The first couple of cigarettes in a day may produce a kind of rush and lead to the feeling of enjoyment and pleasure. But as you fall into the belief that smoking relaxes you, the harmful compounds in it start to ruin your physical and mental health. Yesterday, we talked about the top 5 psychological effects of smoking. Today, we will discuss its emotional effects. Ready? Here we go:
- Pleasure – the first emotional effect of nicotine is pleasure. Studies reveal that smoking, just like sex and eating, stimulates the production of endorphins – the hormones that are responsible for the feel-good feeling. Just a single puff is enough to produce a sudden surge in the endorphin levels. As a result, you feel ‘delighted’ about it. According to the America Cancer Society, smoking causes a pleasant feeling. However, the smoker develops tolerance with nicotine that he starts smoking more to achieve the same pleasurable feeling.
- Better Mood – same with pleasure, a smoker leads to the improvement in mood. In the study by the University of Maryland Medical Center, researchers found that nicotine has the ability to boost one’s mood. But, the enhancement of mood only lasts for minutes so the person has to smoke more, resulting to nicotine addiction.
- Fatigue – when they are being deprived of nicotine, smokers tend to feel weary and sluggish. They feel as if something is lacking. When their nicotine craving is not met, they become anxious, even depressed. This emotional effect is related to the stimulant property of cigarettes.
- Social rejection – many smokers often feel ‘left out’ and discriminated. In many establishments and public places, smoking is not allowed. They experience some sort of social rejection because of the growing concern about the ill effects of smoking and how secondhand smoke can potentially harm other people, particularly the children.
- Fear – majority of smokers experience fear. It is a known fact that smoking is bad. Everyone knows it causes cancer, heart disease, mental disorder and many other serious diseases. Smokers usually tend to be worried whenever they think of the consequences of their habit. Just thinking that they will grow old in the hospital bed, or they may not see their kids grow is enough to create intense feeling of fear.
All the positive emotional effects of smoking are temporary and very minimal as compared to its negative effects. You can find pleasure from many things like relaxation, exercise, and traveling, etc. You can improve your mood without having to light up. The pleasure and mood-enhancing effects of nicotine lead to addiction – a condition that many people regret in the long run.
Furthermore, you can get away from the mentioned negative emotional effects of nicotine by quitting smoking today. You really don’t want to be a slave of tobacco for the rest of your life. You don’t want to be living in fear every minute. For sure, all you want is the best in life. And that includes being healthy, happy and carefree.
