DRUG ABUSE;A MALADAPTIVE COPING STRATEGY.

I was at the Drug Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation center(DATRC) of the Vom Christian hospital today.It was really a time of revelations into some of the underlying problems of drug abuse and dependence.It had been said that drug abuse is only a symptom of a deeper problem in the life of a individual.

The Clinical Psychologist had earlier sometimes last week gave an assignment to everybody to write the benefit they derived from using whatever drug they were using.
For some reasons the patients just did not see any need in writing it but rather prefered to just talk about it.As a matter of fact,one of them said that he convinced the others against it because whatever they may have as benefit will surely be countered by the Psychologist.He really proved right the motive of the exercise as it was becoming as if the patients were just playing along with the Psychologists and whatever insight they think they have is just to play along and not coming from he inside.

Each individual introduced himself and the drugs they were abusing and what they believed they were benefiting from such.Among the answers giving include the following;
-A feeling of highness.
-To have courage and confidence to approach ladies.
-It gives inspiration
-To kill boredom in the face of unemployment.
-To lifts depression.
-To get strength.
-To be able to confront others.
-To improve appetite
-To get a calming effect.
-To manage anger.
-To be able to talk in public.
-To fill an emptiness within.

The striking point about all the above is that there is an underlying lack of self esteem and feeling of inadequacy,leading to a maladaptive coping strategy.The partinent thing therefore will be to address these inadequacies,change the thinking pattern of these individuals and give them an alternative and effective coping strategy that they can identify with.

It was an interesting session indeed and a couple of them seem to be well motivated already,being very outspoken that whatever benefit they think they derived from their drugs are not cogent reasons to continue because of the enormosity of what they have lost in terms of financial,social and physical well being.