Depression Or Anxiety Keeping You From Quitting Tobacco? Here's How To Break The Pattern

If you want to live free of tobacco but struggle with depression, anxiety, or both, you may feel like quitting just isn’t an option. There’s no way you can deal with it all, right? It’s time to dispel that myth. With the right plan – one that takes your personal needs into account – you can regain control of your health, body and mind. A heavy burden According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in four American adults is dealing with a mental illness or battling substance abuse, which are known as behavioral health concerns. Behavioral health challenges can complicate any quit attempt – even the search for a stable starting point can feel overwhelming. But the need is great. This group alone consumes more than 40 percent of all cigarettes smoked by adults. Doctors may prioritize treating mental health first and addiction gets sidelined, especially if the addiction is something as common as tobacco use. But that’s a mistake. The mental illness may lead to harm, however, tobacco kills half of those who use the products. In fact, according to that same CDC data, people with behavioral health disorders die about five years earlier than those without, many from the effects of smoking. Even more concerning, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, statistics suggest people with combined addiction and mental illness die up to 25 years earlier than the general population. Unfortunately, be...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news