The Dual Benefit: Using CBD for Anxiety And Depression While Quitting Smoking

Kicking the smoking habit is a monumental achievement. But let's be honest, the journey isn't always sunshine and rainbows. Anxiety, irritability, and even depression can creep in as your body adjusts to a nicotine-free life. These challenges can leave you feeling discouraged and tempted to return to cigarettes.

Enter CBD for anxiety and depression: a potential natural ally in your quest to become smoke-free. This post will explore how CBD might help manage the emotional rollercoaster that often comes with quitting smoking, making your journey smoother and increasing your chances of lasting success.

Table of Contents

Overcoming the lack of motivation

Most people fail to quit harmful habits as they struggle with a lack of motivation. You might wish to feel better, become healthier, save money, and improve your social life, among other things. Quitting has more to do with discipline and determination than something as flailing as motivation. The good news is that your quality of life will significantly improve if you stop smoking. Your blood pressure and heart rate return to more normal levels. As your nerve endings start healing, your taste and smell senses improve. You will start to cough less frequently and feel less out of breath as your heart, lungs, and circulatory system work better. You won't be as likely to develop cancer as other smokers, and your risk of a heart attack or stroke will decrease. All these health advantages are compelling arguments for developing a deaddiction strategy regardless of age and existing health conditions.

Strategize before you quit

You are prepared to select a quit date once you stop smoking. Choose a day that will allow you time to prepare but is not too far away. There are many strategies to stop smoking, but in the end, you must choose whether to stop abruptly or gradually by cutting back on cigarettes progressively until your quit date, after which you will stop.

Getting support is crucial because quitting might be challenging. Create a support system, such as a family member who has quit smoking and is willing to assist you. Inform your loved ones and coworkers of your intention to stop smoking, and determine if you'll quit "cold turkey," use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), or take other medications. Support groups for those trying to quit smoking can be pretty beneficial. Stocking up on oral alternatives like hard candy, sugarless gum, carrot sticks, coffee stirrers, straws, and toothpicks will help you be ready.

Identifying and avoiding triggers

Getting up in the morning, finishing a meal, and taking a coffee break can be common triggers that make you want to light a cigarette. However, dissociating the trigger from smoking is a valuable strategy to help you resist the impulse to smoke.

The areas where you typically smoked or chewed tobacco, such as bars and parties, and times when you were stressed out or drinking coffee, are likely to have the most significant impulses for tobacco. Discover your triggers and plan to manage or overcome them without using cigarettes. Tell yourself that you must first wait ten more minutes if you feel like giving in to your need to smoke. After that, engage in some form of self-distraction. Consider visiting a public smoking-free area. These few techniques can be sufficient to help you conquer your cigarette habit.

CBD for Anxiety and Depression: Can It help with smoking addiction? 

CBD offers a wide range of therapeutic applications. People use it to treat various conditions and symptoms, such as pain, muscle spasms, tremors, seizures, insomnia, autoimmune diseases, neurodegeneration, and dementia. Psychiatrists and addiction specialists have recently become interested in CBD because of its potential to treat tobacco addiction.

CBD for Withdrawal Symptoms

Since nicotine is a highly addictive chemical and is comparable to heavy narcotics like cocaine, overcoming nicotine addiction is challenging. Most users eventually encounter a wall of withdrawal symptoms that is nearly impossible.

The physical effects of tobacco addiction go far beyond the constant desire for more cigarettes. Irritability, anxiety, difficulty falling asleep, elevated blood pressure, migraines, and depression are withdrawal symptoms that appear within a few days.

CBD works by interacting with the human endocannabinoid system (ECS), which keeps the body's homeostasis. The ECS regulates several vital physiological processes, including sleep patterns, stress response, blood pressure, body temperature, mood, memory, and pain perception.

FAAH, an enzyme that degrades the body's endogenous endocannabinoids, is effectively inhibited by CBD. These endocannabinoids link to CB1 cannabinoid receptors in the brain, which impact areas of the brain associated with mood, pain, sleep, and reward. Adding CBD oil to your diet can keep your cannabinoids stable and prevent the dysfunction of the processes.

CBD to battle tobacco cravings

Since CBD can alter your neurological system's homeostasis, CBD can be used for reducing anxiety attacks, improving stress management, and sharpening attention.

When you take CBD for anxiety and depression, it works by interacting with the serotonin receptor. Anxiety and depression are associated with low serotonin levels, the neurotransmitter in charge of mood and emotions. On the other hand, too much serotonin in the brain can cause tremors, muscle spasms, hyperactive reflexes, shivering, and clumsiness.

Although CBD doesn't increase your serotonin levels directly, it inhibits its reuptake by interacting with the 5-1HTA serotonin receptor to improve how well your brain utilizes it. As a result, the brain cells can operate correctly, reducing the likelihood of anxiety and depression as well as tremors and muscle spasms. This helps a great deal in getting beyond the agony and anxiety accompanying other withdrawal symptoms. This explains why taking CBD for alcoholism, smoking addiction, and other problems is a popular and effective remedy.

CBD raises anandamide levels, one of the two main endocannabinoids. Anandamide is also referred to as the pleasure molecule. CBD can also reduce nicotine's stimulant effects.

How to use CBD oil for addiction?

It is important to note that there are no standard dosage recommendations because CBD has not yet been clinically studied for tobacco addiction. Nevertheless, you may quickly gain a point of reference by looking at the research that has looked at the effectiveness of various CBD doses for quitting smoking.

The complexity of the various variables is another reason why administering CBD to humans is not as straightforward. Weight, metabolism, individual body chemistry, the severity of addiction and withdrawal symptoms, and the potency of your CBD product are all on the list.

You can determine the ideal starting dosage by speaking with a doctor with expertise in CBD for alcoholism and smoking addiction. To evaluate how your body reacts to cannabidiol, we advise starting with a low dose of 10-15 mg daily. If it works for you, you can start taking more to see what dosage makes cigarette stimuli less salient.

Finding the best CBD oil

The therapeutic elements naturally occurring in hemp plants, such as CBD, additional cannabinoids, terpenes, and trace quantities of THC, are all present in full-spectrum CBD. These components complement one another's health advantages while minimising any adverse effects that might occur (e.g., in a way, CBD counteracts the psychotropic effects of THC).

The entourage effect is a phenomenon that explains why full-spectrum CBD products are the most sought-after CBD products. According to several studies, full-spectrum CBD oils prevent the bell-shaped dose response when patients take pure cannabidiol, making dosing easier to anticipate.

A broad-spectrum extract, which solely contains CBD, terpenes, and other cannabinoids but no THC, is an option if you're worried about the trace quantities of THC.

The Takeaway

CBD oil can be helpful for people trying to quit smoking cigarettes. First, symptoms of cigarette withdrawal like headaches, anxiety, insomnia, and trouble concentrating can be managed with cannabidiol. Moreover, taking CBD for anxiety and depression is an effective and safe remedy. Making you less receptive to cigarette cues also helps you ignore cigarette cravings. As a temporary substitute for cigarettes, you can vape CBD oil or smoke CBD joints while trying to kick your addiction. Make sure your CBD oil comes from a reliable company that uses organic hemp, creates full-spectrum products, and has them tested for CBD concentration and any impurities in an independent lab. Neet CBD oil meets all of these criteria and more.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q.1 Are there any side effects of using CBD for anxiety and depression while quitting smoking?

CBD is generally well-tolerated, but some may experience mild side effects like fatigue, dry mouth, or diarrhea.  It's also crucial to discuss potential interactions with any medications you're currently taking.

Q.2 Where can I buy CBD for anxiety and depression?

CBD products are becoming increasingly available. Look for reputable retailers that offer lab-tested products with clear labeling regarding CBD content. Check them out here. 

Q.3 I'm worried about quitting smoking because of the anxiety and potential depression. Can CBD really help?

There's growing evidence suggesting CBD for anxiety and depression may offer some relief during smoking cessation.

Q.4 How exactly does CBD for anxiety and depression work?

The exact mechanisms are still being studied, but CBD interacts with the body's endocannabinoid system, which plays a role in regulating mood, stress response, and sleep. CBD may help promote relaxation, reduce stress hormones, and improve sleep quality - all factors that can contribute to feelings of anxiety and depression.

Q.5 What dosage should I take of CBD for anxiety and depression while quitting smoking?

There's no one-size-fits-all answer. The optimal dosage can vary depending on factors like your body weight, the severity of your symptoms, and the type of CBD product you choose. It's best to start with a low dose and gradually increase as needed, while monitoring your response.