smoke a lot all day. Small edible doses are where it’s at for casual occasional use.
Even Terrence McKenna said weed should only be smoked once a week.
I also remember reading when I was younger that if you’re eyes get RED then your abusing it.
What are you using to combat anxiety now if not pot? Weed mostly helps me with anxiety but then other times it really doesn’t lol
I’m probably gonna sound super snobby here so apologies in advance, but I’m not really “using” anything. I was in a bad spot mentally for various reasons (extremely toxic relationship for one) and was smoking weed as a bandaid to deal with everything, but it was at a point where I was consuming copious amounts of concentrated weed 24/7 and acting like a total burnout just to try to feel normal. Once I was able to start getting my shit figured out and began dealing with things in a healthier way, I didn’t need to smoke anymore.
I should say that I do still smoke weed daily, probably more than I should, but I don’t feel agitated or anxious when I can’t go a few hours/ most of the day without lighting up like I used to. I also know it doesn’t actually help with anxiety and just having that knowledge in the back of my mind helped me stop using it like it did.
TL,DR; “it’s all in your head bro, just feel better” /s
This is exactly my response of some years back. The difference is, I was lying to myself and doing such an amazing job of it that I couldn’t see it. It prevented me from even exploring the questions at hand beyond “oh, other people are wrong”.
Quitting sucks. It is literal hell. But it is so much better for a person to do now and benefit from sooner and for longer than it is for a person that does it next year.
Nicotine is terrible for anxiety, it’s a stimulant not an anxiolitic. I have anxiety and started smoking when I was 16, not because of anxiety but because I’m an idiot. Don’t do it. Vapes are healthier than cigarettes, if you’re already a smoker. Don’t start vaping if you weren’t previously addicted to nicotine, it’s not good for you. Nicotine isn’t good for you. And it’s not going to help your anxiety. Quit while you can before you’re stuck with a habit that’s nearly impossible to kick
Nicotine could have caused my anxiety when I think about it now.
Maybe there was some base level of anxiety I just had but the constant withdrawals cannot be good
Therapy is expensive, but in the long run it is going to be much much cheaper than relying on vape, pot, alcohol to handle daily life. And all of those increase reliance on them because you don’t build coping skills.
Smoking, whether electronic cigarettes or tobacco, is never going to be only your problem. When you suffer these negative health effects, you become a burden on society. Not only is a sick person less economically productive, but they expend public resources in the form of additional healthcare expenditure (even in countries without universal healthcare, it is still highly Government-subsidised), increasing the likelihood of needing welfare, increasing the burden on already-strained public welfare programmes, and it, of course will damage your interpersonal relationships too.
Addiction is progressive. It happens with tobacco too. Over time, the same amount of vape fluid will no longer “do the trick”. People who smoke tobacco will smoke larger and larger amounts for it as their body builds a tolerance to nicotine. Vape users will start needing stronger and stronger doses to ward of withdrawal. I personally know people who started vaping at 16 who are now 19 and need to vape every hour or they start experiencing withdrawal. This can and likely will eventually happen to you!
I don’t mean to offend, but this is destructive behaviour. You are trying to tell me that you want to continue down a spiral of addiction instead of getting the help you need.
Quitting is very hard. I’m not going to pretend that you’re a bad person for not being able to quit, because you’re not. But you need to force yourself against your will to help yourself. “I don’t want help” is ultimately going to lead to your own demise.
You don’t need to defend your thoughts to me. I’m just some random person on the Internet, and untimately, I have no control over what you do. But you do need to defend them to yourself. Don’t cheat yourself out of a fulfilling, addiction-free, anxiety-free life. Plus, you’ll save a lot of money on vapes over your lifetime.
0% of people who quit smoking or quit vaping regret it, but nearly 100% of those who don’t quit and get even more addicted wish they could have stopped sooner.
concern for an 18 yr old’s health because you’re a fellow human = broke
stop smoking because you won’t have any economic value if you get sick = woke
It’s not worth it. I used a jule for like 6 months. Definitely became dependent on it. It’s helped with anxiety, focus, social ability etc… but once you stop your body and lungs feel better. It used to make me feel nauseous and I’d chain hit to make the anxiety go away. I think it may have damaged my lungs. I do have areas of my lungs hardening but it might not all be from that.
Medication by another means is still medication friend. And if therapy is not your jam but you’re open to medicating via doctor-prescribed anxiety medication, you can always set an appointment with a gp. I can tell you from personal experience that self-medicating with nicotine and perhaps other substances will only mask the anxiety. To truly deal with it you’ve got to take it head on. For me medication and therapy made a world of difference, but everyone’s path is different. Wishing you luck!
Am I seriously being aged out of Lemmy, too?
They make DMT vapes. 🤯
I doubt it. I feel like the demographic here has to be older than reddit’s became.
The only reason vaping or smoking makes you feel less anxious is because withdrawal makes you more anxious
it’s wild to me how willingly people will give themselves over to nicotine addiction
i blame our nonsensical drug laws that rank cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms as “worse” than nicotine and alcohol, even though the latter two are more harmful and much more addictive
i love me some cannabis, i’ll have the occasional mushroom, and i even enjoy a glass of whiskey every now and then, but nicotine scares the absolute hell out of me
There are better ways to manage your anxiety than with nicotine. You’re anxious about your parents finding out because you know they’ll be upset, and they’ll be upset because of the negative impact you’re having on yourself by vaping. Maybe you should consider why they would feel that way.
The impact being it’s super fucking addicting. Trust me, as I hit my vape, avoid nicotine at all costs.
Im 14 and this is deep.
My mom found out while I was getting prepped for cancer surgery… nurse asks if I take marijuana, and I was like “ummm… Yes?”
It’s a good thing you answered truthfully. Cannabis affects the way anesthesia works so they may not have given you enough if you had lied and said no.
PSA to anyone getting any sort of anesthetic/anesthesia. Always be truthful about your marijuana use.
My best friend wasn’t upfront about Cannabis-use and apparently the anaesthetist really struggled to get him to wake up post-surgery. Scary stuff
Smoking doesn’t make you less anxious or more relaxed, all it does is stop the withdrawal symptoms from smoking.
I mean many people have to find this out themselves but smoking is highly addictive and you’ll regret having started for the rest of your life…
The sheltered-ness of kids these days. I used to smoke on my way home from school. I can only imagine that stench in my clothes today.
Can’t believe I actually thought I could fool them. French family though, when they found out they just let me smoke at my window lmao.
Kids don’t even get lung cancer no more
Wow. A lot of judging and misinformation in reply to your post. I didn’t really expect so much of that on Lemmy.
If you’ve got ADHD or a schizo-affective disorder, nicotine seems to help with anxiety and focus from those conditions. More than the nicotine, the act of purposely inhaling anything causes you to focus on breathing (even for a short time) and when anxiety is running you, your breath is key. Now, that said, inhaling anything in concentration is not without risks. Some are way, way worse than others. Vaping is definitely on the low end of the risk category. Smoking is strongly on the other end.
This is something that seems to be missed by many commenters. Prescribed drugs come with many risks as well. Societally, we’ve accepted that treating some of our issues are worth these risks. Weight gain, weight loss, bowel issues, sleep issues, lack of focus are common issues across the spectrum of anti anxiety drugs. And then if or when those symptoms get bad enough, you get another med to counteract the drug symptoms and those can affect kidneys, blood sugar, energy levels. Just because you’re prescribed something that has been deemed safe doesn’t mean it isn’t doing damage to your body. It’s all a trade-off of happiness vs health to some degree. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take medication if you deem it necessary. The side effects are probably worth the change you’re needing. And it doesn’t mean you should vape even if you think it helps. But be as informed as you can while being as happy and healthy as you can. That’s all you can do. There are things in life a lot worse than nicotine or Wellbutrin that you don’t get a choice over. I wouldn’t fret about them too much.
As a person with ADHD, I can’t say nicotine by any means reduces anxiety or helps to focus; on the contrary, the only time I don’t vape for prolonged periods of time are when I’m concentrated on smth challenging, and otherwise it’s somewhat like tapping my leg or spinning a pen with the addition of feeling worse when there’s not enough nicotine in my body.
On the other hand, ADHD individuals are more susceptible to substance abuse disorders, so going in that craphole is not worth it. (e.g. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-019-0581-7)
That’s a lot of words that may or may not be backed by science. I certainly will never know, I’m not finding your sources for you.
Vaping is worse than smoking lmao
Vaping isn’t worse than smoking. It’s still addictive, could inhibit teenage brain development, and many chemicals found in vapes are toxic when you expose yourself to them chronically.
OP’s post says that vaping alleviates their anxiety. That’s probably the other way around—their anxiety is likely caused or worsened by nicotine withdrawal which is what drives them to vape.
In my experience at least, nicotine actually does alleviate anxiety. That is, until you become addicted to it and the anxiety you want to alleviate is caused by the substance itself.
It doesn’t alleviate anxiety so much as distract you from it. Anything can do that, that’s just what a coping mechanism is. For many people, that might be painting, playing video games, exercise, or anything else. It’s just that nicotine is a particularly unhealthy coping mechanism. There are other unhealthy coping mechanisms too—some people gamble, others drink alcohol, and some people stress-eat excessive amounts of junk food.
Kinda like caffeine.
We don’t have the longterm statistics to say one way or the other
But my gut tells me that there are significantly less carcinogens in vape juice than cigarettes (or anything burning)
Edit: I’m not condoning vaping either. I think it’s very stupid to vape, especially if you weren’t a smoker prior. I’m just saying vaping hasn’t been around long enough to draw definite conclusions
I can see it being used as a quitting tool, though
It’s not worth fighting over which cancer stick is worse when not smoking is an option.
Agreed. Don’t vape or smoke unless you fully acknowledge the possible side effects.
E-cigarettes produce a number of dangerous chemicals including acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde. These aldehydes can cause lung disease, as well as cardiovascular (heart) disease. E-cigarettes also contain acrolein, a herbicide primarily used to kill weeds.
https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/e-cigarettes-vaping/impact-of-e-cigarettes-on-lung
Just don’t vape, man…
Those studies had extremely flawed methodologies. For the formaldehyde one, they burned a ce4 cart more than 40% higher than the nominal voltage (5.2v vs 3.7v) for 90 seconds.
I challenge you to inhale for 90 seconds. I can’t even do it and I’m a skilled brass instrument player.
Basically every study showing negative effects has either flawed methodology, or the news outlets reporting on them conveniently forget to mention that the levels are orders of magnitude lower than what cigarettes produce. Hell, even some of the heavy metal results were lower than atmospheric levels.
Source: I’ve read all of the studies.
While that test may not be the norm, it represents cheap brand knockoffs that may have shitty voltage control, or faulty, etc. it is not like they run ever vape through rigid testing like airplane control systems ( and even those fail )
No, it doesn’t. No human would be able to draw on an atomizer that was being fired at 40% higher than normal voltage for more than a split second.
But yes, if you managed to draw on an atomizer that’s literally burning for 90 seconds and survive the lung scaring and smoke inhalation, the byproducts of burning plant matter and plastics is likely not healthy.
Nothing you linked indicates that e-cigarettes are worse than traditional cigarettes.
Sure, but I think in this case we’re trying to convince OP to not do either. Vaping is safer than smoking, it’s not safe. If you currently smoke and can’t/won’t quit the nicotine, switch to vaping. Don’t start vaping if you’re not already a cigarette smoker.
I would like to see some better quality studies, but those are in short supply because of the amount of bullshit studies funded by people who profit from big tobacco. I think there was one good study about how nicotine specifically was bad for cardiovascular health?
Probably not, but one of the things it has done is normalize tobacco consumption to a younger demographic, which totally undid a decades-long trend of young people consuming less tobacco.
The other thing it’s done is it’s increased access to tobacco consumption. Smoking is kind of a ritual, more or less requiring going outside and having a source of flame. Before matches were invented, the feasibility of tobacco becoming a habit was limited to your ability to make a flame. Obviously that specifically happened a long time ago now, but still serves as an example of how tools can make consumption more realistic. As a parallel, now you suck on a tube and you have your nicotine, and pretty much no matter where you are.
Vaping is almost certainly worse than smoking in terms of the environmental impact though, which I don’t think people talk about enough.
It absolutely fucking isn’t. It’s “healthier” than smoking by a wide margin. So is abstaining from it. But for people already smoking, vaping will not only be better for them but can also help them kick the habit. Please keep your blatantly wrong garbage takes to yourself, misinformation like that does active harm to other people
Yeah, no
