Question

Certain drugs when taken for a prolonged period cause addiction. Discuss the cause, withdrawal symptoms and prevention of addiction due to any one drug.

Answer 1

Certain drugs, when taken for a prolonged period, causes addiction. Heroin is an example of such a drug. Heroin enters the brain rapidly and binds to opioid receptors on cells located in many areas, especially those involved in feelings of pain and pleasure and in controlling heart rate, sleeping, and breathing. People who use heroin report feeling a "rush" (a surge of pleasure, or euphoria). This makes them use heroin again and again and eventually addicted to it. Heroin is highly addictive. People who regularly use heroin often develop a tolerance, which means that they need higher and/or more frequent doses of the drug to the desired effects.

Those who are addicted to heroin and stop using the drug abruptly may have severe withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms—which can begin as early as a few hours after the drug was last taken—include:

• restlessness
  
• severe muscle and bone pain
  
• sleep problems
  
• diarrhoea and vomiting
  
• cold flashes with goosebumps
  
• uncontrollable leg movements
  
• severe heroin cravings.

Heroin addiction can be prevented by following methods, especially among teenagers who are more prone to develop its addiction-

Avoid undue peer pressure – Every child has his/her own choice and personality, which should be respected and nurtured. A child should not be pushed unduly to perform beyond his/her threshold limits; be it studies, sports or other activities.

Education and counselling – Educating and counselling him/ her to face problems and stresses, and to accept disappointments and failures as a part of life. It would also be worthwhile to channelize the child’s energy into healthy pursuits like sports, reading, music, yoga and other extracurricular activities.

Seeking help from parents and peers – Help from parents and peers should be sought immediately so that they can guide appropriately. Help may even be sought from close and trusted friends. Besides getting proper advise to sort out their problems, this would help young to vent their feelings of anxiety and guilt.

Looking for danger signs – Alert parents and teachers need to look for and identify the danger signs discussed above. Even friends, if they find someone using drugs or alcohol, should not hesitate to bring this to the notice of parents or teacher in the best interests of the person concerned. Appropriate measures would then be required to diagnose the malady and the underlying causes. This would help in initiating proper remedial steps or treatment.

Seeking professional and medical help – A lot of help is available in the form of highly qualified psychologists, psychiatrists, and de-addiction and rehabilitation programmes to help individuals who have unfortunately got in the quagmire of drug/alcohol abuse. With such help, the affected individual with sufficient efforts and will power, can get rid of the problem completely and lead a perfectly normal and healthy life.