Smoking and Bipolar Disorder
Posted by Administrator in Mental Health.Did you know that 70% of people diagnosed with bipolar disorder smoke?
There is an extremely high incidence of people with mental illness smoke cigarettes. There is evidence that smoking is a form of self-medication, since it appears to reduce anxiety, sedation, and improves concentration in some people. The nicotine in a cigarette can have a calming effect, can increase alertness and improve memory.
However, four thousand chemical compounds have been found in cigarette smoke including fertilizers, pesticides such as DDT, insecticides such as malathion, 40 carcinogenic chemicals, 1000 flavoring agents, and 600 additives.
Plus, studies have shown that smoking increases psychotic symptoms because antipsychotic drugs are flushed out of the body quicker due to the effects smoking has on kidneys. Read more