“Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol, morphine or idealism.”

C.G Jung, founder of analytical psychology, very sagaciously points out that any kind of addiction is detrimental but at the same time it is also true that nothing can be more damaging than drug-addiction. People are addicted to many things; some are addicted to music while some are seriously addicted to social networking sites but most probably, in this regard, the supreme position is occupied by drug-addiction. Such addiction brings not only disastrous physical changes but also huge devastating psychological variations in the addicts.

The definition of drug addiction refers to the obsessive and repeated use of dangerous amounts of drugs and the appearance of withdrawal symptoms when not using drug. And drug, as per World Health Organization (WHO) defines, is a chemical substance of synthetic, semi-synthetic or natural origin intended for diagnostic, therapeutic or palliative use or for modifying psychological functions of man and animal. Drugs, when taken or injected in an excess amount than the prescribed amount by the physicians, stimulate different kinds of hormone in the body that ultimately results a sudden excitement inside the body of the injected person. And for the widely known power of exciting one’s stimulations, drugs are very often pursued by the young people.

A significant number of youths are presently addicted to drugs for many reasons. There are many significant reasons behind being an addict but the most common is ‘curiosity and excitement’. It takes quite a long time to turn into an addict as no one is addicted by instinct rather one becomes an addict habitually. Most of them, in the beginning, inject or take drugs out of a curiosity to examine how it really feels like and when they find it exciting they go for it time and again. Peers perform an important role in this regard. Some also take drugs out of fashion as they feel it necessary to cope with their irredeemably spoilt friends. Realization is an important factor in this respect because if they would realize that drugs are not something of style, then many of them could be saved from the path of complete ruination.

Besides, many of the addicts chose drugs as a solace to their heart-burnings resulted from despair and frustration. The youths, in particular, often suffer from depression and most of the time the cause of depression is somehow related to family problems. So the parents must work out to ensure a happy conjugal life and to provide a congenial ambience for their children so that children do not get degenerated.

Sometimes young people also inject drugs as a consolation being estranged in an affair. This is most probably the worst idea for someone who has failed in love to become oblivious of the failure by taking drugs as it will not offer a way out of the pain rather it will push him into grave dangers.

But whatever the reasons are for being an addict, the impacts of being addicted are far more startling. Drug, says Kurt Cobain (An American author), are a waste of time. They destroy your memory and your self-respect and everything that goes along with your self-esteem. The most upsetting is that the addicted youths indulge themselves into different criminal activities to manage the money required to buy the drugs. Young people, aged from 15 to 22, are often reported to be arrested by the law enforcing agencies for being involved in illegal activities like mugging, pick-pocketing, stealing etc. Even the young drug peddlers buy drugs with the money they earn by selling drugs to other people. In the meantime, many physical complications are caused by drug addiction. For instance-physical impatience, insomnia, decay of sense of perception, increased head-ache, dizziness, sexual problems, abnormal behavior etc.

Apart from all these physical problems, addiction causes many psychological problems and those problems are more challenging as it is indeed tough to deal with those complications. The psychological effects of drug addiction come from the reasons the user is addicted to drugs, as well as, the changes that take place in the brain once a person becomes drug addict. An effect of drug addiction is the creation of a cycle where anytime one encounters stress or pain, he or she feels the need to use the drug. This is one of the psychological effects of addiction involved in craving of the drug. And one of the psychological effects of addiction involved in craving is the belief that the addict cannot function or handle life without drugs. So once one begins taking drugs can hardly stop himself.

Basically, this agent of human devastation has spread its tentacles towards our young generation. Now they are even addicted to their thoughts. And it is not feasible to change anything unless the youths change their thinking. Meanwhile, the law enforcing agencies should take all possible initiatives to stop trafficking of drugs and to bring an end to drug-peddling. And of course, family and the educational institutions can perform a significant role in this regard by inculcating self-awareness against drug addiction among the young generation.

(The writer is a columnist.)