Smokeless Tobacco Products Smokeless tobacco is sold in cans and pouches as leaves, plugs, or bricks. It can be dry or moist, and spit or swallowed. Contrary to what many people believe, these products carry health hazards for consumers. Chewing Tobacco Chewing tobacco is available as loose, braided, or compressed leaves that are sometimes flavored. A user puts a bit between the cheek and gum, and spits out the saliva that collects....
This article discusses what sobriety means and describes strategies that can support your long-term recovery. It also covers tips on how to deal with the challenges you’ll face on your journey to sobriety. What Is Sobriety? Sobriety means not being under the influence of a substance. However, the word is often used in different ways in different contexts. Many 12-step programs suggest that sobriety means total abstinence—never using the substance ever again....
Social reinforcement is feedback, in the form of actions such as smiles, acceptance, praise, acclaim, and attention, that we receive from other people in response to something we do. Reinforcement can either encourage or discourage us from engaging in a behavior. According to social reinforcement theory, simply being in the presence of other people can serve as a natural social reinforcement. How Does Social Reinforcement Work? In a famous study conducted in 1968, researchers looked at school-age children who spent little time studying....
This article discusses what happens if you quit taking an SSRI abruptly, some of the withdrawal symptoms you might experience, and how to prevent SSRI discontinuation syndrome. What Is SSRI Discontinuation Syndrome? Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of drug commonly used to treat depression and some forms of anxiety. The drugs help normalize brain function in people with certain mood disorders by increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain....
Stuttering is common in kids between the ages of 2 and 6 and often goes away on its own. However, people may also continue to be affected by the condition throughout life. There are effective treatments to help people overcome stuttering, as well as speech strategies to help improve fluency. Symptoms Stuttering is described as dysfluent speech involving overt and covert (hidden) symptoms. Examples include repeating certain sounds, having difficulty saying certain sounds, or struggling to start a word or sentence....
Smoking cigarettes isn’t the only cause of COPD; however, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking is the leading cause of COPD in the United States. People with COPD often find it difficult to perform day-to-day activities, as symptoms are progressive and worsen over time. COPD has many physical symptoms, but it’s also associated with high rates of anxiety and depression. Whether you have COPD or you are a caregiver for someone with this condition, it’s important to take care of your mental and emotional health....
Breathing Exercises Breathing exercises are excellent free stress relievers and can be done anytime, anywhere, making them one of my most recommended stress relievers. They work well by calming your physiology and preventing damage due to chronic stress. You can even use these free stress relievers when you’re in the middle of a very stressful situation—you don’t have until later! If you learn to relieve stress through your breath, you can keep your stress response from remaining triggered as you handle conflicts with difficult people, stressful driving situations, anxiety-provoking presentations at work or school, and so many other stress-provoking situations that you face throughout your day....
This article discusses the symptoms and types of religious phobias. It also explores how religion and phobias might be connected and some of the treatments that may help with religious phobias. Symptoms of Religious Phobias Most religious phobias would be considered a type of specific phobia, which involves an excessive fear of a specific object or situation. While some people experience fears related to religion, a phobia is more than normal fear....
It’s normal to be curious about what your therapist is writing. What are your rights when it comes to accessing these notes? This article discusses your rights with regards to therapy notes as well as the potential pros and cons of reading them. It also discusses what to do if you decide to request your therapist’s notes. What Are Therapy Notes? HIPAA defines psychotherapy notes as any note in any form used to document or analyze the contents of conversations that occur during individual, group, family, or joint counseling sessions....
But research is also increasingly showing that there are real benefits to finding things to do by yourself. Doing things by yourself allows you to enjoy activities you love at your own pace and in your own way. Through solitary pursuits, you learn more about yourself and reflect on your experiences. Being Alone vs. Loneliness While there is a wealth of research pointing to the psychological downsides of loneliness and social isolation, there is an increasing amount of evidence suggesting that a certain amount of quality time alone is critical to well-being....
Over time, the grief will likely subside and you will build a new life for yourself. In the meantime, here are some tips to help you cope. Go Easy on Yourself There is no right way to feel after losing your spouse. So many variables contribute to your reaction, including how long and happy your marriage was, how your spouse died, how old your children are (if you have them), and how dependent you were on one another....
Being Self-Supporting One of the principals of the 12-step support groups is that each member is responsible for his or her own recovery. The first part of Tradition 7 makes it clear that responsibility extends to the members of each local group as it passes the basket for contributions to pay the rent and maintain its literature library. If the group collects more than is necessary to meet its expenses, the group can contribute to its World Service Office, which also follows this tradition by accepting no outside contributions....
These behaviors are considered symptoms of bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and purging disorder, although they may also be seen in people with ‘disordered’ eating behaviors or other eating disorders. Compensatory behaviors may occur when someone eats more than they had planned on eating or are comfortable with eating, after a binge-eating episode, after eating specific foods, or after a regular meal. Examples of Compensatory Behaviors The most well-known compensatory behavior is self-induced vomiting....
Emotions have a strong influence on our daily lives. We make decisions based on whether we are happy, angry, sad, bored, or frustrated. We choose activities and hobbies based on the emotions they incite. Understanding emotions can help us navigate life with greater ease and stability. What Are Emotions? In their book “Discovering Psychology,” authors Don Hockenbury and Sandra E. Hockenbury suggest that an emotion is a complex psychological state that involves three distinct components: a subjective experience, a physiological response, and a behavioral or expressive response....
ARFID has only been in the DSM-5 since 2013, and despite the fact that it is in there as a legitimate eating disorder, there is little consensus about how to effectively treat it. Whether you’re seeking help for yourself or your child dealing with this issue, it’s important to know what your options are. This article discusses the choices you have for treatment, and how effective they have been found to be....
How to know if someone has added you back and offer some tips and considerations for using the app? This article will provide valuable insights if you are new to Snapchat or want to better understand its features and social dynamics. How to Add Friends on Snapchat To add friends on Snapchat, you need to find their username or Snapcode and send them a friend request. Here’s how to do it: There are a few things to keep in mind when adding friends on Snapchat:...
For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database. While it’s possible that some damage will start to reverse when a person stops using meth, other types of damage are harder to turn back. What we do know is that any restoration of brain function is only possible after a sustained period of complete abstinence. Read on to learn more about the dangers that meth use poses to the brain....
