Battling Stress

Many smokers start or continue their habit in order to deal with stress. But quitting smoking increases stress itself. That double-whammy makes it doubly hard to stop. Understanding what creates stress and finding healthier ways to deal with it well help in that struggle.

At low dosages, nicotine is a stimulant. It increases heart rate and raises the blood pressure. Those biological changes interact to produce psychological ones. They’re perceived, up to a point, as pleasurable. At higher levels, nicotine induces a relaxing state.

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‘She drove me to drink’ used to be a popular phrase. Its essential meaning is that stress induces people to consume alcohol. While it’s true that stress can be an incentive to drink, it’s equally true that heavy alcohol consumption causes stress.

Moderate alcohol intake, to be sure, can have beneficial effects. Research suggests that small amounts can even improve mental functioning and increase performance in problem solving while stressed. But, there are also studies that demonstrate that large quantities, particularly when consumed for long periods, actually worsens stress.

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No doubt it’s impractical to try to ‘cure’ stress in the sense of eliminating all occurrences. But there are several practical short-term and effective long-term strategies for minimizing it and its effects.

Most individuals under stress will let it build, ignoring it for too long. They cite the need to get a work project completed, or view their situation as unchangeable. “That’s life,” many will say. But no form of ill-effect is inevitable, nor is it necessary or wise to passively accept one.

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