this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2024
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89
New Treatment Shows Promise for Helping Veterans With PTSD Quit Tobacco (researchinenglish.com)
submitted 10 months ago by dvtt@lemmings.world to c/news@lemmy.world
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[–] be_excellent_to_each_other@kbin.social 16 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

Vaping works wonders because with custom mixed juice you can dial back the nicotine content to barely anything over time, then eventually to 0. In the meantime you just keep using it the same way.

Having done this myself, you'd be amazed how quickly you start going "WTF am I doing this for?" after that final step to 0.

There seems to have been a coordinated attempt to stomp out the idea of vaping as a smoking cessation tool, but given how relatively cheap and easy it can be, it's hard for me not to pull out my tinfoil hat when I wonder why that was.

I tried cold turkey, gum, patches, wellbutrin, and probably other methods I've forgotten about over decades. With vaping it was a no brainer.

Not saying these other methods may not also work but I feel like technology has handed us the obvious solution, and while many ex-smokers have figured it out, seemingly no one else has.

[–] Sarmyth@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago

That was my experience as well. I smoked for 20 years. One month, 6 years ago, I decided to take the money I would spend on cigarettes and instead use it to buy a really nice vape and juices. This was about $200 at the time since I felt it was the best way to make sure I didn't give it up because I was being a cheapskate and not really giving it a fair shot.

For 2 weeks, I vaped 3mg juices and really liked it. I used menthol juices even though I never smoked menthol because it gave me that good throat hit and really scratched that itch. I then stepped it down to 0mg with my next purchase and went on vacation for my anniversary a week later. I didn't want to damage my nice vape, so I left it in the room for most of the day and used it only in the mornings and evenings but started to get annoyed by the effort I was taking to "make time" to smoke. I never recharged it after that trip and haven't had a cigarette since.

The stepping down that vaping offered me was invaluable, and even though I didn't get the value use of my vape, I was worth it in the long run.

[–] Ekpu@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

I am still not at 0 nicotine but even the health benefits from switching to vaping are impressive. You don't need a tinfoil hat. It is pretty clear what the strategy was and it is disgusting.

[–] prole@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

As someone who has found themselves becoming slightly addicted to/fixated on the mechanical motions associated with vaping THC cartridges, I can imagine having some difficulty stopping that even if the vapor contained no THC. There is something soothing about the whole thing that keeps my mind occupied in a way. It's hard to describe.

[–] be_excellent_to_each_other@kbin.social 1 points 10 months ago

I felt exactly this way, but within a few weeks of yanking the nicotine out it started feeling dumb to me. YMMV of course, but you might be surprised at how your viewpoint changes once the active ingredient is no longer there. (I'm not claiming THC is like nicotine, just to be clear.)

[–] ezchili@iusearchlinux.fyi 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

"Inserting one firecracker at the end of one cigarette in every pack was effective at curbing smoking habits in .1% of the surveyed population. However that number skyrocketted to 99 5% on the cohort who suffered from PTSD"

[–] TheBiscuitLout@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Came here to say pretty much exactly that! Great minds etc

[–] WhyYesZoidberg@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

“using intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) applied to a specific brain region”

[–] dvtt@lemmings.world 3 points 10 months ago

This research was funded by the US government

[–] CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world -1 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Or ya know, just try psychedelics

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

As someone who has had positive results from mixing ptsd and psychedelics without professional guidance, it’s a stupid thing to do. Psychedelics are great and when done properly they’re great for ptsd, but also a veteran having a challenging trip alone will be in a pretty bad position, but not all unpleasant trips are ultimately positive, and with ptsd it could make your trauma actively worse.

There’s other treatments as well, but “just try psychedelics” is a dangerous statement

[–] CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Dangerous is a strong word.

I didnt say "do random drugs without thinking about consequences or set&setting", but I also didnt think id need to explicitly tell people what to do and not do when I was trying to insert an alternative option. Certainly someone wanting to try a new drug MIGHT consider the effects of said drug before consuming. Or ya know, do their own research on why its an alternative option.

Tbf tho, I want to ty bc you gave a detailed response. Thanks for adding to the conversation.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yeah I’ve just seen a lot of positivity without acknowledgement of the fact that there are serious functional differences between following best solo trip practices and what is being tried as a therapy. The main danger I see is that I have seen people who see the positivity without nuance and start to see it as a miracle treatment or who think that when we talk about it it’s more like taking most medicines as opposed to the reality that there’s a good chance it’s gonna be fuckin rough and part of how you get positive results comes from having a background in healthier coping mechanisms and practices. CBT techniques for example are something that really helped me get through the rough parts of my last challenging trip. One of the suspected mechanisms of action last I checked was exposure while in an altered state. The trips that help are sometimes not terrible, but they’re not the fun trips. I did research on lsd before I tripped, but I didn’t get much warning of the fact that the healing would involve confronting the trauma.

But yeah I know people who did psychedelics for years and recommend against them because of bad trips.

It’s an effective and powerful tool, but I’m grateful we’re pursuing other tools as well as destigmatizing and refining it.

[–] CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The main danger I see is that I have seen people who see the positivity without nuance and start to see it as a miracle treatment

For many it is a miracle treatment.

or who think that when we talk about it it’s more like taking most medicines as opposed to the reality that there’s a good chance it’s gonna be fuckin rough and part of how you get positive results comes from having a background in healthier coping mechanisms and practices

Not sure how you define "rough" but for me my breakthrough trip involved a lot of laughing, crying, talking, quiet contemplation, enjoyment, love, pain, and eventually a form of acceptance. Bad trips are only bad because the driver chooses it to be so. The steering wheel analogy is often used when describing psychedelics: you can steer the "wheel" wherever you want, but theres no brakes on this ride until its out of your system. Also not sure why youre saying theres a "good chance" it will be rough, most people have positive experiences when taking psychedelics.

CBT techniques for example are something that really helped me get through the rough parts of my last challenging trip.

CBT is great, and ive been using it in conjunction with psychedelic introspection, healing, and growth.

I did research on lsd before I tripped, but I didn’t get much warning of the fact that the healing would involve confronting the trauma

It often does, whether youre on psychedelics or going through traditional therapy.

But yeah I know people who did psychedelics for years and recommend against them because of bad trips

Tbh, this sounds like fearmongering, especially considering modern medicine is adopting psychedelic therapy left and right these days. Pharma cos are making new drugs out of them, and institutions like Johns Hopkins are performing amazing research in the field. On top of that, everyone ive ever known personally who has taken psychedelics has only ever said good things, barring one person. They had a couple of bad experiences and are hesitant to try again, sounded a bit like temporary psychosis from what they described and I can totally understand that, but psychosis isnt a common side effect.

It’s an effective and powerful tool, but I’m grateful we’re pursuing other tools as well as destigmatizing and refining it.

IMO, usage of psychedelic medicines combined with an open minded therapist can do amazing work on healing the soul.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Yeah I don’t like the framing that bad trips are only bad because the driver chose it to be so. Personally I much prefer the good/challenging/bad framework. For me rough falls under challenging. It’s mentally and emotionally difficult and exhausting and I had to do it without some of my other psychiatric medications (serotonin syndrome sounds like a terrible time) which normally help me steer my thoughts and regulate my emotions. So in that process the roughness was the lack of the brakes and the fact that I was doing it without power steering. It was a marathon not a sprint. And I often didn’t get to pick where I was going, I just got to control my approach to it if that makes sense. Bad trips are to stretch this metaphor too far, when you spin out. It’s hurting without healing. And yeah I wouldn’t be surprised if every bad trip was preventable or able to be made better, but also I’ve got a close friend who was quite experienced and unable to get out of it for a while once he knew it went bad.

It’s changed my mind and benefitted me, but without getting the full therapy and therapist guided form of psychedelics it’s been one of the more effective things I’ve done, but I’m not cured, I’m not over it, and I’m still in the process of healing. Maybe it’s different because I have cptsd, but that’s part of why I take such a nuanced stance. My experiences were nuanced. I’m trying to not be the voice of “it’s perfect”, but rather the voice of “it’s likely to do wonders if you do it right, but it’s a commitment to develop the skills and tools then to dedicate a day to run an emotional marathon using those skills and tools”

As for fearmongering, a good childhood friend of mine dropped acid at a point in his life where he’d probably agree that it was stupid to do, but he was experienced and manic and last we discussed the drug he had no intention to ever touch psychedelics again, several years after the fact. I never asked the other friend what made her stop and decide she didn’t recommend it to new people but that’s what I know, and that it’s not like she went off and became a conservative. As I’ve said, I have had good results. And most people I know who’ve done them have had good to amazing results. I want to do it again and I’d love to do it guided by a specialist, I think it would do wonderful things for me, but it’s not happening anytime soon where I live, and it’ll likely be a serious financial commitment when I can do it, but I do believe it will be worth it. Though right now I’m also curious about magnetic treatment after some conversations I’ve had with other people about it.

I want there to be options because the lack of brakes is something that some people can’t handle or don’t know if they can handle, and I know what it’s like to cry pleading with any deity that’ll listen for a drug to wear off (not psychedelics, I just crossfaded way too hard in college a few times when I was going through shit and didn’t realize it or have healthy coping mechanisms). Even if they become the obvious best tool in our toolbox and I do think they may wind up there, it won’t be something everyone is comfortable trying and I doubt it’ll be the most effective tool for every person. I’m reminded of adhd and how while stimulants are effective for it to a degree that other drugs wish they had, some people for any number of reasons need non-stimulant medication and some are just treated better by it.