I found this article on Apple News on my iPhone but I can’t find a URL for it:<\/p>\n
Perhaps most intriguing is the drugs\u2019 ability to go beyond physical health, providing relief and healing from historically complex mental health issues that can be difficult\u2014if not seemingly impossible\u2014to treat with existing medications. With more research and approved uses, Lerner says, the drugs could one day offer the promise of treating \u201ceverything from mental health issues to anxiety disorders, depression, alcohol and drug addiction.\u201d <\/p>\n
Because not only does food noise get quieter on the drugs, but some patients also experience a dampening of excessive cravings of all kinds. They report feeling less addicted to social media\u2014and less apt to impulsively shop online. They no longer crave alcohol or drugs (there are even preliminary studies suggesting that GLP-1s might eventually be useful in treating substance use disorders). They feel less anxious and depressed. And mental health experts are paying attention. <\/p>\n
More than a dozen people interviewed by Women\u2019s Health described the mental boost they experienced in vivid detail: \u201cbrain fog was just blasted,\u201d \u201cturn down the pilot light of wanting to consume,\u201d \u201chandcuffs being removed,\u201d \u201cfinally breathing after holding your breath,\u201d and myriad other metaphors that convey an intense sense of liberation. <\/p>\n
There is some data bearing this out. In a small phase 2 randomized clinical trial this year, adults with alcohol use disorder saw a reduction in their alcohol consumption and cravings after receiving a weekly semaglutide shot. Separately, a meta-analysis in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found that individuals taking a GLP-1 showed significantly lower scores on a depression scale. Aimee Cegelka, 51, a medical textbook managing editor from Queens, New York, says she has been fat her whole life\u2014and has also been in therapy for major depression (later diagnosed as bipolar disorder) and food-related issues for her entire adulthood. \u201cI have worked on every relationship with food you could ever imagine. It never made any difference. It never touched anything about my eating,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
As a proponent of the Health at Every Size movement, Cegelka was uninterested in losing weight, but she did want relief from her compulsions around food. Like Gales, within a day of starting a GLP-1, Cegelka was overwhelmed by a sense of peace\u2014the food noise was gone. <\/p>\n
As a self-described \u201cproblem drinker,\u201d she was also surprised to find that the drug cut her alcohol cravings too.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I found this article on Apple News on my iPhone but I can’t find a URL for it: Perhaps most intriguing is the drugs\u2019 ability to go beyond physical health, providing relief and healing from historically complex mental health issues … Continue reading