The joy of every parents is to enjoy the fruit of their labour. Alex was a calm, easy going and a very brilliant lad. He secured admission into the Premier University, Ibadan to study Medicine and Surgery, the most sought-after biological science course. As a brilliant boy whom has been topping the class from his secondary school. Clearing a CGPA of 7.0 in his first year was not surprising to his parents.
200 level was the year that turns things upside down for Alex. He started staying in town with a friend who later introduced him into taking alcohol and smoking cannabis. Alex; the lecturers’ favorites started skipping classes to have more time to smoke the weed and enjoy himself in a room self-contain in town. Alex got addicted and today, Alex the brilliant and a future doctor is in a drug rehabilitation center.
Substance abuse refers to the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs – (WHO). Some of the commonly abused drugs include alcohol, cannabis, prescription over the counter (usually opioids), Heroin, cocaine, marijuana, cigarettes and tobacco products. When you first start taking a substance, you may think you can control how much you use. But over time, you may need more of the drug to get the same previous feeling or effect, this can lead to addiction.
Commonly abused drugs either legal or illegal drugs have chemicals that can change how the body and mind work. They can give you a pleasurable “High,” ease your stress, or help you avoid problems in your life. This is not absolute, because the effect only last for the period in which the drugs can act before reality is down on those who engages in the acts. I’d like to inform you that excessive use of these substances can lead to dependence syndrome- a cluster of behavioural, cognitive and physiological phenomena that develop after repeated substance use and include lack of interest in things you used to love, changing friends a lot, you stop taking care of yourself, spending more time alone than you used to, sleeping at odd hours, having problems at work and with family.
Substance abuse affects every part of one’s life. It can hurt you and the people around you. It can ruin relationships and your financial health. Abusing drugs can also lead to addiction and cause serious health problems and even death.
To stop, you may need counseling, medicine or both. If you have a substance abuse problem and want to quit, a doctor can help figure out the best treatment goal for you.
