#UnderstandingAddiction Forum Recap

On the 13th of July, a Friday evening after a long day of schooling, working, and hustling, converged at the American Spaces, the Bazaar where a good number of people with an urge to learn.

Hosted by Miss Tabitha Mwai, the day's session of Decent Conversations was on Understanding Addiction.

The panel consisted of Minne Mukami - Addiction Counsellor, Margaret Osolo - Kenya Red Cross Nairobi County Youth Chair, and Moses Mureithi - Counselling Psychologist in the area of Family and Marriage, who was ready to give insights on the matter.

Addiction is a relapsing chronic condition characterized by compulsive-seeking behavior despite harmful consequences. It is usually behavioral and this behavior change becomes the tell-tale sign for those close to the addict.

This is attributed to the fact that a human cannot lie continuously and somewhere in between their cover-ups, it will be noted that something is amiss. 

 

The most common type of addiction is drug addiction especially alcohol here in Kenya. Other forms of addiction include sex, technology, gaming, gambling, pornography, Internet/Social Media, and phone addiction. With the 21st century being one of the most digitized of all times, young people are prone to becoming addicted to their devices as they are on 24/7.

Related Article: Understanding Addiction And What It Is Like To Be Addicted

One knows they are addicted when they are always preoccupied with the activity. Moreover, there is a compulsive urge to engage in it finding it hard to stop or stay focused without it. 

Addiction is a complex disease that needs a multi-disciplinary approach to be eliminated completely. It normally runs in the family carried by a symptom carrier who is the identified patient. 

Having an addict in the family only shows the whole family is ailing. When this happens and the addict is taken for rehabilitation, the whole family should be engaged in the recovery process as underlying issues leading to the addiction were bred within it. 

This might appear problematic to some people as we all tend to see families which are perfect on the outside, having no idea what ails them inside. What we are viewing actually is the painted picture which might not be the true picture. On top of this, the perfect family is only an illusion created by society given that all families have their own struggles.

Slowly, those who decide to go to rehabilitation centers, either by choice or force, are taught how to exclude factors that are making them dependent on what they are addicted to. They also learn coping mechanisms of how to address the challenges they are facing.

Most people get into addiction as a way of seeking escape from reality. The avoidance of dealing with difficulties directly. One would rather go into a world where this is postponed to a later time; which basically solves nothing.

Addiction is toxic as it takes one away temporarily. Once the drug, for example, wears out, one discovers that they are still faced with their reality and they search for solace in their compulsive behavior or habit once more.

The challenge many rehabilitation centers face is cross-addiction. Many recovered addicts tend to jump onto something different immediately after they are out. What happens is, the addicts tend to associate what they have been treated for with the wrong thing and look at another habit or substance innocently hence the new addiction.

For instance, one might be in rehab for alcohol but come back for a different case such as marijuana or heroin use.

Courtesy: New Life House

We can all prevent addiction in our own small ways by making tiny steps in whichever areas we feel we can impact. We should strive to identify the problem and address it using the channels accessible to those we are trying to reach.

Are you addicted or know someone who is? Cry for HELP! There is no shame in trying to correct where you have made a mistake. It was general agreement by all in attendance that we should offer social support to prevent as well as in the treatment of addiction.

Important to note is that there is a thin line between addiction and mental health. Some mental health conditions as a result of addiction while some mental health issues push patients to addiction. Let’s take time to offer a helping hand to those struggling with addiction rather than shunning them from society.

Also Read: Let Me Be

The session was closed off by a stunning poetry performance ‘Sifi’ who had joined in the conversation. What a way to start a Friday evening! 

This article is by Rehema Zuberi. Rehema is a student at Kenyatta University pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Psychology currently finishing her second year. She is passionate about writing and is an affiliate member of Writers Guild Kenya she documents her writings at www.reshonlineblog.wordpress.com