According to the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), withdrawal symptoms from nicotine can include headaches, irritability and a powerful desire for cigarettes or other products that contain nicotine. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) says nicotine withdrawal can imitate or intensify psychiatric problems, including depression and anxiety.
Effects
Nicotine creates physical and mood-altering effects in your brain that are temporarily pleasing. Nicotine increases the release of the "feel-good" brain neurotransmitter dopamine. These pleasing effects of nicotine encourage you to keep using tobacco. When you try to quit, the absence of nicotine may cause you to become depressed, irritable and nervous.
Common Symptoms
Nearly everyone who attempts to give up nicotine will go though some degree of withdrawal. In general the more cigarettes you inhale each day and the longer you have smoked, the greater your likelihood of experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Some other common symptoms of nicotine withdrawal include problems concentrating, insomnia and weight gain.
Depression
A small study of some 239 smokers conducted by the Department of Psychiatry at the Henry Ford Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, concluded that smoking cessation is linked to a number of maladies including dysphoria (marked by depression and discontent), irritability and anxiety. The findings were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry (1992).
According to Netdoctor.com, there is no definitive agreement on why this may be s,o but some people may use smoking as a means of coping with mental health issues.
To some degree, nicotine may keep symptoms of depression at bay. When a depressed person quits smoking, signs of the problem may resurface. In such cases, a low mood is not considered to be a symptom of the nicotine withdrawal process but rather an underlying condition that has been masked by nicotine and now requires medical attention.
Treatment
Several stop-smoking medications (Varenicline/Chantix, Bupropion Wellbutrin/Zyban) as well as nicotine supplements (patches, gum, inhalers) may help to lessen the intensity of nicotine withdrawal and its associated symptoms including feelings of melancholy.
You may also consider undergoing an evaluation for depression to make sure you receive the appropriate treatment and help to improve your chances of remaining smoke free.
Outlook
As a general rule, the acute effects of nicotine withdrawal don't last longer than a week. However cravings for a cigarette may persist for some time to come. Some people benefit from group support that can be found in a smoking cessation programs regularly offered by health agencies, hospitals and other community organizations.
