The Sunday Mail
Mertha Mo Nyamande
MENTAL health is at the core of all drug misuse that we see people struggle with, as per all the cases that we see in our clinics.
While drug and alcohol use is a mental health issue, there is a lot of confusion on how these areas are reported.
This week, we seek to help demystify these.
Many think mental health issues are caused by the use of drugs, but the reverse is also true.
Many of the people who give testimonies of their initial drug use often speak of getting a feeling that brought them peace and calm, and a sense of confidence to do things they had struggled with, for example, talking to girls or other socially linked anxieties.
These reports suggest there would have been existing difficulties that those substances helped to address. However, while the use of such substances brought temporary relief, the addiction brought much bigger problems than the ones they started off with.
Addictions bring about physical health problems; they cause physical damage to vital organs, for instance, teeth, the gut, kidneys, injuries to limbs and the abdomen, and most importantly, the brain cells.
Damage to the brain may be repairable in younger populations, but has been irreversible in older adults, with the advent of dementia.
A few drunks we have worked with told us that if they had not taken alcohol as they did, they would have killed themselves due to the mental distress they experienced.
So, to them, numbing the pain with alcohol is what keeps them going.
With other drugs, however, it is a slightly different situation. There are different drugs for different presentations. There are drugs to slow down thoughts. There are also drugs to speed up thoughts and give one confidence. Then there are drugs to completely alter one’s reality so that they escape from whatever life difficulties they are facing.
People are introduced to drugs differently, but whatever the circumstances, they are left with an overwhelming and welcome sense of relief. Others are groomed into taking drugs by individuals who seek financial gain from them. Yet others get onto drugs purely by accident, as in the case of people who are introduced to them through surgery and/or prescription drugs they then get addicted to; the likes of opiates and benzodiazepines.
Such people will already have an addictive personality and once they try something, they easily get hooked to the point of chaotic dysfunction, while others can experiment with different things and continue to function unhindered.
The real underlying vulnerability would be psychological distress, and often, such individuals will have low distress tolerance.
The use of such substances can cause these individuals to commit offences while they are under the influence of a drug. They may not be fully conscious of their decisions and actions.
They may also commit offences (acquisitive crimes) to fund their habit. Many may not be gainfully employed to be able to legally fund their drug taking and its violent cravings.
Conversely, those who supply the illicit drugs may also take part in other organised crimes such as human trafficking and prostitution to have a ready market and complete value chain for their businesses.
Sadly, when these addicts get arrested, they may be sentenced to prison terms while still under the influence of drugs if the courts are not appropriately appraised by competent experts such as forensic psychologists.
Forensic psychologists may also be able to help design alternative programmes to imprisonment as jails are already overwhelmed.
Drug addiction treatment and testing orders can be instituted. Specialist mental health training will be required for the courts and the police dealing with these cases to know when and how to refer to specialists for expert witness reports and testifying.
It would be unjust for a mentally incapacitated suspect to be convicted of an offence and sent to prison. Such cases should be tried with their due merits and disposed of appropriately.
It would be better to have a mentally ill offender to get treatment than to just send them to prison as that would only exacerbate their condition, only to come back and commit more offences.
As a people, we need to rethink the punitive nature of our security and judiciary processes, and opt for a more humane approach that seeks to modify behaviour through training and education that empower communities to better understand the problem.
Mertha Mo Nyamande is a psychotherapist. He can be contacted on: [email protected] or @ www.i-wellbeing.weebly.com
