Pipe Smoking for anxiety

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bigboi

Lifer
Nov 12, 2012
1,192
3
clickklick - I can identify with you. I have found my pipe sometimes is the only friend I have in a my lonely world. Not that I don't have friends mind you, but that is what depression does to you. It means my brains electro-chemical system with regards to my ability to deal with certain emotions is not what they would consider healthy. I do find that when I am not sitting and taking time with my pipe, I tend to have my darkest days. I too also feel I can connect with pipe smokers better than with other people. The other hobby that does this for me is my upkeep of my aquariums. My family thinks me odd. However, it keeps me from drowning in my negative thought patterns. Day to day, I choose fight, my pipe helps me with that.
You article is a good one. Thank you for sharing.

 

clickklick

Lifer
May 5, 2014
1,700
212
Thank you big boi! I am glad we can relate.
Shutterbugg - I think the millions of people suffering from mental health issues would tend to disagree with you. Although I am very happy that you are "normal" and don't need to "feel cured" using anything but the oxygen you breath. I think that feeling would be ideal for a lot of us.

 

shutterbugg

Lifer
Nov 18, 2013
1,451
21
Shutterbugg - I think the millions of people suffering from mental health issues would tend to disagree with you. Although I am very happy that you are "normal" and don't need to "feel cured" using anything but the oxygen you breath.
Just because I choose not to spill my guts to a bunch of virtual strangers on an internet forum does not mean my opinion is borne of an arrogant sense of superiority as you imply. I never referred to myself as "normal". That is a clinically meaningless term.
There is an alarming trend in healthcare these days. Profit-seeking pharmaceutical companies begin indoctrinating medical students to the paradigm of treating every disease with a palliative drug. For those unfamiliar with the distinction between palliative and curative, palliative means it merely suppresses symptoms to a manageable level. Best-case scenario you take that drug for life and you don't feel sick. But best-case rarely happens. Most of the time the drug stops working because the disease has progressed to the point where a new drug is needed to palliate the symptoms. A new drug with a new patent, no generic, and a higher cost. More profits for the pharmaceutical industry.
My opinion is that creating an addiction is a lousy way to treat a disorder. Of the "millions of people suffering from mental health issues" I believe only a small number would "tend to disagree with" that.

 

deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
32
I don't really see the correlation with self destructive behavior, as a rule, the self destructive behavior was usually already present or the main reason the SSRIs were prescribed.
Our experience differs. My generation was savaged by these drugs, which usually left people in a worse state than when they went in. Then again, and the difference here is crucial, they were prescribed for "depression" which relates more to failed families and the Late Empire condition of the West than to an underlying biochemical condition.
Chemicals in booze, tobacco, dope and prescribed drugs cause a temporary disruption of conditioned stimulus-response mechanisms.
Now that is fascinating. Something to think about today. But I already know there's a lot to think about there.
I think the millions of people suffering from mental health issues would tend to disagree with you. Although I am very happy that you are "normal" and don't need to "feel cured" using anything but the oxygen you breath. I think that feeling would be ideal for a lot of us.
Someone told this story, probably here, and I filed it away for profundity...
A bunch of white kids are practicing with their black coach on the football field.
One of the kids asks his coach, "Hey coach, do black people feel this way in the heat?"
The coach answers without looking up, "Don't know; never been white."
We have the same situation here. Neurotypicals and people with mental health disorders have no idea what it is like to be the other.
I think shutterbugg is speaking only from the perspective he knows, much as click is.
$0.02, and better spend it fast... Caesar's coin is not as well regarded abroad of late.

 

prairiedruid

Lifer
Jun 30, 2015
1,998
1,116
My opinion is that creating an addiction is a lousy way to treat a disorder. Of the "millions of people suffering from mental health issues" I believe only a small number would "tend to disagree with" that.
Depends on the disorder.....I wish there was a medication that was effective to treat my depression. If I had to take it everyday for the rest of my life just to return to a more balanced life I would in a heartbeat. You seem to equate that any type of addiction is ultimately worse than just suffering through the disorder; that palliative care is in the long run is just for King Pharma to make money at the expense of the individual; your generalization is wrong.

 

sthbkr77

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 17, 2015
221
0
MD
Until a remedy is discovered that would alleviate pharms, they will be there. Are there misdiagnosis and over-prescribed drugs? of course there are. If only there was a pill for tact...
I appreciate you sharing this piece of your life Adam. I've found (as many of you) that the ritual and controlled breathing is an excellent guided meditation. I suffer from anxiety and do not take any pills. I have my pipes and one other vice which I will refrain from mentioning that I use in strict moderation. Find what works for you and use it.

 

iamn8

Lifer
Sep 8, 2014
4,248
14
Moody, AL
If one enters the world of pipes with expectations of stress relief, having this expectation can, in and of itself, induce stress when that stress fails to be reduced. Stressing out about being stressed out is stressful, said the snake eating its tail.

 

clickklick

Lifer
May 5, 2014
1,700
212
No offense was meant with my posts above. I was sincere in my statements. I wouldn't wish my problems on anyone. I live my own life everyday as does every one else. If we were all the same this would be boring.
I still disagree though :)

 

okiescout

Lifer
Jan 27, 2013
1,530
6
"$0.02, and better spend it fast... Caesar's coin is not as well regarded abroad of late."
:rofl:

 

cfreud

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 1, 2014
256
284
Without getting into this whole discussion of Big Pharma, I find pipe smoking helpful for panic attacks. If you wanna keep a pipe lit, you have to breathe. You breathe in more regular fashion, you disrupt the panic attack. At least that works for me. Tough anniversaries — father's death, etc. — I pull a good-sized pipe and off we go.

 

pinem

Might Stick Around
Aug 16, 2015
64
102
Nebraska
If you are a perfectionist, pipe smoking can cause some anxiety when first figuring things out, especially if you are unfortunate and have read up on how you are supposed to smoke a pipe and what you are supposed to be getting out of it. It is best to learn to smoke a pipe without knowing what you are supposed to be doing, and figure things out on your own with time. That said, the amount of time you spend thinking to yourself "danger! danger! my pipe is going out, my pipe is going out!" tends to be very effective at getting your mind off other trains of thought.
On a more serious note, I have dealt with depression in the past, went on for about 10 years. Resulted in a lot of self destructive behavior that created a positive feedback loop that just made things worse and worse over time. I eventually got over it through a perfect storm of events that resulting in me coming to the realization that I do have free will and that I was choosing to be depressed to give myself a free pass to be self destructive. The thing about being self destructive is that it is actually quite enjoyable and cathartic,as it general consists of some type of excessive hedonism of sorts. However, with this behavior comes guilt and shame, and that's no fun. As such, I needed some way to rationalize the behavior and fool myself that I shouldn't feel guilty about it, and the whole "whoa is me, I am so cursed, I am just a failure, there is nothing I can do, it's just my condition, it will always be the same, it's all hopeless and meaningless, I don't care if I die, there is no future so there is no reason to be responsible" worked wonderfully. This rationalization requires one to constantly focus on one's failures, many of which are self-inflicted as failure means I get to be a hedonist again guilt free. It's probably all sounds very convoluted to others, but in a nutshell, I was depressed because I was a narcissist, and I then used that depression to rationalize that it was okay for me to be narcissistic because I was afflicted.
Depression is different for everyone though, so I don't want to say that the above explains why others might be dealing with depression. It was just my deal. The DSM does a great disservice to understanding the human mind, as it grossly over simplifies dysfunctional thought processes by putting a label on them. As a result, modern psychiatry is mostly a travesty in that most practitioners are more interested in putting a label on things, so that they can then prescribe the proper drug for that label.
I am in the camp that believes artificially manipulating brain functioning through drugs to get the mood you want is ultimately a recipe for destruction. The mind is like an ecosystem, artificially modifying it to get the system you want tends to result in unintended consequences that throw the system further out balance. The human mind/body has natural ways to cope with dysfunctional thinking (exercise, meditation, talking, writing, isolation, etc.). Severe cases might require one to have to change the environment they live in. In the modern industrialized world, that can be very difficult to achieve. We don't all have a Walden Pond to retreat to when things get out of whack. That said, sometimes all that is needed is a perspective shift, to get out of the hole. In many cases, a good therapist can help lead you out of the hole by showing you a different way to see reality, and they should not need to prescribe you drugs to do so.
Severe forms of dysfunctional thought processes like the OCD described above, schizophrenia, etc. might be beyond the reach of therapies that consist of instituting a perspective shift that results in a new paradigm of reality. Isolationism might be the only thing that will work in these cases, but there needs to be slow gentle changes to this environment over time, that the patient freely chooses, to ease back into the world, a world that it should be noted is also dysfunctional, but in a different way. However, having the same dysfunctional view of reality does make holding down a job easier.
Lastly, there is also something to be said about a devout belief in free will and the Divine doing wonders, but that unfortunately isn't for everyone, and it has been my experience that the internet is no place for such a discussion, so I will leave it at that.

 

carbonmated

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 5, 2015
246
1
I do not suffer from depression or ADHA, OCD or any of the like. I do however work a very physically demanding and stressful job, normally during temps above 100 F. When I get home, I am hot, tired, irritable and not very open to being told what to do.
For the last 8 years my wife and I have been caring for her mother who is 87 years old and a stroke patient. So, when I get home I have little choice in what my wife needs. It's pretty simple, she needs it, she gets it. The stress she is under is far more than what I endure each day. Normally around 7 or 8 pm we can finally start to wind down and try to relax.
Coffee is a norm for us in the early evening, for me that is an invitation to pack a pipe and relax, forget the days worries and just enjoy my wife's company. I am lucky to have a wife that supports all that I do, and that amazing gesture is certainly reciprocating. The past few weeks with a pipe have been really nice for me. With the process of packing, lighting and smoking, I can almost feel the stress of the day melt away like bees wax from a handmade candle. It is a simple pleasure for me, and for the last 8 years, simple is about all we have. I will take it, and enjoy every moment of it.
Regards,

Carbon

 

firehosen

Lurker
Dec 12, 2015
10
0
When at work, we are sometimes in a position where someone else's life is on the line. When the dust settles and we all begin breathing again, simply knowing that there is a pipe at home if I need it (not always an every day pipe guy, sometimes but not always) is a very welcome relief and distraction from what just happened. Maybe not full on anxiety, depression or OCD in my case, but that type of thing tends to develop easily if we don't have an outlet. Pipes are one of my outlets.
clickklick, thanks for sharing with us.

 

royodhner

Lurker
Dec 28, 2015
34
2
Pipe smoking helps combat depression and anxiety. It also helps you to examine, consider, and refine your thoughts - which makes you appear smarter or more competent. However, it can induce anxiety and mania if you over-think and over-complicate the whole thing.
It's not an art or a religious experience. It's actually a rather simple and relaxing process:

a) Fill the end with the big hole full of tobacco.

b) Put the end with the little hole in your mouth.

c) Set the contents in the big hole a'blaze.

d) Slowly imbibe the smoke caused by the fire in the big hole through the small hole.

 

oldmannk

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 11, 2014
222
0
Thanks for sharing and in my opinion yes it helps. Like many have said it too has saved my life as well.
Helps me with my PTSD, depression and anxiety as well. Which I suffer from now after years of deployments and combat, from my military service.
It's now the one thing I can do to relax.
I will never give it up. If you do like me smoking a pipe and an occasional cigar, then I am not the guy for you! It's that simple.
The dugs did not work for me and I almost killed myself because of unable to deal with stuff and PTSD.
I sit smoke enjoy it and watch the time melt away.
You are not alone brother pm me anytime!
Bryan

 

carbonmated

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 5, 2015
246
1
Bryan, Thank You for your service. I would share a bowl with you anytime m8. :puffy:

 
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