I think the domino effect would be a good example to use for this post. You know how one domino falling over causes the whole line to go down? Same thing here, a chain reaction if you will. If you suffer from mental health issues, in addition to substance abuse or are a frequent smoker, those actions piggy back off each other and end up leaving you worse off; even though they make you feel good temporarily.

According to Medical News Today, if a person who regularly smokes and suffers from some type of mental illness, quits smoking, they have the potential to improve their mental state. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! You could save money by not having doctor bills, prescription medication and a tobacco habit to feed.

As reported by Medical News Today:

Cavazos-Rehg, an assistant professor of psychiatry, found that quitting or significantly cutting back on cigarette smoking was linked to improved mental health outcomes. Quitting altogether or reducing by half the number of cigarettes smoked daily was associated with lower risk for mood disorders like depression, as well as a lower likelihood of alcohol and drug problems.

MNT reports that it doesn’t know if an improved mental state helps a person quit smoking or if quitting helps the mental state improve BUT the link between the two was enough to cause a stir in the psychiatric world.

So to sum it all up, if you’re two kinds of crazy (I’m making light of it), but if you’ve actually been diagnosed with a mental health disorder and you smoke, you’re only digging yourself into a further hole.

What’s the harm in trying, quit or a week or even a few days and see if you start to see things more clearly.

Dr. O

Picture source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7633228/Addiction-to-smoking-may-be-in-the-genes.html