Parents urged to prevent children’s drug use

With an increasing number of youth falling into drug addiction, health experts have urged parents to monitor their children’s behaviour, changing habit and other cues to keep them from falling through the cracks.

They pointed out various factors including hectic routines, economic constraints, mental pressure, and unfavorable relationships as the main causes behind drug abuse among children.

Talking to this scribe here on Saturday, Clinical Psychologist Mariam Riaz said that male, as well as female youngsters, get into drug addiction usually and parents should monitor the company of their children and mood swings for early prevention and cure.

She informed that parents should get alarmed if their children look annoyed, pay no attention to hygiene, and spend more than enough time in bathrooms or outdoors. "Friends' circle, telephonic conversation and internet search history of the youngsters can be monitored if parents have doubts about drug addiction", she maintained.

Explaining the treatment of addiction, Clinical Psychologist Shamsheer Hayat said that drug addiction can be completely cured with the help of therapy, counseling, and monitoring of the patient.

Therefore, she said, guardians of the addicts should acquire services of a registered rehabilitation centre for the treatment and cure. He said a team of medical specialists, psychiatrists, and clinical psychologists monitor the health of the patient, after which the process of detoxification is started as the first phase of the treatment.

He said that patients staying at the rehabilitation center are delivered cognitive behavioral therapies and counseling sessions for three months.

"Patients are also equipped with the techniques to avoid the slippery situation when they go into their normal lives", he added.

He said that patients are also asked to abide by their religious practices to strengthen their willpower and belief.

He concluded that drug addiction should be treated in the same way as any other disease and if it remained untreated, consistent use of drugs would damage the vital organs of the body resulting in death.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2022.