Cigarettes Role in Addiction Recovery
At Cold Creek, many clients who come through our doors smoke cigarettes in addition to their primary substance abuse addictions. We are a smoke-free recovery program for a very good reason.
Many addicts argue that if they smoke, it can help keep them from going back to the harder stuff. They argue that it can help them with their stress so they don’t relapse.
But the stress relief they experience with smoking is a very interesting and deceptive trap. What studies have shown is that a non-smoker may have a baseline anxiety level of, say a 6, before beginning to smoke and that when the non-smoker picks up and smokes a cigarette, for the moment, the stress level may go down to a 3.
However, as the individual becomes addicted to the cigarettes, what actually happens is that the brain chemistry adapts to the regular use of the cigarettes, resetting the anxiety baseline to a higher level, say an 8. But the person does not catch this slow process.
Then, the person still feels that the smoking helps as each cigarette brings them down to a 5, but they never get back to their baseline, because of the addictive cycle of the nicotine. Now, more than ever, they feel they need the cigarettes to cope when, in fact, much of the anxiety they experience and need to cope with is coming from the addiction to the nicotine itself.
Statistically, those who smoke cigarettes in recovery are more likely to relapse to their drug(s) of choice, because they maintain the addictive process in the brain. This slows and stunts the repair process in the brain, keeping them more vulnerable for a longer period of time, to relapse.
In addition, and as a final note, the user maintains the addictive behavior of reaching for a substance when feeling stressed, unhappy or bored. Now, when a larger stressor comes along, or when the cigarettes just don’t seem to cut it any longer, the person will logically escalate to a stronger substance, rather than turning to stress-management and recovery behaviors.
Call us today to find out more about healing the mind, body and soul at the Cold Creek Wellness Center 1-877-593-6777.
