How can I quit smoking without becoming depressed?

How can I quit smoking without becoming depressed?

Linda Hyder Ferry (Associate Professor, Preventive Medicine and Family Medicine, Loma Linda University School of Medicine) gives expert video advice on: Why is it so easy for some people to quit smoking and so hard for other's?; How are depression and addiction connected?; Why do I become depressed when I try to quit smoking? and more...

If you are someone who's never had an episode of depression, you don't have premenstrual syndrome, you didn't have, as a woman, post partum depression after delivering a baby, you don't have a strong family history of depression, then you really don't need to worry about getting depressed when you quit smoking. You'll just have to deal with some nicotine withdrawal symptoms, and there are medicines that can treat that. However, if you do believe that you're someone who's at risk, and you periodically had periods of your life where you felt very sad or low or went for counselling, or you didn't snap out of a blue mood, then I would encourage you to talk to your doctor, because there are some cognitive behavioral therapies, meaning someone talking you through the way that you think about problems, that can help. Exercise can make a big difference. Giving good nutrition and adequate sleep is also important during the time you quit smoking, to avoid depressive moods. There are medications that will help you quit smoking and help stabilize your brain chemistry so that you don't get sad or blue or lonely or irritable, and there are also anti-depressant medications that may be needed in addition to just your "stop-smoking medication".