research

Nature and Mental Health at Harmony

Posted on by Christy Weeks
Mental Health and Nature

On any given day at Harmony you can witness life’s challenges and know that a compassionate soul is there to help along the path of healing. The mental health professionals are part of a team at Harmony and work with clients in a way that combines the natural beauty of our campus with the intrinsic values of each client.

To further explain how we know being in nature can help heal, I’d like to share a study out of Stanford University which suggests that time spent in natural settings may improve brain health.

“As more and more of us live in cities, we spend less time in natural settings, including parks. Studies also show that people in urban settings without access to green spaces have higher levels of psychological problems than those with access to green spaces. Is there a definitive connection between time spent in green spaces and mental health? The answer is yes. In a series of two studies, Stanford researchers believe there is a connection between time spent in green spaces and a decrease in “morbid rumination,” what is more commonly thought of as brooding over the negative aspects of our lives.”

“This study investigated the impact of nature experience on affect and cognition. We randomly assigned sixty participants to a 50-min walk in either a natural or an urban environment in and around Stanford, California. Before and after their walk, participants completed a series of psychological assessments of affective and cognitive functioning. Compared to the urban walk, the nature walk resulted in affective benefits (decreased anxiety, rumination, and negative affect, and preservation of positive affect) as well as cognitive benefits (increased working memory performance). This study extends previous research by demonstrating additional benefits of nature experience on affect and cognition through assessments of anxiety, rumination, and a complex measure of working memory (operation span task). These findings further our understanding of the influence of relatively brief nature experiences on affect and cognition, and help to lay the foundation for future research on the mechanisms underlying these effects.”

The study further asks, what does this mean for everyone?

1. “Spend Time in Natural Settings – What can it hurt to take a daily walk in the park or spend time sitting on your back porch looking at the creek (if you’re lucky enough to have that situation)? Take your lunch to a natural setting and spend vacation time at least partially in the outdoors. Doing so will immediately improve your mental health.
2. Move – Movement is good for us. No doctor in the world says that it’s healthy to sit at home and do nothing. But instead of going to the gym, find a nature trail to hike or bike, golf, or take a stroll in the green belt. Even if you don’t get your heart rate up to aerobic activity levels, you’ll still mentally benefit from the movement.”

The healing journey for a client at Harmony can include a client expressing their emotions in a calmly lit room, moving forward on a walk to the river at Rocky Mountain National Park or learning a really cool coping skill. One of many examples of coping skills taught to clients is called 5,4,3,2,1 where one is taught to evoke all five senses. This is a great coping skill where a client is taught to tap into all 5 senses within as a viable resource. Another experience often happening at Harmony is witnessing clients as well as staff simply spending time with Cooper, our therapy dog.

As a mental health provider at Harmony, I have noticed clients seemingly more calm during sessions when we are taking a walk together in nature. I believe they appreciate the fact we are walking and talking side by side as opposed to sitting across from one another. Clients have stated, “Wow, this is better than sitting in an office, this is a nice place to get treatment.”

Since Harmony offers outings each week at an indoor climbing gym or hike in the park, depending on the weather, clients are able to take advantage of the natural beauty and the healing attributes of moving Harmony has to offer.

Harmony is a special place that helps client’s feel safe, accepted and cared about. For some on their path of healing it is a beginning, for others it is a renewal; for all whose path includes a stay at Harmony, it is a step toward healing in the arms of nature’s embrace.

Kelly Baker, MA, LAC, LPC, NCC
Mental Health Professional, Harmony Foundation, Inc.

References:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/how-nature-changes-the-brain/?mwrsm=Facebook&fb_ref=Default&_r=0
http://www.pnas.org/content/112/28/8567.abstract
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204615000286
http://www.girlscouts.org/

Does Treatment Work? Why Outcomes Matter…

Posted on by Christy Weeks
Does Treatment Work

by Dr. Annie Peters: Harmony Foundation’s Chief Clinical Officer

Harmony has been helping people who are struggling with addiction to find recovery since 1969. While Harmony is well-known in Colorado for providing clients and families with support and quality services for many decades, reputation means little without demonstrating that people do, in fact, get better.

Defining what recovery is, and demonstrating that people who use Harmony’s services begin finding recovery, are essential components to the provision of ethical and effective care. Harmony’s mission is to provide the foundation for recovery from the diseases of drug and alcohol addiction. If clients leave treatment and begin re-developing lives of purpose, satisfaction, and rewarding relationships, we know we have helped to provide the foundation for a journey toward wellness.

Harmony contracts with an external research organization, OMNI Institute, to examine treatment outcomes regarding substance use, psychological well-being, and improvement in life satisfaction.
Data collection for the most recent outcomes study performed by OMNI began in March 2015, and the study was finalized in 2017. One hundred and forty eight (148) Harmony clients were assessed upon admission, at discharge, and at 1, 6, and 12 months post-discharge. The percentage of clients who responded at these time points were, respectively, 100%, 94%, 63%, 61%, and 64%. While results cannot be generalized to clients who were unable to be reached for follow up, a number of statistically significant findings can be reported and provide valuable information about the effectiveness of care provided at Harmony.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Understanding the people we serve helps us provide the highest quality of care by tailoring treatment interventions to the specific needs of our clients. In this study, the average age of clients was 38, with a range from 18-65. Sixty-four percent (64%) of clients identified as male, and 36% identified as female. All clients were asked to identify their “primary drug.” The majority of clients (74%) identified this as alcohol, followed by heroin (10%), methamphetamine (6%), other opiates/painkillers (5%), and marijuana (3%).

Clients under the age of 25 typically used more substances – the average number was four. The primary drug differed by age as well; clients under 25 identified heroin or alcohol (38% for each), followed by marijuana (13%).

REASONS FOR DRUG/ALCOHOL USE

Clients were asked about the reasons they used alcohol and drugs, and their responses help us understand how to help people better. Many clients (30%) said they used substances for “self-medication” or emotional pain/mental illness (28%). Other common answers were using for pleasure (22%), to escape reality (15%), habit (13%), or pain (5%).

PREVIOUS TREATMENT AND REASONS FOR SEEKING TREATMENT
About a third of clients had been to a detox treatment before, and about a third reported a prior treatment for substance use. Another third reported never having any treatment for drug or alcohol use.

About half of clients surveyed reported a prior diagnosis of a mental health disorder, with the most common diagnoses being depression (37%), anxiety (25%), ADHD (11%), PTSD (7%), and bipolar disorder (6%).

Most clients said that coming to treatment was a personal decision (71%). Other common reasons given for seeking treatment were a family situation, health reasons, a legal situation, or a job-related reason.

POST TREATMENT OUTCOMES

After leaving Harmony, clients were asked at 1, 6, and 12 months about their drug and alcohol use. They were asked whether they had been continuously abstinent from drugs/alcohol since discharge, and they were also asked if they had been clean/sober for the previous 30 days. As can be seen in the table below, over half of clients at one year post-discharge had been continuously abstinent since coming to Harmony, and 71% of them had been abstinent for the past 30 days.
Follow-up     %Abstinent for      %Continuously Abstinent
     Time            Past 30 Days                   since Discharge
1-month           77% (n=88)                            68% (n=91)
6-month           64% (n=90)                           57% (n=91)
12-month          71% (n=90)                            54% (n=95)

Abstinence since treatment is not the only outcome that demonstrates that clients are recovering and have improved their lives. In this study, we also wanted to determine how quality of life had improved for people who had come to Harmony. So all those surveyed were asked questions about relationships with family and friends, physical/emotional health, and other factors. Clients reported significant improvements over time in their family relationships, friendships, spiritual connection, physical health, emotional health. They also reported significant positive changes in their ability to handle finances and handling problems or conflicts, as well as improvements in self-respect. There were also significant reductions in arrests and other legal problems post-discharge, as well as improvements in employment status.

Because so many of our clients have co-occurring mental health issues, we also asked questions about symptoms of anxiety and depression. There were statistically significant reductions in symptoms such as hopelessness, fatigue, nervousness, restlessness, sadness, and feelings of worthlessness.

WHAT PREDICTS ABSTINENCE

In order to continuously improve Harmony’s services, we wanted to determine if there were factors that were associated with post-treatment abstinence. For example, do older clients have better abstinence rates than younger clients? Is primary drug related to abstinence rates, such that clients who primarily used alcohol do better than clients who primarily used heroin?

Interestingly, the only variable that predicted abstinence was the reduction in mental health symptoms during treatment. In other words, the more clients’ symptoms of depression and anxiety decreased during their time at Harmony, the more likely they were to remain abstinent after leaving treatment.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE

One of the most compelling and recurrent themes in this study was the importance of mental health care and support. As mentioned above, self-medication of emotional pain and mental health issues were primary reasons clients reported for using drugs and alcohol. Half of our clients had co-occurring mental health diagnoses. And the single best predictor of post-treatment abstinence was the reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety that clients reported during their treatment at Harmony. For the past few years, Harmony has worked to improve the quantity and quality of support provided for mental health issues. We have added mindfulness groups, a trauma coping skills group, and education groups on a variety of mental health topics. Clients can receive both addiction-specific counseling at Harmony and counseling specific to psychological issues. Given the results of this study, Harmony plans to continue enhancing the services provided to help people recover not just from chemical use, but from underlying emotional issues that can increase risk for relapse.

While the results of this study show that Harmony clients do, overall, have improved lives and decreased drug and alcohol use, we want to help more individuals and more families to recover, with more significant reductions in substance problems and more improvement in life functioning. Harmony is committed to continuous improvement in our services to provide even better care and help more people find their way to recovery. Studies such as this one remind us why this work is so important and why we need to always examine ourselves and find areas for improvement.

CLIENT FEEDBACK

At the end of each survey, clients were asked if they had any feedback about the Harmony experience. Common answers were that they appreciated the support provided by staff as well as the community they built with the other clients. While data can provide us with important feedback on who we serve and how we can continually do better at helping people find recovery, it is these comments that remind us why we do what we do at Harmony:

“I have come to better understand myself, my need to use, and what I am struggling with so that I won’t need to turn to drugs and alcohol to deal with my problems.”

“I’m really grateful to Harmony…it helped me a lot… I was in really bad shape. If I would have went somewhere else, I probably wouldn’t still be clean.”

“The staff here was absolutely amazing and seemed to truly care about me and my recovery. They were instrumental to my time here and truly helped me recognize qualities and worth in myself that make my sobriety worth fighting for.”

 

Alcohol Use Disorder Screening

Posted on by Christy Weeks
alcohol use disorder

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) affects millions of Americans, a disorder which can have serious impact on one’s health and can be fatal. Without effective, evidence-based treatments, the chances of recovery are slim. Sadly, many young adults have an AUD which usually arose in their teenage years. Preventing teenage alcohol misuse and abuse is crucial, and doctors can play a huge role in intervening early on.

New research has found that physicians who ask teens just one question about drinking frequency in the past year can help them determine who is at risk for developing an AUD down the road, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) press release. The study involved almost 1,200 young people ages 12 to 20. The findings were published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

“Primary care physicians are encouraged to screen adolescents for alcohol problems, yet many do not, citing time constraints and other issues,” NIAAA Director George Koob, PhD said in a news release. “This study demonstrates that simple screening tools such as those in NIAAA’s Youth Guide are efficient and effective.”

Using a computer-based questionnaire at a primary care clinic, the teens involved in the study were asked about how much alcohol they use and were screened for an AUD, the press release reports. The researchers found that 10 percent of those over age 14 met the diagnostic criteria for an AUD. The NIAAA funded study found that 44 percent of teens between 12 and 17 years old who had at least one drink on three or more days in the past year met the criteria for AUD. But everyone who drank that much was at risk for alcohol problems. Thirty-one percent of 18-20 year olds who reported 12 or more drinking days in the last year were found to have an AUD.

“This finding confirms that a single question can be an effective screen for AUD,” said lead researcher Duncan B. Clark, MD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

If you are a young adult and believe that you have a problem with alcohol, please contact Harmony Foundation. Our Young Adult Recovery Track (YART) is specifically tailored for treating young adults with substance use disorders, let us help you begin the journey of recovery.

A Vaccine for Heroin?

Posted on by Christy Weeks
heroin

The American prescription opioid epidemic has affected millions of Americans and their loved ones. Efforts to curb painkiller abuse had the unintended effect of leading to a scourge of heroin use – as the drug is often times cheaper, stronger and easier to acquire in the wake of prescription opioid crackdowns. Heroin abuse has become a major public health concern in both urban and rural America, due to the rise in both addiction and overdose death rates. While there is help available in the forms of treatment and 12-Step recovery, relapse rates are particularly high among opioid addicts.

Scientists continue to develop new methods intended to give addicts the best shot at successful recovery, and believe it or not, in the near future there may be a vaccine available that will prevent people from getting high if they use. Research was published last month that dealt with developing a vaccine that would prevent people from getting high if they use the powerful opioid narcotic fentanyl – an analgesic that is 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine, and 50 times stronger than heroin.

What’s more, clandestine laboratories are manufacturing fentanyl which is then being mixed with heroin to make it more potent. Heroin users are often unaware of the presence of fentanyl, an ignorance that can prove fatal. Admixtures of heroin fentanyl can severely depress respiratory function, which can result in death.

Working with mice, researchers were able to inject the animals with booster shots that would train their immune systems to attack the fentanyl molecules in the bloodstream before the drug crossed the blood-brain barrier resulting in euphoria or potential overdose, The Daily Beast reports. Additionally, when the researchers injected the mice with lethal doses of fentanyl, the mice survived.

“The idea that [the researchers] can make an effective vaccine is very cool. It’s a good accomplishment,” says Phil Skolnick, director of the Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), who was not involved in the study. “You have to trick the body, and it requires a fair amount of trickery.”

If the human clinical trials are successful, it could eventually lead to the development of a heroin vaccine. The vaccines would be specific to particular drug molecules. If people in recovery from heroin addiction are vaccinated, it could significantly deter relapse because the user would know that they will not experience the desired euphoric affect.

Until such time, the best opportunity of successful recovery rests on effective, evidence-based addiction treatment programs. If you are battling with prescription opioid and/or heroin addiction, please contact Harmony Foundation to begin the journey of recovery.

Marijuana Tourists’ Emergency Room Visits

Posted on by Christy Weeks
marijuana

When it comes to which mind altering substances carry the greatest health risk it is probably fair to say that most Americans would agree that marijuana is at the bottom of the list – as is evident by the continued lightening of restrictions when it comes to the use of cannabis. In the last 20 years, since California became the first state to legalize the use of medical marijuana, more and more states have hopped on the “green train,” medical marijuana is now legal in 24 states and Washington D.C. Four of those states and Washington, D.C. have also legalized adult recreational use, with more states expected to follow suit this November.

The State of Colorado is one of the four states that have legalized adult cannabis use, and in 2014 sale began throughout the state. Legalization, like one might expect, has brought about a surge in marijuana tourism, that is people who would like to walk into a store and buy marijuana, just like one would by a six-pack of beer. The novel experience is a not without risk, a new report has shown a spike in emergency room visits involving out-of-state visitors experiencing marijuana-related medical problems, HealthDay reports. Between 2013 and 2014, the number of marijuana tourists visiting the University of Colorado Hospital emergency room doubled, according to a research letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“People in Colorado are becoming more experienced with use of these products,” said study co-author Dr. Andrew Monte, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora. “Sometimes visitors to the state, it’s more difficult to get the educational information in their hands. They may be less experienced with the particular products in the state. They haven’t been exposed to the deluge of public health messaging.”

While marijuana may be perceived as being a benign substance, a number of marijuana products contain extremely high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the main psychoactive ingredient that produces the high marijuana users experience. Monte points out that the majority of ER visits are the result of marijuana affecting pre-existing medical conditions, according to the article. Cannabis edibles are also responsible for a large number of emergency room visits, which if too much is consumed can cause severe vomiting.

It is important to keep in mind that on top of physical health risks, marijuana can become habit forming and potentially lead to addiction. If marijuana is negatively impacting your life, please contact Harmony Foundation for assistance.

The Brain Disease Model of Addiction

Posted on by Christy Weeks
addiction

Our understanding of addiction has come a long way in a relatively short period of time; how the disease is viewed and treated are perfect examples of the progress we have made. Not too long ago, society’s answer to addiction was to dismiss those who used drugs and alcohol to the point of despair as having a shortage of willpower and perpetually hedonistic. The government’s response was to arrest and jail people who sold or abused mind altering substances, essentially branding millions of Americans as social pariahs for something that they were unable to control.

After decades of draconian drug policies, U.S. jails and prison populations exponentially grew, costing taxpayers billions of dollars each year. What’s more, when offenders with substance use disorders were released, more often than not they would be re-incarcerated for similar offenses.

Advances in medicine and our understanding of the brain has given scientists the ability to see that addiction is not a voluntary lack of self-determination and personal responsibility, but rather a disease of the brain; and, like any disease, for one to recover they require intensive treatment. Today, in most states people with substance use disorders are given the option of treatment in lieu of jail, and for those who are willing to do the work – recovery is possible.

Treating addiction as a mental illness is still a hard pill for many people to swallow, the reasons for this vary. One reason for this is that neurobiology is difficult to understand, another may be that the idea that using drugs and alcohol is a voluntary decision. The list goes on, but treating addiction as a mental illness has allowed experts to develop more effective treatments and sound prevention methods.

A review of available research conducted by the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Nora Volkow and colleagues, about addiction as a brain disease was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The goal was to enlighten those who question the brain disease model of addiction. The review of research produced a clear outline supporting the model, and we encourage you to read it in full. Dan L. Longo, M.D. writes:

“Advances in neurobiology have begun to clarify the mechanisms underlying the profound disruptions in decision-making ability and emotional balance displayed by persons with drug addiction. These advances also provide insight into the ways in which fundamental biologic processes, when disrupted, can alter voluntary behavioral control, not just in drug addiction but also in other, related disorders of self-regulation, such as obesity and pathologic gambling and video-gaming — the so-called behavioral addictions.”

Recovering Addicts Beware! Many E-Cigarettes Contain Alcohol

Posted on by Christy Weeks

If your program of recovery involves attending 12 Step meetings, then it is highly likely you have seen people puffing on e-cigarettes – devices that vaporize liquid containing nicotine for inhalation. Over the last few years, many cigarette smokers have experimented with e-cigarettes. In some cases people have stopped using traditional tobacco products in favor of ‘vaping;’ in other cases people will use the devices concurrently with tobacco. While there remains to be little conclusive research on e-cigarettes as effective smoking cessation devices, there are a number of health experts that believe they are likely to be less harmful to your health than cigarettes.

Whether or not e-cigs are safer than cigarettes may be a moot point, at least when it comes to people in recovery. New research indicates that many commercial vaping products contain small levels of alcohol, enough alcohol to affect motor skills, CNBC reports. Researchers at Yale University found that about three-quarters of commercial e-cigarette liquids (tested) contained less than 1 percent alcohol. The finding was published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

The researchers tested two groups of people, one using an e-cigarette with higher alcohol content and the other group using a device with lower levels, according to the article. While both groups reported not feeling any different, the group that vaporized an e-liquid with higher levels of alcohol showed a worse performance when given psychomotor tests.

“They didn’t actually know they were under the influence of alcohol,” said study co-author Dr. Mehmet Sofuoglu, a professor at the Yale School of Medicine. “It still influenced their performance.” 

The findings are especially troubling when you consider that many of the people in recovery who use commercial e-cigarettes may be unsuspectingly exposed to alcohol. It is highly recommended that people working a program of recovery avoid any mind altering substance, regardless of how minute the exposure may be; this goes for certain cough syrups, fermented drinks, some mouthwash brands and even certain foods. Even infinitesimal levels of exposure could have an effect that leads to a relapse.

If you are in recovery and would like to continue using your e-cigarette, it is important that you find nicotine liquids that do not contain alcohol.

Motivational Interviewing Combats Opioid Abuse

Posted on by Christy Weeks
motivational-interviewing

It is safe to say that prescription opioid addiction, like any substance with the potential for addiction, does not discriminate. The nation has seen opioids take the lives of thousands of people for over a decade, yet patients continue to be prescribed the drugs at unprecedented levels. Part of the problem is that pain needs to be managed, and the drugs that work best happen to be highly addictive. If misused, opioids like oxycodone or hydrocodone can be life threatening.

Unlike the typical stereotypes that often accompany heroin addiction, prescription opioid addicts are often: professionals, mothers, students, productive members of society. Addiction typically stems from an injury that required the use of painkillers. While most people can use a prescription opioid until the pain goes away, there is a large number people who become dependent on such drugs and what was once a method of pain management can quickly become an addiction.

Faced with a prescription opioid addiction epidemic, federal agencies and lawmakers have made it more difficult for prescription opioids to be acquired and abused. In turn, people dependent on the drugs have been forced to look to the street, many of which opt for heroin as a cheaper and stronger opioid.

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) reports that prescription opioids:

  • Are abused by 1.9 million Americans.
  • Cause nearly two deaths every hour from overdose or respiratory depression.
  • Almost 75 percent of opioid addiction patients switch to heroin.

The nation’s opioid epidemic happens to coincide with the “Baby Boomers” meeting old age or on the cusp. Naturally, the generation is requiring more frequent medical attention, many of which require pain management. It is believed that more than half of patients being treated for chronic pain misuse their medication at some time, ScienceDaily reports. Fortunately, new research suggests that motivational interviewing (MI), a form of behavioral counseling developed to treat alcohol abuse, may be effective in fighting prescription opioid abuse among aging adults.

“Older adults are at high risk for complications resulting from prescription opioid misuse,” says Chang, PhD, RN, associate professor and interim associate dean for research and scholarship in the University of Buffalo School of Nursing. “As the baby boomer generation ages and more patients are prescribed opioids, abuse is likely to become an even greater problem.”

MI promotes a patient’s desire to change behaviors that may be problematic by:

  • Expressing empathy for what they are going through.
  • Using non-confrontational dialogue
  • Creating a divergence between actual and desired behavior.

Patients 50 years of age and older who had chronic pain and were rated at risk for opioid misuse were examined by researchers, according to the article. The participants underwent MI for one month with counselors, and later received a one month follow-up test. Participants reported an increase in confidence, self-efficacy and motivation to change behavior, and a decline in depression, anxiety and the intensity of chronic pain.

“The Effect of Motivational Interviewing on Prescription Opioid Adherence Among Older Adults With Chronic Pain,” was published in a recent issue of Perspectives in Psychiatric Care.

High-Potency Marijuana Damages Nerve Fibers

Posted on by Christy Weeks

People use marijuana more than any other illicit drug, yet the plant has been severely understudied. In recent years the use of marijuana has fallen into a veritable grey area, with states legalizing the drug for both medical and recreational use, despite marijuana being illegal on the federal level. Greater acceptance of marijuana use has led to a surge in research on the drug, regarding both the dangers of use and the plant’s medicinal properties. There is little question about marijuana being more benign than let’s say methamphetamine; however, there are still many scientists who are unsure regarding the long term effects of use.

Many marijuana users, including teenagers, believe that marijuana is harmless; they often say that ‘no one has ever died from marijuana use!’ While that may be true, whenever someone uses a mind altering substance there is an effect on the brain – which may be more serious than you’d might think. What’s more, marijuana has become available in highly potent forms, containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels upwards of 20 percent; THC is the principal psychoactive constituent found in the plant.

In fact, new research suggests that high-potency marijuana may damage nerve fibers in the brain, which connect the organ’s two hemispheres, HealthDay reports. The study was conducted by researchers at King’s College London.

The research team analyzed MRI scans from 99 people, some of which had been previously diagnosed with psychosis, according to article. The researchers found that frequent use of high-potency marijuana was associated with damage to the corpus callosum, the largest white matter structure in the brain. The corpus callosum is notably rich in cannabinoid receptors. The stronger the marijuana, the greater the damage.

“We found that frequent use of high-potency cannabis significantly affects the structure of white matter fibers in the brain, whether you have psychosis or not,” said senior researcher Dr. Paola Dazzan, of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London.

The findings were published in Psychological Medicine.

While marijuana is legal to use recreationally in four states, including Colorado, it is important that the public be made aware of the risks of use. Like alcohol, just because it’s legal does not mean it is safe. Teenagers are especially susceptible to adverse effects because their brains are still developing. Marijuana can also lead to dependency, which can require outside help. If you or a loved one is addicted to marijuana, please contact Harmony Foundation for assistance, we have been able to help tens of thousands of people learn how to live life free from addiction.

Quiting Smoking Reduces Risk of Relapse

Posted on by Christy Weeks
relapse

For many people, alcohol and cigarettes often go hand in hand. Some people who do not regularly smoke cigarettes will concede to doing so when they are drinking. The correlation between alcohol and nicotine may be more important than you think when it comes to addiction recovery.

Recovering from any addictive substance is challenging, anything one can do to make the experience less trying is recommended. Those in recovery usually give up cigarettes last, but it turns out that alcoholics who quit smoking when they stop drinking may find a greater chance at success.

New research suggests that smokers with a history of alcohol abuse are at an increased risk of relapse three years later if they continue smoking, Science Daily reports. The study was conducted by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the City University of New York.

The findings come from a sample of 34,653 adults with a past alcohol use disorder. The researchers found, when compared to nonsmokers, daily smokers and nondaily smokers had about double the odds of relapsing to alcohol, according to the article.

Across the country, many substance use disorder treatment facilities do not require patients to give up cigarettes. Although, most will encourage smoking cessation, offering access to a number of current therapies. Some treatment centers believe that quitting drinking and smoking at the same time is too difficult. While that mindset may have some merit, in the long run quitting both at the same time may be more fruitful.

“Quitting smoking will improve anyone’s health,” says Goodwin, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health. “But our study shows that giving up cigarettes is even more important for adults in recovery from alcohol since it will help them stay sober.”

The findings held even when factoring in:

  • Anxiety
  • Illicit Drug Use
  • Mood
  • Nicotine Dependence

The findings appear in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. __________________________________________________________________________________

If you are or a loved one is struggling with alcohol, please contact Harmony Foundation to begin the journey of recovery. Harmony is a state-of-the-art, affordable, residential addiction treatment program located in the Rocky Mountains.

Addiction and recovery news provided by Harmony Foundation.