How can I quit SMOKING?!

The torture was beyond human power to bear.
(Sigmund Freud on his attempt to quit smoking)

Smoking and consumption of tobacco products are common in spite of the several media messages and pictorial warnings as to the harm caused by tobacco.  Why is this so?

What begins as a peer influenced, 'harmless', 'occasional' behaviour, stays with the person indefinitely, and before he/she realises it, becomes an insurmountable addiction.

People who have tried to quit smoking can vouch for the fact that it is a hopeless situation to remain without the daily nicotine fix - the cravings and withdrawal effects can be unbearable.  Ask Freud! 

When nicotine enters the bloodstream it activates what is known as the dopamine reward mechanism as shown here:

Dopamine is the 'feel good' brain chemical that activates the reward circuitry in the brain as follows: 

And so on it goes, until it becomes a vicious circle.

This makes tobacco/nicotine one of the most addictive substances in the world - the reason why quitting smoking is such an onerous task, fraught with relapses after periods of abstinence. 

However, breaking this reward circuit by associating less harmful substances (such as caffeine) with the pleasurable feeling, may work in some cases.  

Or, one could also try associating nicotine with unpleasant consequences such as odourous breath or health issues such as coughing/breathlessness. 

Yoga, pranayama and meditation, if done under guidance, can help break this vicious circle by helping one focus on larger issues rather than resort to smoking as a coping mechanism.

I talk about smoking addiction, complications due to long-term smoking, and treatment of smoking addiction in these videos in three languages:

English: https://youtu.be/OQmymTjteyg

Hindi: https://youtu.be/eCks5TGFfuk

Kannada: https://youtu.be/mhLfLL1xvl8

Please read more about smoking and what works in the treatment of its addiction in my earlier articles (click on the links from these pages to external site):

Harmful effects of tobacco; 10 ways to quit smoking and why e-cigarettes are no better.  

Also read a similar article on alcohol addiction.

Resources:

Music: Bed and Breakfast, The 126ers

Pictures:

• https://researchoutreach.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/shutterstock_1119286277.jpg
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Dopamine_pathways.svg/1200px-Dopamine_pathways.svg.png
• http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/435/029/435029196_640.jpg
• https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/20244/width1356x668/h5pht2cy-1360802054.jpg
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Nicoderm.JPG/330px-Nicoderm.JPG
• https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/70000/velka/electronic-cigarettes-1387647695FRV.jpg

Alcohol: How much is enough?

In the puranic texts, it is known as soma rasa, sura, madira.  

Yes, we are talking about that liquid whose quantity consumed is second only to water: alcohol.

According to the strength of ethanol content, it is also known as alcopops, beer, cider, lager, wine, sherry, and spirits which are very high in strength and include whisky, rum, vodka, gin and brandy.  

Drinking alcohol is common across communities and cultures across the world.  It is just something that has fascinated mankind with its intoxicating properties that can numb the mind temporarily from the harsh realities of life.  

Studies have also shown that drinking culture is associated with high rates of alcohol dependence.  It is also associated with co-dependence with other substances such as smoking and drugs.  

There are serious consequences of too much indulgence with alcohol and the ramifications are many: social, vocational, medical and psychiatric.  

Treating alcohol dependence is an onerous task, and there are frequent relapses into old patterns of drinking habit, which makes it a frustrating problem to deal with.

So one needs to consider:

How much can one drink?

When does it become a problem?

Are there any indicators of problematic drinking?

How can one measure their alcohol intake?

Find the answers to these questions in this short video in three languages:

English: https://youtu.be/bGMUKSwOPBQ

Hindi: https://youtu.be/dunOt_HJyvI

Kannada: https://youtu.be/XdA5gFXAYxc

Also, read and watch video about smoking/nicotine addiction.

Resources:

Background music [English & Hindi videos]: Paradise [Kannada video: Dreaming in 432Hz by Unicorn Heads]

Picture:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Chivas_image_for_wikipedia.jpg/1200px-Chivas_image_for_wikipedia.jpg

Units of alcohol, with gratitude to:

https://www.caldersidemedicalpractice.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/alcohol-units.jpg

https://www.onesmallstep.org.uk/application/files/8315/7141/4290/how_many.gif

Book conversations: White Magic

I have referred several long-term alcohol dependent patients to rehab centres.  But they rarely ever come back to share their experiences - that is, if at all they do go on to have a successful rehab.

The few who have been to rehab in the past have only recounted horror stories of how staff verbally and physically abused them, how they were tied up and/or tortured, and in some cases, how they had to jump over the compound to escape the 'prisons' they were in.  

Naturally then, with White Magic I was curious to find out the insider's account of what it is to go through drug rehab as a patient.  I was hoping for a balanced account of the successes, happy outcomes, unsuccessful attempts at rehab, and the difficulties faced by staff and patients alike in battling a notoriously recurrent and exasperating problem that is drug addiction. 

I am sorry to say I was left disappointed...

What we get in this book is a personal account of the author's rehab experience in one particular centre called The Land, which we are told operates very differently from the rest, and has high success rates.  That's fine...I am okay with that bit, even though the author does not comment on the effectiveness of his own rehab experience in the end.  

However the rehab experiences of Nath or his fellow programmers recounted here are very few.

Instead the majority of the narrative is filled with the maverick founder Doc/Bhai's life story, whom, it is plain to see, the author lionizes.  Everything about his difficult birth, his dysfunctional family life, his headstrong attitude, and his struggles through life as he sets up the rehab centre initially at home, and later at The Land are described as in a biography.

More than anything, his multiple affairs and love life are described in lurid details.  Bhai comes across as a cantankerous Casanova who beds anything that remotely resembles the female of the species.  Sorry to scoff, but this is not what I wanted to find out from the book.

In spite of all this, I did manage to find a few things worth remembering: that the idea of rehab is not to run away from the drug, but to run towards a fulfilling life; that any goal is achievable as long as one aims high and works towards it; and that the power of belief in, and the act of prayer to an impersonal higher power can in themselves achieve more than the rigid belief in any one particular faith or its god.  

Few more things that rankle: there is a generous use of cuss words; not just from the programmers, but also from Bhai himself.  And they all smoke like chimneys in rural England.  It is as though the rehab program does not consider the harmful effects of nicotine.  Instead, cigarettes are inhaled in preference to oxygen, and their non-use is applied as a punitive measure against some transgressions in The Land. 

The writing is mostly excellent, although there are quite a few sentences which I had to read again to coax the meaning into my (thick) head.  Nath does mention that his 'soup'y writing may not appeal to one who has no interest in the subject of drug addiction or rehab - or indeed, enlightening oneself about the life-story of Bhai.  I agree with him there... 

Only go for it if you enjoy reading biographies of eccentric individuals and their flamboyant lives.



Image source: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DCiZrqCGL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

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