There are all sorts of reasons for people to quit smoking, and for people with mental illnesses, there are even more.
Smokers with mental illnesses are at an accelerated risk of diabetes, heart attacks, and stroke. In addition, smoking has adverse effects on many of the most common psychiatric drugs. The negative effects of nicotine and other substances in tobacco smoke are little understood, but research is turning up many ways in which they are thought to be harmful to the body and mind.
Evidence is rapidly emerging that smoking may actually cause mental illnesses such as depression and Anxiety Disorders. It can greatly multiply the risk of panic attacks and other common mental conditions.
This post is the second in a 2-part series concerning smoking and mental illness. Part 1 discussed why people with mental illnesses smoke up to four times the rate of the general populace, along with findings about the higher rate of mental illness among smokers. This part deals with the following topics:
- Why Should Someone With a Mental Illness Quit Smoking?
- Can smoking cause mental illness?
- In Summary
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Mental Illness,
smoking
Smoking and mental illness are tightly bound together to a surprising degree.
People with mental illnesses are up to 4 times more likely to smoke than the general populace. And people with mental illness smoke much more than other smokers.
Nicotine provides a long list of positive benefits for the mentally ill, which encourages them to start and keep smoking.
And there is a growing body of evidence that smoking can actually cause mental illness, particularly the more common ones such as Anxiety Disorders and depression.
This post is the first in a 2-part series concerning smoking and mental illness. This part deals with the following topics:
- People with mental illnesses smoke at up to four times the rate of the general population
- People who smoke have a higher rate of mental illnesses than those who don’t
- Why Do People With Mental Illness Smoke?
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Mental Illness,
smoking
It has been estimated that 21 percent of adults in the United States (about 45 million people) currently smoke. It has also been found that individuals who have Anxiety Disorder may be particularly likely to smoke. Out of all Anxiety Disorders, individuals with Panic Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder show the highest rate of smoking.
Smokers are twice as likely to suffer Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as non-smokers, according to a recent study of male twin soldiers. The researchers also found that people exposed to trauma, whether or not they developed PTSD, were more likely to take up smoking.
About one-third of people go on to suffer Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after experiencing severe trauma, according to estimates. PTSD is a mental illness characterized by Anxiety, flashbacks and panic attacks.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Panic Disorder,
PTSD,
PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,
smoking
