I want to express my profound gratitude for the privilege of having me here.
My special appreciation to the president and everyone on the organizing committee I will speak about Overcoming the menace of addiction Let me say that this kind of discussion is a fundamental one looking at the fact that addiction is already a public health problem in Nigeria
I start by making a statement about what addiction is.
Addiction is a chronic brain disorder characterized by the loss of control over the urge to engage in behavior that brings harm to the individual.
Addiction might involve the use of psychoactive substances.
There is also addiction to sex, food, gambling, pornography, etc. From this definition, a few things can be gleaned.
1. Addiction is a disease It is not a moral flaw or weakness of the person affected. This is usually the social perception about addiction and that is one of the reasons it has been difficult to overcome. It is easier to overcome breast cancer than to overcome addiction in society this is because the social perception of breast cancer is that it is a disease whereas addiction is seen as a moral flaw or character weakness of the affected person.
2. Addiction involves a loss of control over behavior that is often preceded by an irresistible urge. This implies that sometimes the individual wants to stop but he or she is unable.
3. Addiction brings undesirable consequences to the individual and sometimes to people close to the person. But despite the negative consequences associated with the behavior, the person is unable to stop it. The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) reported that 14.4% (14.3 million) of people aged between 15 and 64 years abuse drugs in Nigeria.
This has been described as 3 times the global prevalence of 5.6%. This shows that addiction to drugs in this example above is already a public health problem in Nigeria. Let me talk about the risk factors of addiction Be it addiction to drugs, sex, food, gambling, etc.
Risk factors include:
Family history of addiction
Peer Pressure
Dysfunctional family System
Parenting Styles
Environment Mental Disorders
Stress
Family history of addiction: Addiction is much more likely in an individual with a positive family history of addiction.
Peer pressure: This involves influences from friends who engage in one form of addiction or another
Individuals whose parents or significant others are involved in one form of addiction or another are very more likely to pick up the behavior
Similarly, those who have peers with addictions are more likely to pick it up as a result of peer influence.
Dysfunctional family system: Children who live in dysfunctional homes have a greater risk of being exposed to addictive behavior like gambling, drug addiction, etc. than their control.
Parenting style: Harsh, uninhibited, neglectful parenting styles increase the chances of addiction in children. I have seen a teenager who started using marijuana each time his parents engaged in fights. He was using it as a coping mechanism
Similarly, when a family is disintegrated, children there are at greater risk because there will be less parental monitoring
Similarly, a neglectful parenting style in which children are not adequately controlled and guided will more likely produce a child with addiction than those with responsive parenting.
Environment: Children and adolescents who live in areas where drug abuse is common are more likely to be involved than their control.
Mental disorders: Sometimes, some individuals engage in the use of psychoactive substances to cope with mental problems like anxiety disorder, and psychotic disorders, and in the process they become addicted.
Stress: Exposure to stressful life events such as the loss of a job, loss or of a loved one is sometimes the genesis of some people’s addiction. Permit me to talk about some of the consequences of addiction briefly before going into solutions. Addictions can lead to the following:
Mental disorders: The use of marijuana among other drugs can trigger a mental breakdown.
Low self-esteem: A person whose religious belief contradicts his addiction could make him or her less confident among others of the same faith family disintegration or rejection: Sometimes a person’s behavior may cause parents to reject them or the spouse to divorce or divorce
Psychosocial dysfunction: Addiction to drugs could make it difficult for an individual to function well at work or school. Thereby it may lead to being fired, suspended, or rusticated.
Legal Involvement in an addictive behavior might bring an individual into conflict with the law directly or indirectly.
Damage to health: Excessive use of alcohol for example could lead to enlargement of the liver which could terminate the person’s life. Additionally, smoking could increase the risk of cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, etc.
Finance: An addictive behavior like substance use (e.g. cocaine, heroin, etc.) and gambling could ruin a person’s financial capability.
Despite being aware of, or even experiencing these consequences, most times, the addicted person is unable to stop the addiction. How can addiction be overcome?
Awareness Family system school system access to treatment Elimination of stigma and Discrimination Spiritual approach will take each point for discussion briefly
Awareness Campaigns
Large-scale awareness campaigns organized by governments and non-governmental organizations are key to overcoming this menace in Nigeria.
This can be done via social media platforms and other electronic means.
Family System
Before addiction becomes a public health problem, it starts in a family. Psychoeducating parents about parenting and family systems that predispose children to addiction, could help in the fight against addiction.
This can be done in hospitals, religious worship centers, and parent and teacher association meetings, among other places.
School System
Many cases of addiction started in schools. School administrators across all levels of academic learning need to step up screening measures to identify students with this problem and get them rehabilitated.
They also need to put in place control measures against drug infiltration and proliferation in places of learning.
Access to Care
Another fundamental measure is the provision of access to care. Those who have been affected by addiction need rehabilitative care to stop. Otherwise, they will influence more people. Unfortunately, many rehabilitation centers are too expensive for an average Nigerian to afford. If access to care is made easier, addiction prevalence could drop.
Elimination of Stigmatization
More often than not, people with addiction face stigma, especially drug addiction. This prevents them from coming forward for help. It is therefore important to educate people that addiction is a disease much like other diseases that could be influenced by lifestyle and can be treated. Let me conclude by saying addiction is a disease, not a moral weakness.
People with addiction should be given rehabilitative care, not stigmatized.
It takes collective effort in the form of change in social perception, ensuring a functional family, and social awareness campaigns to address the addiction menace.
QUESTIONS
Q1: For someone with a porn addiction, is there a step-by-step method or process for stopping it?
ANSWER:
Thank you for your question.
Yes. There are systematic ways an individual with porn addiction can be assisted to stop. Just as it is with any other addiction problem, the very first thing in recovery is the motivation to stop.
If the affected person is genuinely motivated to stop, then the recovery journey is promising. But if the person is not genuinely motivated to stop, any fort to help the person will be unfruitful
It is on this foundation of motivation that all other steps can be built.
I may not be able to go into the various steps that will be followed here but the first point of all is to assess the individual's willingness to stop. Thank you.
Q2: I appreciate this insightful lecture. Short but very precise.
I would like to ask, sir. If addiction is primarily a disease, would it be safe to say that it is a disease that affects both the mental health and the moral health of the addicted person? Since most of the affected persons battle with moral stability.
Then, this is Africa, the hub of spiritual beliefs. Can addiction also be a result of a spiritual attack on a person?
ANSWER:
Thank you.Yes. Addiction is a pervasive disease. A pervasive disease affects almost every part of an individual life. It will affect the mind. Once a disease can take over a person's mind, then that disease has control over the person's job, family, health, and spirituality. A person addicted to drugs or porn will find it difficult to engage in prayers and evangelism for example because of guilt and a sense of defeat inside. So it affects almost every part of the person's life. It is also possible that satanic influence is involved. However, as a professional, our approach is scientific. The individual can add a spiritual approach like prayers to scientific help. It's all for good.
Thank you.
