Our basic goal to spread awareness and combat the stigma associated with mental health disorders is incomplete without removing it from the root. We ought to work in groups in different areas to help people with the same. One such area where we visit twice a month is Soot Mill. It is one of the 308 slums in Jaipur which is situated behind Ram Mandir, BaniPark. It has close to 450 families. We visit there every first and third Thursday.
We conduct several different activities there to educate them regarding the same topics. We do Chopal, where we do distribution of pamphlets, signature campaigns, seminars on substance use and disorder, conduct quizzes and give prizes to the winner, OPD, etc. Likewise, we have Bootcamp activities there which include several physical exercises.
But one aspect that has benefited the most people there are the activities subjected to fighting addiction and substance abuse. Families for generations have suffered because of some kind of addiction in the people there. Addiction varies from different sources like Gutka, cigarettes, alcohol, etc. It has long affected the victims as well as the families of the victims.
One of the other main problems that we realised there was that many people didn’t even consider addiction a problem or a disease. It had become so ingrained in the minds of the people that we had to educate them what substance abuse and addiction is and why that is such a big problem. So that is why this time we talked with them about this and motivated them to leave it.
The Cycle-
Addiction is one of those things that grows with time. There is no way out, and it becomes extremely difficult to even accept it as a problem when it overpowers you. Millions of citizens become the target of these drugs readily available in the market.
What we don’t understand is that these companies are playing with our biology and the chemicals in our brains. They do not care about our well-being, and it is us who has to decide what kind of a life we intend to live.
There is a chemical called dopamine that gets released in our brains. It is also known as the pleasure hormone. Whenever we eat chocolates or anything that makes us want to repeat that activity, it is because of that hormone. The interesting part about dopamine is that the more we consume that thing again the less amount of it gets released. So it makes us want to repeat that process all over again.
Basically, we feel less satisfied the next time, and it creates a loop. We want to hit that high again, and we reach it by consuming more of it until we touch that point.
Our brain rewards us for everything. So that’s what these big companies play with. They target our reward systems and sell these poisons in the market. Whether it is cigarettes, alcohol, or any drug, they artificially manipulate our brains. Now once anyone gets into a trap like this, getting out of it becomes next to impossible.
In the beginning, someone takes something like this, thinking that nothing will happen to them. But then they use it again and again and realise that they are addicted. The realisation sadly comes after loads of time. They understand that they are addicted sometimes after years of taking that substance. Then they decide whether they would leave it or take it.
That is why we educate the people there about all these stages. Some may have just started it, some may be having difficulty in accepting that they are addicted, and some want to leave the thing but aren’t able to help themselves.
So we visited them, had a frank conversation with them and made them understand the ill-effects of these kinds of drugs in their minds. We also regularly conduct therapies with people from that slum area in our mobile van. We talk with them where the patient visits us, and we give free medications to them.
Substance abuse and addiction is a very big problem for our country, and we have to fight them before this all grows out of hand. Many talents are regularly wasted due to these poisonous substances, and if we want our nation to thrive, we have to join our hands together and help each other.
You must share this information with the ones who need it. Until then, take care, stay healthy and say no to drugs.