Unfortunately we consider drug addict as a liability but not a victim. Strangely drug addicts themselves don’t know that they are addicted to drugs. I have spoken to many drug addicts but they don’t consider themselves as addicts and instead they consider addiction to drugs as something that they can give up anytime they want to. Freedom from drug addiction is not as easy as drug addicts think as most of the drug addicts don’t come to know about their addiction till they become addicts . Let’s try to decode how “Let’s Try” becomes an addiction. The first step towards it is “EXPERIMENTATION”. When a person is on experimental stage , a person doesn’t use it daily but “Sometimes” or “occasionally” . This in most of the cases is the beginning of a big disaster that the beginner is unable to sense. The occasional use of drugs comes from different ways at different levels. For teenagers it comes from “Friends” and those friends who make it available to others do it in peer pressure which gets them into closer contact with drinking and drug use practices. And for elder people it’s like a stress draining substance and they keep using it heavily which in turn leads to many health problems. The people who consume it as “Problem solving” agent don’t even consider it as harmful substance but something they like the most. The only reason being that it helps them to forget the problem but just for some time and once they regain senses, the problem hits again and the consumption continues. After the stage of “Experimentation” comes another stage called “Regular use”. At this stage a person uses the drugs on daily basis but the daily basis doesn’t mean every single day but it then becomes his habit and then uses drugs every weekend or may be when alone or even when bored. If we speak in the language of layman, regular use and addiction are in no way different. After the “Regular use” the stage is called “Problem Use”. At this stage of problem the person who uses it on regular basis comes across problems. The addicts face legal problems, emotional problems, physical problems and even social problems. The adults get into drink and drive mode or face problems at their work places and lately they come across problems with their relationships. For the teenagers problems like getting bad grades, behavioural problems, a change in their friend circle or motor vehicle crashes or even speeding tickets erupt. And then comes the stage called “Dependence”. This stage and addiction stage are just a step far away from each other. Someone who is dependent on drugs and/or alcohol will continue to use these substances regularly despite the harm their use is causing, including bodily changes causing altered reactions to the substance. These are characteristics of dependence:
1: Chronic use of alcohol or other drugs that leads to failure to fulfill major responsibilities related to work, family or school
2: Repeatedly drinking or using drugs in situations that are hazardous, such as driving
3: Development of increased tolerance to use, meaning more of the drug or alcohol is needed to have the same effect
4: Withdrawal symptoms if a person cuts back on use
And then finally comes the stage called “Addiction”. And at this point of time a person is fully in the trap of drugs and has no way out and even if he wants to come out he/ she can’t. At this stage, substance use is compulsive and out of control. Addiction is a medical condition involving psychological and physical changes from repeated heavy use of alcohol, other drugs or both. The primary symptoms of addiction are uncontrollable alcohol or other drug craving, seeking and use. We need to make sure that when it comes to drug addiction there is no gender demarcation. It’s that both men and women are involved in drug addiction. There are those circumstances encountered by both men and women that lead them to drug addiction. We must acknowledge that our youth especially teenagers have fallen to the evil trap of “Drug Addiction” but instead of blaming them we need and must find out why are they into drugs and what has led them to it. I have got to speak too many of the addicts and many of the times “Emotional” reasons are responsible for getting them into drugs and finally leading them to drug addiction. We often have a negative approach in dealing with any such person we get to know is an addict and that negative approach leads them into more addiction. We must remember that most of the drug addicts in present times are into drugs to get away from the pain they are suffering. And when we turn them away then consider Drugs as their only help and continue to be dependent on them. We must know that we unknowingly play a role in pushing people into drug addiction by not understanding what they are suffering from. We must know that everyone in today’s time is going through many problems and unfortunately they have no one to share their problems with. We are suffering from another problem and that’s when a person shares something with someone, he goes on telling it to everyone unnecessarily. And this spreading someone’s secrets is also playing a role in pushing people to drug addiction. We must know that we can stop a drug addiction to large extent just by being humble and keep their secrets a secret. All of the above just smile to everyone you meet. A smile can save what you never can think about.
((The author is a freelancer and writes frequently for “ Kashmir Horizon”. Views are his own)
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