Kicking the Tobacco Habit!: START!

As follow-up to the previous post, I am starting a series on quitting the habit of smoking. As I have said, this might be hard to do to a lot of people, but with the right mindset and faith, it's highly not impossible! It will not only be good for you, but to us, non-smokers, as well.

Just the thought of getting rid of something you've been used to doing may make you anxious. So the best way to start is conditioning your mind and body first. Quitting works best when you're prepared.

Before you quit, START by taking these five important steps:

S = Set a quit date.
T = Tell family, friends, and co-workers that you plan to quit.
A = Anticipate and plan for the challenges you'll face while quitting.
R = Remove cigarettes and other tobacco products from your home, car, and work.
T = Talk to your doctor about getting help to quit.

Kicking that tobacco habit is easier with the support of others. Tell your family, friends, and co-workers that you plan to quit. Tell them how they can help you.

Some people like to have friends ask how things are going. Others find it nosy. Tell the people you care about exactly how they can help. Here are some ideas:

Ask everyone to understand your change in mood. Remind them that this won't last long. (The worst will be over within two weeks.) Tell them this: "The longer I go without cigarettes, the sooner I'll be my old self."
Does someone close to you smoke? Ask them to quit with you, or at least not to smoke around you.
Do you take any medicines? Tell your doctor and pharmacist you are quitting. Nicotine changes how some drugs work. You may need to change your prescriptions after you quit.
Get support from other people

Expecting challenges is an important part of getting ready to quit. Most people who go back to smoking do it within three months. Your first three months will be hard. Certain things trigger, or turn on, your need for a cigarette. They can be moods, feelings, places, or things you do. It will do you good if you know your triggers so that you can prepare yourself to deal with that 'urge' to smoke again. Other known triggers are stress, depression, failure, alcohol, watching TV, driving car, after meals, playing cards, taking a work break, being with other smokers, drinking coffee, seeing someone else smoke, cooling off after a fight or argument, and feeling lonely or missing someone.

REFERENCE:
http://www.rdoc.org.uk/smoking_tobacco_risk.html http://www.smokefree.gov/quit-smoking/index.html

Abdominal Epilepsy?

The other day, I encountered an uncommon medical diagnosis, abdominal epilepsy. Maybe I was absent when this was taught in med school or maybe it was mentioned but it just didn't register in my memory bank. Anyway, for those colleagues who haven't heard of this as well, here's what I found out about it, so that next time you are faced with a weird abdominal pain, you will think of abdominal epilepsy as a differential. There are many medical causes of abdominal pain; abdominal epilepsy is one of the rare causes. From a medical perspective, the term epilepsy refers not to a single disease, but to a group of symptoms with numerous causes. The common factor in all forms of epilepsy is an excessive electrical excitability of the brain. The increased excitation is called a seizure and may manifest as a partial or total loss of consciousness and muscle spasms or other involuntary movements. Many conditions can produce epilepsy. For example, a genetic predisposition is...

"Ganacity"

If there's one word that I will never forget from my AGSB experience, it's "ganacity"! A word frequently mentioned by our FinMan professor. What does it mean? It's a combination of the tagalog word "gana" (appetite, zest) and the english suffix "city" which converts an adjective word into a noun. 'Ganacity' therefore refers to one's state of desire or interest in something. I am sharing this because I feel that my 'ganacity' for what I am doing now is spiralling down, and it is so difficult to reverse it back up or just to keep it at a maintained level. It is becoming a struggle on a day to day basis. I am hoping that night and day will alternate fast so that this battle will end soon.

The Beauty of Giving

It is heartwarming to read how people are coming together to help and support all those involved in this war against the corona virus 19. Indeed, the blessing in this crisis is the transparency of people and the willingness to help those in need without a second thought. We have proven once again that we can care beyond ourselves. Hopefully though, this selflessness goes beyond the end of this pandemic. Giving sincerely is powerful not only for the heart but also for the mind and soul. It provides an intrinsic reward that’s far more valuable than the gift. It’s ‘finding one’s self by losing it in the service of others. As we nest in the comforts of our home, let us continuously find ways to help others in even small and meaningful ways.

Tooth and ENT Doctor

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