Smoking is a die hard habit and many people eventually die of the same. It remains one of the most common causes of cancer and lung diseases, which eventually lead to death. The irony is that almost all smokers know the harmful effects, but find it hard to quit. With a firm determination, there are people who quit, but then the relapse rate is quite high too.
Many believe that quitting requires a behavioural change. From peer pressure to a lifestyle habit, smoking is a social phenomenon. There are various methods to help quit smoking like quitting cold turkey and nicotine substitutes. Hypnosis is also gaining popularity as a method to help quit smoking. Research has shown an encouraging success rate in the range of 30 to 40% in cases where the desire and commitment to quit are high. This of course is with people who have strong will and are able to be hypnotized.
Hypnosis or hypnotherapy is a psychological technique used as supplemental therapy in a lot of cases, such as weight loss, depression, speech disorders, pain management, de-addiction; the list can be quite long.  It puts the person undergoing therapy into a deep sleep or trance, where they get in touch with themselves and find answers to a lot of questions. It is believed that while hypnosis puts a person to sleep, it also induces a higher level of cognition and a higher level of neurological activity. 
'During the actual session, the smoker is asked to imagine the numerous ill effects of smoking and the need to reduce its harmful effects on the body. This improves the willpower to quit smoking and reduces the desire. They are also advised of the benefits of quitting smoking, including longevity of life and better quality of life. The person is told that quitting smoking before 50 years of age gives a 50% chance of increasing the lifespan by 15 years. Now that is quite motivating for a lot of smokers to give up the habit.
It generally takes about 4 full sessions of hypnotherapy to reach a level where the patient is ready to kick the habits. Also, self hypnosis can be taught where the person can go into hypnosis on his own and enforce smoking cessation. There are even self hypnosis tapes that are available for aid.
However, a word of caution here, hypnosis is not for everybody as not everybody can be hypnotized easily and there has to be a strong belief that it will benefit, only then can smoking cessation be tried with hypnosis. It is still in the testing phase and is to be medically proven as a way to quit smoking.

Hypnotherapy In Smoking Cessation

If you are living with bipolar disorder then you will need a combination of skills to successfully combat each day of your life. Educating yourself about the disorder is the first step, however, there are certain tips that can come in handy on numerous occasions. 

Here are 5 tips that will really help you out:

Educate yourself about the disorder: The first thing you need to do is educate yourself about the details of bipolar disorder. Find out about the symptoms, read about the causes and the diagnosis procedure and ultimately find out everything about the treatment. Your doctor will provide you all the information and suggest you all the required treatment procedures. However, don t try to self-diagnose and self-treat your disorder without an expert opinion.
Stay connected with your friends and loved ones: Isolation is not the best way to handle bipolar disorder. The more you isolate yourself the higher the risk of mood swings. This lack of connection will lead to depression and that should be avoided at all cost. So try to be as connected to the world as possible. Talk to your family members, hangout with your friends, spend time with people around you; and you will feel a lot better.
Track the symptoms: Keep a daily log of your moods, thoughts and behaviors. This is a fantastic way to track the symptoms of the disorder. This will be revealing in the end, as when you present them before the doctor, he/she will be able to easily diagnose your condition. Try to keep track of particular incidents that may trigger any stress and change in behavior and log the mood episodes that you may have experienced pertaining to those triggers.
Employ coping mechanisms: It is not always possible to call on your doctor or counselor, so try to develop your own coping mechanism with the help of your doctor or counselor. Your mood episodes are going to be spontaneous so the coping mechanisms should be kept in mind. It can be anything that induces calmness in you such as staying connected, happy thoughts, music and any other healthy habits that captures your interest and engages you in something else.
Create a crisis plan: Create a contact list that will include the people, serially, who should be contacted in case of an emergency or a crisis attack. If you feel like you are experiencing any symptoms then contact them for help. When you are out of control, you will not have much time, so it is also advised to keep emergency numbers on speed dial to get yourself hospitalized without any time loss. Add your loved ones to the emergency contact list.


Suffering from Bipolar Disorder - 5 Things That Can Really Help!

Sound travels through different parts of the hearing system to produce the ultimate sense of sound in the brain. People can hear when a sound wave stimulates the neurological component of the inner ear and takes the sound signals to the brain.

When there is a problem with the ear, human beings cannot hear, or hear garbled sounds. Hearing loss may have different reasons. There may be a tumor in the ear, a problem with the eardrum, the inner ear or the neurological structure. Different conditions can plague the hearing system and cause hearing loss. Some of these conditions can be serious and require medical intervention.

Let us discuss 3 such conditions where the intervention of an audiologist is a must.

Tinnitus and Vertigo

 Tinnitus is a medical term for a sense of ringing in the ears. It s annoying, to say the least. But more importantly, it could be a sign of hearing loss. This is why people need to see an audiologist if they have a sense of Tinnitus for a prolonged time. An audiologist can first diagnose the condition, and can then treat this problem with the help of specialized hearing aids.

 Vertigo and dizziness are the other two problems that result from a hearing system problem. It may create balance disorders. It is said that vertigo originates in the inner ear. Vertigo can also be treated with the help of physical therapy and medicine.

 Sudden Hearing Loss

 The human ear cannot hear sounds greater than 85 dB in intensity and 20,000 Hertz in tone. If the sound tone is less than 20 Hertz, then too the human ear is not able to hear anything. Between these two polarities, the human ear is able to catch all types of sounds. If human beings are exposed to sound waves of more than 85 dB in intensity, the ears may get damaged. In that case one may suffer from hearing loss. If a person has recently experienced huge changes in air pressure, exposed to blaring music or noise at close quarters, or had an accident causing loss of hearing, one needs to see an audiologist. The ears need to be assessed for trauma, if any, and treated quickly. However, hearing loss may have other reasons too such as reactions to medicines, head injury or some kind of illness that affects the hearing system. An audiologist would be able to make the right determination.

 Recurrent Ear Infections

This is common in children, but that does not mean that adults are immune to it. If there is chronic ear pain, difficulty in hearing along with drainage and fever or a feeling of pressure, an ear infection is most likely. Any doctor can detect an ear infection, however, if it is a recurrent one needs to see an audiologist. He has the wherewithal to evaluate the middle ear with different tests. A person may need treatment that only an audiologist can do.

There can be many situations in which a visit to an Audiologist is warranted; the above 3 are just a tip of the iceberg.

Audiologist - Why To Visit One?

Alcohol, tobacco and drugs; these are some of the most common substances that people can get addicted to. Getting addicted is easy but to get rid of your habit is hard. 

Here are a few things that could help:

Set a date: Addicts who tell themselves that they will quit tomorrow often never end up doing so. Set a date for yourself when you will have your last smoke and drink. Ideally, you should set this date a few weeks from the day you decide to give up your bad habits to allow yourself to be mentally prepared.
Find new friends: Peep pressure is one of the most common reasons for an addiction to begin. Hence, the first thing to do when you are trying to give up a bad habit is to stay away from the people you associate with that habit and make new friends.
Hold yourself accountable to someone: While you can give in to yourself, it is harder to make excuses for doing something when you are being held accountable by someone else. Find a mentor or a friend who will be there for you and who will  sponsor  your deaddiction.
Find your weak spots: Every habit is triggered by certain factors. If you have decided to try and give up a bad habit, identify the factors that trigger it and avoid them. For example, your morning cup of coffee may trigger the need for a cigarette. By replacing coffee with juice, you can make your morning a little easier.
Take up a new hobby: A hobby is a great way to distract yourself from cravings. Crossword puzzles and Sudoku are great as indoor hobbies while swimming is an excellent outdoor hobby. You could even try gardening or crafts.
Exercise: One of the many benefits of exercising is that it can help boost endorphins and make you feel happier and thus less likely to crave cigarettes of alcohol. Aim for at least half an hours exercise each day.
Maintain a journal: Some days are good and some days are bad. To give yourself a balanced view of your deaddiction process, maintain a journal. Write down your achievements as well as your pitfalls and be proud of what you have achieved for yourself.
Help someone else: The best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else. Similarly, with addiction, the best way to be strong and give up a bad habit is to help someone else do it. This way, you are forced to be a good example and give up the habit yourself.
Ask for help: Do not be so proud as to not be able to ask for help when you need it. Remember, it is better to appear weak and ask for help rather than go back to your addiction.
Don t give up: Relapses are common but they do not have to be the end of your efforts. If you do have a bad day and have a few drags of smoke or maybe a drink, tell yourself that it s ok. Identify the reasons why you gave in to yourself and start afresh from the next morning.

Addiction - 10 Sure Shot Ways To Deal With It!

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder in which a person s mood, knowledge, thought and several other characteristics gets disturbed. We can notice most of the adults and old people with few symptoms of schizophrenia, which are most commonly left unidentified. The exact cause of schizophrenia is not yet known. The person feels that they are being constantly watched, they feel the presence of someone or something, which is not actually there. They are always suspicious and think that other people are gossiping and thinking about them.

Possible causes of Schizophrenia
Though the exact cause of schizophrenia is not known there are few factors, which contribute to the cause of schizophrenia.

    Genetic factors: People with a family history of schizophrenia are at higher risk of getting schizophrenia.
    Environmental factors: Environmental factors include excessive stress during pregnancy or later stages of life. Several other factors during pregnancy and childhood are responsible for causing schizophrenia. These factors are:
        Decreased oxygen level during delivery due to premature birth or prolonged labour
        Parental loss or separation in early stages of life
        Parental exposure to virus or during infancy
        Childhood physical or sexual abuse
        Abnormal brain structures and brain chemistry

Sings and symptoms of schizophrenia

    Hallucination: To see, feel or hear anything that really does not exist is known as hallucination.
    Delusion: A thought or belief of a person, which is either false or impossible in reality is known as delusion.
    Thought and speech disturbances: The thought process and speech of a schizophrenic will be disorganized, due to which he or she  will fumble or is distracted as they are unable to align their thoughts.
    Difficulty in concentrating: It is difficult for people suffering from schizophrenia to concentrate on the task at hand.
    Erratic behaviour: People suffering from schizophrenia tend to behave erratically, either they will be too jumpy or will be perfectly still for hours at a stretch. Most people belief that those who are suffering from schizophrenia are often violent in nature, which actually is not the case.

Treatment for schizophrenia
Schizophrenia can be treated, if identified at an early stage. . It is best advised to consult a psychiatrist the moment you spot the symptoms. Anti psychotic drugs, self help behaviour change, counselling and rehabilitation are few treatment modalities available for schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia: Can Genetics be the Reason Behind it?

Ending one s life is terrible. But often, instead of analysing the patient s mental condition at that time, we tend to judge them. The most common cause for suicides is undoubtedly depression. Adverse social or financial conditions often contribute to the mental condition of patients. However, a recent paper published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology might change the way we think about suicides. Lena Brundin and her co-workers have come to the conclusion in the paper titled  Role of inflammation in suicide: from mechanism to treatment,  that our immune system can trigger off suicidal thoughts and tendencies. Let us find out how.

There is proof that certain medicines that are used to treat cancer patients can affect the immune responses. This in turn can trigger off suicidal tendencies.
Certain injuries can lead to brain disorders which are related to inflammatory responses that might be responsible for some changes in behaviour often leading to suicidal thoughts.
Just like certain medications trigger of suicidal thoughts, there are some that might diminish them like Lithium. It is used to treat bi-polar disorder. What it does is decrease immune related chemicals. Another drug has proved to be very effective in reducing suicidal thoughts and tendencies   Ketamine. Ketamine, like Lithium, has been found to block certain chemicals that are related to immune response.
Though the whole topic is still under extensive research, it can perhaps be concluded that certain drugs have the ability to lessen suicidal thoughts and depression because they block some chemicals that are related to immunity.
The suicidal mentality is very complex. It requires not just medicines, but counselling, empathy, love and understanding. Often, many patients cannot come out of their depression, resulting in therapy sessions that are fruitless. In those cases, medicines that might reduce the negative thoughts and moods will come handy. It will help the patient initially to deal with the situation and start with a lot of positivity. Every year, almost one million deaths occur due to suicide. Not only does it leave behind survivors who attempt to kill themselves but also broken families that struggle to get over the death. If this research is successful, several people will benefit from it, all over the world.

Suicidal Tendencies - Can Your Immune System Influence it?

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