In 1983 I underwent treatment for chemical dependency. At that time they told us not to try quitting smoking at the same time since it was too easy to get discouraged doing too much at one time and ultimately relapse on the chemical dependency. I personally quit using Wellbutrin, an anti-depressant, to take the edge off the withdrawal from nicotine which I discontinued about 1 month after quitting. Five months after quitting I started having anxiety, panic attacks and my doctor put me on Zoloft for 5-6 months at which point I sensed that I no longer needed the drugs. It's now been well over 9 yrs. and I haven't had any problems. I knew in advance of my quit and had discussed with my doctor that I had suffered the panic attacks on 2 previous quits and we had already established that if it happened again I would call him and we would treat it which we did. I agree with Shelley that you need to work out the details of your quit with your doctor even if you choose not to follow his advice of putting it off.

If it were me, I would probably set a quit date of at least 1 month from the time of starting a new job. There are a three reasons I would wait a little longer to quit. One, starting a new job is stressful and you have indicated you already have some anxiety and depression issues. Giving yourself a few weeks to become acclimated to the job should lower the stress level. Two, during the first few weeks on a new job your mind has to process the new rules, duties and environment which always left me in a somewhat confused and exhausted state for a few weeks until many tasks start becoming reactive habits.(Of course my wife says I was confused before, during and after8^) Quitting smoking at this time could be a big interference because the body undergoes many physical, chemical and mental changes which can create a bit of a mental fog and affect concentration for a little while. Third, you are still making first impressions and developing interpersonal relationships with new work associates. Quitting smoking puts most of us on an emotional roller coaster for a while (some might say psychopathic, my wife did;^). Being overtly moody is not the best way to start off relationships. Those are the reasons I would temporarily delay your quit. When I quit I made the decision to quit in early January and set the quit date with my doctor for February 3 so I would avoid an out of town conference. Whatever you decide with your doctor, set a definitive quit date and don't delay indefinitely or the addiction will take over and you probably won't do it. When I look back on it, every day after setting the quit date and until I actually quit, I constantly reminded myself that no matter what, when that date came, I was going to quit on February 3. In a sense my real quit date was the day in January when with my doctor I made the mental commitment
to quit Feb 3 and I never looked back.

We look forward to having you join us as another who has decided to no longer be a smoker. We are happy to try to give you any support we can both before and after your quit. We work hard to try to keep this the most non-judgmental message board you will ever find! (As long as you forgive the puns and off the wall humor that spews forth occasionally to break up the intensity of quitting).

Elliott