Can Smoking Relieve Stress?
I read with interest an online article published by the Chicago Tribune a week ago titled “Holdout smokers: Who they are and why they can’t quit”. In this article, it states
“Beyond the physical addiction, smokers repeatedly pointed to the stress relief that smoking provides. “Cigarettes are just adult pacifiers,” said three-pack-a-day smoker Deborah Israel, 56, of Chicago. “You stick ‘em in your mouth when you get stressed.”
I guess the same could be said of drinkers, who take a drink whenever they get stressed and need to “calm down”. The alcoholic buzz and the warm glow helps to smooth the rough edges.
The problem with these “stress relievers”, and other misused alternatives (pain pills, muscle relaxers, illegal drugs, etc.) is the danger to go too far with them. In the case of the stressed out smoker above, evidently she is getting stressed 60 times a day. (20 cigarettes to a pack and three packs a day). That’s every day. That’s way too much stress to deal with on a daily basis.
But I suspect her stress is not that often. My guess is that she uses “stress relief” as her validation of why she can’t quit smoking. And that’s probably true of the other alternatives to reducing stress. All of these are highly addictive, and produce more bad effects on the body than good.
What do you take for your stress? Have you stopped to think about it? Do you subconsciously reach for something to calm you down? It doesn’t have to be items that are considered bad by society. How about candy? Mints? Snack food? Sodas? More coffee?
A bedrock of dealing with stress is to be aware of what is causing you stress and to consciously make decisions as to how to address these “activating events.”. Remember our “ABC Model”?
Choose your stress relievers wisely!