Some help for self harm...

[whatdidyousay?]

foreword

Some People might disagree that this is a good idea, espeacially for me witch is very young yet, i'm not gonna post my age, but i can tell you that i am not very old.

so what's up?

I have been cutting my self and hitting my self for the past year - uintill i found something that helped a lot; at least for me... i am talking about Tobacco, smoke, cigars, cigarettes, whatever your preference is, it helps.
a lot of people cannot stand the smell or taste of tobacco, i love it if it is the right brand!

How come it helps??

because nicotine releases dopamin in the brain, you get a sort of "high" that makes you relaxed and in a good mood, listen to music while smoking and it should remove even suicidal thoughts! At least for me...

Remember to inhale it into your lunges, it may take some practice, but you don't get any nicotine into your bloodstream if you just keep it in your mouth!

The truth is that tobacco is healthy, mentaly that is.

What should i smoke???

it takes i while to find a brand you like, for me, i love the brands called "Prince" and "lucky strike". these brands take away most pain and depressing thoughts for a while, enough time to stop me from doing something stupid.
however, a brand called dunhill made me puke once, because of it's taste...

Just buy a pack of cigarettes (or a cigar for that matter) and smoke while listening to your favorite music when feeling self-destructive, it helps for me!

below will be some stuff you really don't need to read, but you should:

one cigarette is NOT going to make you addicted, the reason why people get addicted is because they like smoking and just keep doing it uintill they get addicted.

for any serious health problems to occour, then you need to smoke for like 30 years, depending on your genes...

 

[Ashami]

There are those who believe that smoking is a form of self-harm. you know, people like scientists, psychologists and medical experts.

 

[whatdidyousay?]

i don't know about them, but tobacco KEEPS me from self-harming and calms me. candy is not good for you either, but people still buy it.

look, if you are sceptical, just give it a shot. if you don't like it, then just let it be.

 

[daffy]

I do hope you still feel the same in 10 years and not feeling desperate to give them up when you realise the money that is going up in smoke and you have a cough. If you can stick to one or two a day , good on you. But as an ex smoker who went thru hell to give them up i would advise anyone against starting.

Dont be fooled by thinking the you have to have been smoking for 30 years to have problems that is a completely wrong. I saw my ex husband struggle with bronchitis and he was only in his 20s even that was not enough to make him pack it in. He didnt have much choice in the end. Major heart surgery in his 40s. Needing oxygen then an early death at 50. Ajnd he was one of those who said it wouldnt happen to him

There are other coping strategies that you can use. Talk to your MH team and they should be able to advise you.

 

[Dollit]

To be quite honest that's just a post to justify smoking. It doesn't help anyone and if you think you don't get serious problems until you've spent a long time smoking you're kidding yourself. I don't know how old you are but you aren't a mature person.

This isn't self help it's self abuse.

 

[KP1]

When I was in psychiatric hospital 3 times I was more or less the only non smoker. People chain smoked. Your logic doesn't seem to have worked there?
I did feel a temptation to smoke, try drugs drink alchohol. Fortunately Im just tried the alchohol but all these things can be seen as a way of releaving MH symtoms when you are pretty desparate and very vulnerable.
Smoking is an addiction and very difficult when you are hooked. If you've ever seen any one with cancer you would never encourage anyone to start.

 

[yakuza]

foreword

Some People might disagree that this is a good idea, espeacially for me witch is very young yet, i'm not gonna post my age, but i can tell you that i am not very old.

so what's up?

I have been cutting my self and hitting my self for the past year - uintill i found something that helped a lot; at least for me... i am talking about Tobacco, smoke, cigars, cigarettes, whatever your preference is, it helps.
a lot of people cannot stand the smell or taste of tobacco, i love it if it is the right brand!

How come it helps??

because nicotine releases dopamin in the brain, you get a sort of "high" that makes you relaxed and in a good mood, listen to music while smoking and it should remove even suicidal thoughts! At least for me...

Remember to inhale it into your lunges, it may take some practice, but you don't get any nicotine into your bloodstream if you just keep it in your mouth!

The truth is that tobacco is healthy, mentaly that is.

What should i smoke???

it takes i while to find a brand you like, for me, i love the brands called "Prince" and "lucky strike". these brands take away most pain and depressing thoughts for a while, enough time to stop me from doing something stupid.
however, a brand called dunhill made me puke once, because of it's taste...

Just buy a pack of cigarettes (or a cigar for that matter) and smoke while listening to your favorite music when feeling self-destructive, it helps for me!

below will be some stuff you really don't need to read, but you should:

one cigarette is NOT going to make you addicted, the reason why people get addicted is because they like smoking and just keep doing it uintill they get addicted.

for any serious health problems to occour, then you need to smoke for like 30 years, depending on your genes...

Dopamine is linked to the pleasure and reward system of the brain and it releases feelings of enjoyment, as well as motivating a person to repeat certain rewarding activities that are usually vital for the body to survive, such as eating when you are hungry.

Smokers possess 40% less of a crucial enzyme in the brain that breaks down dopamine than non-smokers. As dopamine is not broken down as efficiently in smokers and the pleasurable effects are maintained and due to the release of extra dopamine through the nicotine, the brain therefore tries to reward the behaviour that has produced the increased amounts of dopamine. That behaviour or activity must also be maintained if the levels of dopamine and feelings of pleasure are to be sustained.

This is why smokers have a need to smoke more and try to maintain the levels of nicotine in the body. The absence of nicotine after a short period of time, can lead to intense physical and mental withdrawal symptoms, which are immediately relieved upon smoking another cigarette.

Over time, the body develops a tolerance to nicotine and its pleasurable effects begin to wear off after a while. For this reason the smoker gradually increases the number of cigarettes that he smokes in a day in order to maintain the same feelings of pleasure.

In summary, research has proven that nicotine is a highly addictive substance found in cigarettes, which causes chemical alterations in the brain that lead to a constant need for the drug.

Thus, the reason that so many people continue to smoke becomes somewhat clearer.

 

[icetsunami]

I'm of the opinion that if it works for you then that is what it does. I would suggest however that this should be a short term coping mechanism to deal with your feelings. Smoking starts damaging you from the moment of your first breath. I wonder if caffeine has the same effect? Not that I suggest you switch.

 

[Ashami]

In my opinion addiction and depression are closely linked, due more often than not to childhood trauma, repressed emotions and arrested childhood development. Both addiction and depression are destructive, one feeds the other.

Therefore it seems sorta obvious that recovering from depression does at some point mean recovering from addiction, in all it's forms. Addiction is a coping mechanism, but it's destructive in nature and has to be waved goodbye if we are to ever fully recover.

A lot of research I have made leads to my belief that finding constructive ways of naturally increasing our dopamine levels is a positive way forward rather than allowing ourselves to be held back and imprisoned by negative addictions.

 

[whatdidyousay?]

whateveryouthink

whatever opinion you have about tobacco, it works for me when i am feeling self-destructive, and keeps me from doing something stupid. what i was trying to do here people, is to shed some light on the fact that things that makes you "high", but does not alter the brain like alcohol or marijuana, helps for short-term coping with self harm.

 

[Apotheosis]

whatever opinion you have about tobacco, it works for me when i am feeling self-destructive, and keeps me from doing something stupid. what i was trying to do here people, is to shed some light on the fact that things that makes you "high", but does not alter the brain like alcohol or marijuana, helps for short-term coping with self harm.

To be Frank - I love smoking. Given the choice; to be a non smoker would be preferable to my health, but I am addicted. I smoke allot of roll ups. I used to take allot of other drugs as well. Now I don't, smoking is my only vice. I cannot get away from the idea that smoking is a release for me with stress & helps me to cope. I would not suggest that anyone starts smoking to deal with MH issues. There does seem to be evidence however that especially in Schizophrenia & in relation to psychotic symptoms - that smoking does alleviate them to a degree. A high proportion of Schizophrenics do smoke. It is still no reason to smoke. There are many other methods to assist with reducing stress & managing a MH problem. Including meditation, managing time, exercise, & CBT, etc etc.

On the subject of drugs, there are substances which alleviate MH symptoms very effectively. Doses of Valium, & other "downers" are highly effective. In fact heroin, or opium is probably the best method of drug induced reduction of symptoms, especially psychosis. Unfortunately, these drugs produce dependence & a whole host of other problems - especially in regards to withdrawal (as any drug does, even caffeine). Just recently I have noticed a couple of threads on the therapeutic use of Exstacy in the treatment of depression.

But the roll ups are a small addiction in relation to how I used to live, & I would rather be smoking tobacco than drinking. It is a far lesser problem for me than other addictions, & it will not make me psychotic. I smoked my first cigarette 24 years ago, I'm still here. Maybe it will kill me? Who knows, maybe I'll stop soon.

http://www.forces.org/evidence/evid/therap.htm

 

[Colin76]

I have a house mate who suffer's with depression but does not take mediction and instad smokes cannabis to help cope. It does'nt bother me that he does this, but what does is when he lectures me about taking medication for my manic depression.

 

[whatdidyousay?]

I have a house mate who suffer's with depression but does not take mediction and instad smokes cannabis to help cope. It does'nt bother me that he does this, but what does is when he lectures me about taking medication for my manic depression.

he will be psychotic one day then.

 

[Starbright]

Yes he will

 

[Dollit]

Not all cannabis users develop psychosis. I know plenty who didn't and still haven't.

 

[gingerbear]

i used to.... for a week, i loved it and and still do but that week i was in and out of A&E 3 times.

all the people i know that smoke cannabis or whatever arnt phycotic! (yet) as i know alot of people who smoke and dont have cancer. i think for now il be sticking to a book and a hot chocolate

 

[Fedup]

i used to.... for a week, i loved it and and still do but that week i was in and out of A&E 3 times.

all the people i know that smoke cannabis or whatever arnt phycotic! (yet) as i know alot of people who smoke and dont have cancer. i think for now il be sticking to a book and a hot chocolate

good on ya gingerbear

 

[yakuza]

Interesting report from RC Psych

Half of people with cannabis-induced psychosis will develop schizophrenia-type illnesses

A worrying new study from Denmark has found that half of all patients treated for cannabis-induced psychosis will subsequently develop a 'schizophrenia-spectrum disorder'. Almost one third will be diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia-spectrum disorders were defined as schizophrenia, schizotypal disorder and schizoaffective disorders in this study.

Despite the fact that cannabis has been closely linked with the development of schizophrenia, little research has examined samples of people with cannabis-induced psychotic symptoms.

This study, published in the December issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, set out to establish whether such symptoms are followed by the development of persistent psychotic conditions, and the timing of their onset.

Information on patients treated for cannabis-induced psychotic symptoms between 1994 and 1999 was obtained from the Danish Psychiatric Central Register. Those previously treated for any psychotic symptoms were excluded from the study.

The remaining 535 patients were followed for at least three years. In a separate analysis, the sample was compared with 2721 people referred for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders for the first time, but who had no history of cannabis-induced psychosis.

It was found that 44.5% of those with cannabis-induced psychotic symptoms were later diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. This proportion increased with length of follow-up.

77.2% of the sample were diagnosed with new psychotic episodes of any type, which included bipolar disorder, anxiety and personality disorders. Only 15.9% of the patients did not receive psychiatric treatment at any point after the initial episode of cannabis-induced psychosis.

Male gender and young age were associated with increased risk. The average age of first treatment for cannabis-induced symptoms was 27, and over 82% of those treated were male. Among the comparison group, however, the average age at onset of schizophrenia-spectrum disorder was nearly 39, and just over 57% were male.

Development of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders was often delayed, and 47.1% of patients received a diagnosis more than a year after seeking treatment for a cannabis-induced psychosis. Most patients were treated on numerous occasions for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

Patients in the study group also developed schizophrenia at an earlier age than people in the comparison group (males 24.6 years compared with 30.7 years, and females 28.9 years compared with 33.1 years).

The researchers comment that this is the first study to show that cannabis-induced psychosis is followed by the development of long-term psychotic illness. The results do not disprove the existence of 'cannabis psychosis', but clearly show that such symptoms must be regarded as important risk factors for the subsequent development of psychosis.

Whether cannabis caused the development of schizophrenia could not be determined in this study, as it was not possible to control for other factors such as hereditary predisposition, other drug use and socio-economic status.

However, the fact that patients with cannabis-induced psychotic symptoms developed schizophrenia at a younger age than comparison patients suggests that cannabis use may hasten the progress of the illness.

The findings of this study have clear implications for doctors treating cannabis-induced psychosis. The prognosis for the patient is poor, and attention needs to be given to early intervention.

 

[Isobel]

I tried cannabis years ago. We had it in Shepherds Pie or honey sandwiches. All it did was make me feel dopey and a bit sick. I don't see the attraction. Maybe it was the kind my boyfriend got and other kinds would have been better.

 

[sadkari]

I really want to follow this thread. I cannot smoke owing to severe asthma....but anything I may be able to try where I don't look like my husband hurts me (he doesn't but try explaining that to medical professionals)......I'm open to following.

I was "clean" of these behaviours the last 4 months but had what hubby calls a "hiccup". I have a severe self harm effects happening. I'm angry that I slipped...