Quit Smart: How to Start an Alcoholism Abuse Recovery Plan

 

 

If you’ve been battling alcoholism, you have probably come to realize that it’s often easier to get sober than it is to stay sober. Alcoholism is typically classed as an addiction that causes you to crave alcohol and lose control of your drinking once you start. There is hope to recover from this seemingly hopeless situation, but it does take some diligence. Millions of people around the world were once in your same position, but they have learned a better way of living that doesn’t involve alcohol.

 

Think the Drink Through

Before you pick up that first drink, play the tape in your head. Alcoholics typically forget the turmoil that their drinking causes, so it’s important to keep those memories in the forefront of your mind. Whether your drinking has harmed your personal relationships, business relationships or legal situation, you must remember those potential consequences before you begin drinking. Ask yourself if those consequences are worth it, and you’ll most likely realize that they aren’t.

 

Simplify Your Sobriety

When you tell an alcoholic that they can’t drink for the rest of their lives, it sounds like a goal that’s unobtainable. The best way to stay sober is to do it one day at a time. Don’t worry about how you’re going to stay sober next week, next month or the next day, just worry about staying sober that day. Some days are more difficult than others, but remember that your cravings will eventually pass. The longer you’re able to do this, the less power your cravings will have.

 

Don’t Try to Quit on Your Own

It’s common for alcoholics to want to quit “cold turkey” because they believe they can do it on their own. The reality is that the withdrawal symptoms of alcoholism can be painful, uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. Many alcoholics justify their drinking because they don’t want to go through the withdrawals as well. Seek the help of a professional detox center, so you can safely detox and clear your head to begin a life of recovery. Others try to quit by reducing their alcohol consumption gradually. If you attempt this, be aware that even a single drink can lead to a relapse or binge when you’re trying to quit. According to a specialist who analyzes Ohio DUI tests, estimating your blood alcohol content can be difficult, so it’s best to completely abstain from alcohol consumption if you’re trying to quit.

 

Find a Support Group

You need to surround yourself with people who care about you. Sometimes this means you have to stop hanging around people you considered friends. If they don’t realize that your sobriety must come first, then they could threaten your new way of living. You can easily find a support group by simply attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and introducing yourself to people. The people in the rooms of AA understand how important a support group is and will be there whenever you’re having a rough day.

 

By acknowledging that you have a problem and that you need help, you have made a great step in the right direction. There’s no cure for alcoholism, but it can be treated when you learn how to replace your hold habits with new healthy ones. Each day your mind will begin to heal and you’ll see that you’re able to live a life far beyond what you ever expected when you were still drinking.

 

Categories: abuse, alcoholism, quit, recovery

Can Alternative Therapies Help You to Quit Smoking?

If you’ve quit smoking successfully, the chances are you’ve used complementary wellness methods to help you do it. Many a successful quitter has gotten through the pangs of cigarette withdrawal using techniques such as hypnosis, acupuncture, or meditation, as these therapies address all the areas in which smoking affects your wellbeing and develop a healthy balance between your physical and mental wellness. There are many doctors who recommend alternative approaches, but they do also encourage patients to try them in conjunction with other quitting methods such as the patch or nicotine gum.

 

Amit Sood, MD, director of research for the Mayo Clinics complementary and integrative medicine programme, asserts, ‘People shouldn’t think that alternative modalities will help alone; they should be combined with other treatment. Smoking is a serious problem and should be treated like a real chronic disease.’ While it’s difficult to measure the success of alternative approaches to quitting smoking in a clinical setting, you cannot doubt the popularity of alternative medicine overall, with regards to smoking cessation or not. In the US, a 2002 government survey estimated that 36% of Americans had used some form of complementary or alternative therapy within the previous 12 months – clearly, something was working for them! Let’s take a look at some of the alternative therapies that may help you to quit smoking, once and for all:

 

1. Hypnosis: This therapy can relax your mind so that you identify the things that subconsciously trigger you to smoke. Alan B. Densky, a certified hypnotherapist who specializes in smoking cessation, explains, ‘Hypnosis is nothing more than the alpha state—a state of mind that we pass through as we fall asleep at night, go deep into a memory, or as we watch television.’ A hypnotherapist will take your case history of past attempts at quitting, and then induce you into a state of relaxation—often through the methods of guided meditation or visualization. Your hypnotherapist will then ask begin a conversation to explore what might motivate the patient to quit. According to the preliminary results from a small 2007 study of smokers hospitalized with cardiopulmonary diseases, hypnotherapy increases your chances of quitting in six months than if you choose nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT) alone.

 

2. Acupuncture: A technique derived from traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture uses tiny needles to stimulate certain points on your body. When it comes to smoking, acupuncturists generally insert the needles on and around your ears, feet and top of the head in order to reduce your cravings and ease the withdrawal symptoms throughout the body. However, it’s important note that the needle placement varies depending on who you are, and the acupuncturist will evaluate you to determine your physical weaknesses. Through a reading of your pulse and the colour of your tongue, your acupuncturist can work out which needle points to address. While acupuncture is the most extensively studied among the alternative therapies used to quit smoking, you need to bear in mind that the research is mixed here too and the best results come from a combination of acupuncture and education.

 

3. Meditation:  Not only does meditation soothe your wellbeing and refocus your thoughts, but a 2002 study showed that it releases dopamine in your brain, which is a similar process to how nicotine triggers that relaxing feeling. ‘There is an element of neurobiology behind it,’ says Dr. Sood, adding that meditation can also be a way to replace the stress-relieving qualities of cigarettes. Try breathing in and out slowly through your nose while sitting in a comfortable seat. Do this for five minutes, simply refocusing your thoughts back to your breathing whenever your mind wanders. Gradually work up to 20 minutes of mindful breathing a day.

Categories: acupuncture, Alternative, alternative therapies, hypnosis, meditation, quit, quit smoking, quitting smoking, Smoking, smoking cessation

New Years Resolution: Six Tips on Quitting Smoking

Although there are many debilitating behaviors that an individual can engage in, smoking is probably one of the worst. This is the case for several reasons, including the fact that smoking can be expensive and can also impair one’s health. If you have made quitting smoking your New Years Resolution, you should know that doing so is entirely possible. Here are six tips that can help you overcome your smoking habit once and for all:

 

1. Consciously Acknowledge The Problem.

One of the reasons that people often find themselves unable to stop smoking is that they are not consciously thinking about the fact that it is an issue. Rather than mindlessly smoking cigarettes, think critically about the fact that each cigarette is making you more susceptible to cancer and endangering the health of others with second-hand smoke. When you begin thinking in this way, smoking will no longer seem as appealing to you.

 

2. Find A Support Group.

Sometimes quitting smoking can be difficult if you’re attempting to do it on your own. Since this is the case, you should consider joining a support group. Support groups are great because they give you an opportunity to talk and share with people who are experiencing the same challenges as you. Attaining this form of support can play a primary role in helping you quit smoking for good.

 

3. Keep A Journal.

When you attempt to quit smoking for good, remember that keeping your experiences in a journal can really help you. This is the case for several reasons, including the fact that recording your thoughts and feelings can help you understand what steps you need to take to make smoking a part of your past.

 

4. Participate In Smoking Studies.

One great way to overcome your smoking habit is to participate in a smoking study. Smoking studies are advantageous because they put you in an environment where you can learn about the adverse effects that the habit will have on your mind and body. To participate in a smoking study, go online and look up various studies which will take place in your local area. For example, if you live in Utah, locate a smoking study Utah residents can participate in. Once you begin researching, you will find that there are paid medical studies Utah citizens can take part in to not only help them quit smoking, but earn some spending money on the side.

 

5. Develop A Hobby.

Developing a hobby is a great way to quit smoking. This is the case because smoking is a time-consuming endeavor. By developing a hobby which helps redirect your mental and physical energy towards something else, you will no longer be as preoccupied with your dangerous habit.

 

6. Exercise.

Exercise is a wonderful way to help you quit smoking. In addition to taking up time and energy that you might have spent smoking, exercising increases your physical health and can make you less willing to engage in activities that detract from wellness.

 

If you have decided to stop smoking and want to keep this New Years Resolution, you should know that doing so is entirely possible. By implementing some or all of the strategies outlined above, you will likely find yourself able to completely overcome your smoking habit. Good luck!

Categories: nbsp, quit, quit smoking, quitting smoking, Resolution, Smoking, smoking habit, smoking studies, smoking study, support group, years resolution

Gender Differences Extend to How We Smoke and Quit

We’ve long been aware that the male and female bodies are affected by things in different ways, but did you know that the way in which we smoke is yet another to add to the list? In 2001, a study at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that women and men are affected by smoking, and likewise quitting, differently. After lighting up, women collectively rates their cigarettes as less satisfying than men did. In another study, women who sampled both standard and low-nicotine cigarettes noted less of a difference in their enjoyment and their perceived nicotine intake than male participants did. These are just some of the findings from this research, which suggests that there is a gap between male and female smokers. The research found suggests that men smoke mainly for the nicotine, whereas women tend to care more about the smell and taste, the hand-to-mouth sensation, the boost to their mood and the weight control. Studies show that both sexes have around the same rate of success with smoking cessation drugs, but nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), such as the patch of nicotine gum, reveal surprising differences. NRT seems to help both men and women get through the first few months of difficulty on an equal level, but after six months women tend to slide back into the habit at a higher rate than men do.

These differences between gender in smoking addictions may also account for an interesting exception to the NRT gender gap – the inhaler, which is a small, plastic cigarette-shaped device that provides a dose of vaporised nicotine when you take a drag from it. A study carried out in 2001 found that inhalers were more effective for women than men, in the short term, whereas men had more success with gum, patches and sprays. When women stop smoking, they lose both the nicotine and the sensory cues which can make things difficult for them. Replacing these cues with an inhaler rather than with a patch which doesn’t resolve the issue can help them to cope more easily with giving up.

More than half of female smokers state in such studies that their weight concerns are a major issue when quitting. This isn’t surprising but research suggests that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) could be well suited to women as it helps them to take the leap over the psychological hurdle, accepting that they may well gain a little weight when they quit.  Women may well benefit from combining CBT with a glance at their menstrual cycles as well. Studies suggest that menstruation has a unique effect on tobacco withdrawal symptoms. Women shouldn’t exacerbate hormonal mood swings with their withdrawal symptoms by trying to quit during the middle of PMS. It’s advised to wait until after the first day after a period starts to quit, so as not to make either problem worse.

If you’re struggling to quit smoking, there are a number of resources available to help you. From helplines to smoking cessation devices, you should be able to find plenty of information on how to quit in a way that suits you. Quitting is always the healthier option – smoking causes a number of health concerns, from increasing your risk of lung cancer and heart disease, to accelerating ageing and causing gum problems. Speak to your GP about ways to quit smoking and cut cigarettes out of your life as soon as possible.

Categories: female smokers, Gender, new study, nicotine, quit, quit smoking, Smoking, smoking cessation, withdrawal symptoms, Women, women tend

Sexy Smokers? Cigarettes Cause Impotence, Here’s How to Quit

When you think of the damage that smoking does to your wellness, you probably think about your lungs, heart disease, and even aesthetic stuff like yellow teeth and nails. However, though you may not realise it, smoking can have a huge impact on your sexual health – especially for men. Nothing affects a man’s sexual wellbeing quite like impotence, and your 20-a-day may be bringing it on.

 

Any wellness expert – or back of a fag packet – will tell you that smoking has a negative impact on your cardiovascular system, as it causes plaque to build up in your arteries. Men obviously need good blood flow in order to get an erection, but this becomes more difficult when you have arteries that are packed with plaque. Even if you don’t smoke personally, second hand smoking can also lead to erectile dysfunction, so hanging out with or even dating someone who smokes may, in the long run, really dampen your sex life.

 

However, lighting up prevents you from getting it up in more ways than one; in order to have a healthy sex life your nervous system needs to coordinate with your hormones, as well as mental stimulation, and smoking also gets in the way of this. Aside from the fact that arterial build up can lead to stroke, heart attacks or diabetes, long-term smoking means you’re almost certain to have moderate to severe erectile dysfunction (ED). Studies have shown that men who smoke consistently throughout the day have the softest erections at night. But will the ED go away if you quit smoking?

 

According to a study carried out by researchers at the University of Hong Kong Schools of public health and nursing, 53.8% of men who quit smoking experienced a noticeable improvement in their sexual function. These quitters were 91.5% more likely to reduce their ED than men who did not quit – you can’t really argue with those odds! As a result of this study, the researchers turned to the government and asked them to change the “smoking may cause erectile dysfunction” labels on cigarette packets to “smoking causes erectile dysfunction”. This is because they believe men who suffer with impotence can experience quick and effective results from quitting.

 

If you’re a heavy smoker, trying to kick the habit can be extremely difficult. Although there are many resources out there to help you, you’re only going to quit altogether if you are determined enough to pull it off. Still, once you have the right mind set, you can make the process a whole lot more simple by bearing a few important factors in mind:

 

1. Start strong. Make a firm decision about quitting and pick a particular day to quit.

 

2. Deal with withdrawal. Once the nicotine starts to leave your system, it can be hard to stay firm in your convictions. A lot of research points towards the use of nicotine replacement therapy or NRT as the most effective way to help smokers to quit.

 

3. Get help. Even with NRT, you may still experience those strong cigarette urges, so it may be beneficial to join a nicotine anonymous meeting or stop smoking class, and get tips from books, pamphlets and websites.

 

4. Consult a doctor. It may be embarrassing to talk to your GP about erectile dysfunction, but surely it’s more embarrassing in the long run to let the problem get out of hand, when you have the ability to deal with it. If you have pain with urination, pain in the lower belly or your erection lasts for less than a few minutes, you need to seriously consult a doctor.

Categories: Dysfunction, Erectile, erectile dysfunction, Impotence, nbsp, quit, quit nbsp, quit smoking, quitting, sex life, Smoking

What Does Your Body Go Through When You Quit Smoking?

It is one of the most unhealthy things that you can possibly do to your body, and yet tens of thousands of people are still smoking on a regular basis. If they could understand a little more about what they are doing to their wellness and wellbeing, however, perhaps they would not be so quick to light up the next cigarette. Cigarettes have been proven to increase your chances of getting certain cancers, such as those of the throat, mouth and lung, and smoking can also increase your chances of having heart problems or breathing difficulties.

 

Unfortunately, nicotine in cigarettes is highly addictive, and so many people who do want to quit find themselves unable to do so. Those who do quit, find that they suffer from such unpleasant physical symptoms that they start smoking again, merely to make the unpleasant effects go away.

 

1. Digestive problems are common when people stop smoking. You may experience indigestion, nausea, heartburn and even diarrhea. These symptoms peak and then start to improve.


2. Respiratory problems can also occur, including coughing, excess phlegm, sinus congestion and a hoarseness in the voice.


3. Circulation problems are also common. You may find that you feel dizzy or faint and may experience tingling in your fingers or toes.


4. Sleep problems are also common when stopping smoking, and many people report insomnia or other sleep problems.

 

As the body starts to repair itself, these symptoms will pass in around three to four weeks, and after that time you will start to feel a lot better and to experience the health benefits of no longer smoking. After this, your blood pressure will improve along with your carbon monoxide levels and risk of having a heart attack.

Categories: cigarettes, common, nbsp, people, problems, quit, sleep problems, Smoking

What Everyone Ought to know about the Effects of Smoking

On the 31^st May this year, it was World Smokefree Day 2013. For one whole day, the entire world was focused on the idea of smoking cessation. Whether you took part in World Somkefree Day or not, it may be a really good opportunity for you to ask yourself some serious questions about your smoking habits. How would you feel, for example, about stopping smoking for one day? Does the very idea fill you with horror and anxiety? If so, you are deep in the grips of an addiction, and it may be time to get help.

 

With the right support, you can take this important step, which will probably be the single most useful thing you can do to benefit your wellbeing and restore the wellness of your lungs, to some extent.

 

The Asthma Foundation is urging all smokers to quit now, and give their lungs a chance to recover. In New Zealand alone, for example, it is thought that around 170,000 people live with respiratory health concerns that are directly related to their smoking. Respiratory disease represents a significant problem, both in health terms and in financial terms, as the effect on the health service is significant.

 

Using New Zealand as an example again, smoking causes 5,000 deaths every year, and also is associated with numerous unpleasant health concerns. Asthma is obviously an important one, with smokers who are asthmatics, or asthmatics who come into contact with smokers (in the home or workplace or socially) having a much higher risk of struggling to control their condition and needing increased levels of medication. Smoking is also associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and directly responsible for lung cancer. COPD comes in the form of emphysemia and chronic bronchitis, and it is suffered by 200,000 people in New Zealand, 80 percent of whom have it as a direct result of smoking.

Categories: lungs, quit, Smoking