Should You Quit Cold Turkey?
- 11.30.2009
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Have you desperately tried to quit smoking and just can’t seem to kick the habit? “Evidence suggests that nine out of 10 smokers will attempt to quit cold turkey at some point.” If you really want to quit, but the thought of going a day without a cigarette makes you sick to your stomach, than you need to get some help. You don’t have to quit alone and in fact most medical experts don’t recommend quitting the habit cold turkey.
“Research has found that fewer than 5 percent of smokers succeed when they go cold turkey. The data generally don’t support cold turkey as a method of quitting.” Says Thomas Glynn, PhD, director of cancer science and trends and international cancer control for the American Cancer Society. “A better way is to combine counseling with medication.” Research has also found that people who use medications or nicotine replacement therapies like the nicotine patch, nicotine gum, or nicotine inhaler can double or triple their chances of quitting successfully. When you go cold turkey, you are essentially shrugging off medical advances designed to make it easier for you to quit.
If you are ready to quit than don’t wait anymore. Contact us now and get help. You don’t have to do it alone.
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“Research has found that fewer than 5 percent of smokers succeed when they go cold turkey. The data generally don’t support cold turkey as a method of quitting.” Says Thomas Glynn, PhD, director of cancer science and trends and international cancer control for the American Cancer Society. “A better way is to combine counseling with medication.” Research has also found that people who use medications or nicotine replacement therapies like the nicotine patch, nicotine gum, or nicotine inhaler can double or triple their chances of quitting successfully. When you go cold turkey, you are essentially shrugging off medical advances designed to make it easier for you to quit.
If you are ready to quit than don’t wait anymore. Contact us now and get help. You don’t have to do it alone.
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Addiction: Do I have a problem?
- 11.18.2009
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Have you ever tried something, want it all of the time, and can’t seem to quit? You might suffer from a serious addiction. What is an addiction anyway? “Addiction is a chronic, but treatable, brain disorder. People who are addicted cannot control their need for alcohol or other drugs, even in the face of negative health, social or legal consequences. This lack of control is the result of alcohol- or drug-induced changes in the brain. Those changes, in turn, cause behavior changes.” (HBO | Addiction)
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Drunken Fruit Flies Help Scientists Find Potential Drug Target For Alcoholism
- 11.16.2009
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A group of drunken fruit flies have helped researchers from North Carolina State and Boston universities identify entire networks of genes -- also present in humans -- that play a key role in alcohol drinking behavior.
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Survey Reveals Big Gap In Understanding Of Depression
- 11.11.2009
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Americans do not believe they know much about depression,
but are highly aware of the risks of not receiving care, according to a
survey released today by the National Alliance on Mental Illness
(NAMI). See full survey results at http://www.nami.org/depression.
The survey provides a "three dimensional" measurement of responses from members of the general public who do not know anyone with depression, caregivers of adults diagnosed with depression and adults actually living with the illness.
- Seventy-one percent of the public sample said they are not familiar with depression, but 68 percent or more know specific consequences that can come from not receiving treatment-including suicide (84 percent).
- Sixty-two percent believe they know some symptoms of depression, but 39 percent said they do not know many or any at all.
- Almost 60 percent of people living with depression reported that they rely on their primary care physicians rather than mental health professionals for treatment. Medication and "talk therapy" are primary treatments-if a person can get them-but other options are helpful.
- When people living with depression discontinue medication or talk therapy, cost is a common reason, but other significant factors include a desire "to make it on my own," whether they believe the treatment is actually working and in the case of medication, side effects.
"The survey reveals gaps and guideposts on roads to recovery," said NAMI Executive Director Michael J. Fitzpatrick. "It tells what has been found helpful in treating depression. It can help caregivers better anticipate stress that will confront them. It reflects issues that need to be part of ongoing health care reform."
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The survey provides a "three dimensional" measurement of responses from members of the general public who do not know anyone with depression, caregivers of adults diagnosed with depression and adults actually living with the illness.
- Seventy-one percent of the public sample said they are not familiar with depression, but 68 percent or more know specific consequences that can come from not receiving treatment-including suicide (84 percent).
- Sixty-two percent believe they know some symptoms of depression, but 39 percent said they do not know many or any at all.
- Almost 60 percent of people living with depression reported that they rely on their primary care physicians rather than mental health professionals for treatment. Medication and "talk therapy" are primary treatments-if a person can get them-but other options are helpful.
- When people living with depression discontinue medication or talk therapy, cost is a common reason, but other significant factors include a desire "to make it on my own," whether they believe the treatment is actually working and in the case of medication, side effects.
"The survey reveals gaps and guideposts on roads to recovery," said NAMI Executive Director Michael J. Fitzpatrick. "It tells what has been found helpful in treating depression. It can help caregivers better anticipate stress that will confront them. It reflects issues that need to be part of ongoing health care reform."
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