In recent years, we all have been witnessing the rampant abuse of alcohol and most especially drugs(Prescription/Opiods) among our Youths; We are in a dire situation right now because there are several cases of accidental overdose due to the abuse of these drugs and alcohol. What We are witnessing in recent years is that drugs and alcohol are being hyped by so many Artists(international and local) thereby encouraging the abuse. Here are the reasons—as I explain why we are where we are today.
I was a final year student at the University of Ilorin in 2012; and things were not as smooth as I hoped for or wished it to be, although i struggled through my entire 5years in school as a Law student right from my first year to My final year; I was in a more terrible situation the fifth year. I remember visiting a friend I had known since my first year and I met four other people that I knew on campus, I shook hands with all and joined the conversation they were having just to kill the boredom and the dark thoughts in my head—one of them handed me a prescription drug(tramadol) which I had never even heard about or seen before until that day/moment; to cut the long story short, I was more than eager to accept and more willing to throw it down My throat just to put away all My anxiety and depression at that time and that was when my woes began.
I totally became dependent on that drug, I stopped drinking alcohol because the highness of that drug soothed my situation at that time. I loved it. It made me feel invisible and invincible, I was always high on a daily basis—and it was doing more damages to my personal mental health(didn’t even care). I began to have mood swings, anger, and emptiness when the drugs wore off; I had been in a relationship then since my first year and I began to drift away from that and all the good things I had going on for me before the drugs(I didn’t notice until it was too late) My day was usually about getting high all day. However, I was able to get clean in 2013 and never touched it again; it wasn’t easy given up the drug, i got sick for two weeks(withdrawal symptoms) but i managed to pull through. Fast forward to 2015, this drug became the pillar of strenght around this time for most of the youths; I realized depression rate was so high and I could not even make any sense of all if it until now—this is 2018 and the abuse of alcohol and drugs seems not to go away. There are different types of Opiods being abused by the Youth right now, different types of concoction/mixture with drugs like refnol, tramadol and codeine being mixed together with alcohol and energy drinks just to elevate the effectiveness of its highness and there is a reason for that.
I did a personal research on these things and found out that so many people are being pressured by the materialistic things they see on social media and also getting bullied on social media; don’t get me wrong, there are positive people with good energy on there but they are few. Secondly, the political situations in almost every African country, I don’t need to convince You further; for You to know that due to bad governance, Africa is currently suffering horribly. Picture a graduate with a Degree/Masters/PHD expectant of making it big after graduating is still out there unable to secure a good job(in most cases; no job at all) for 5Years or more, imagine the thoughts running through that individual’s mindset all day—the only way(for most of them) to escape reality of a perceived doomed life that won’t amount to success but anxiety and depression is to turn to drugs and alcohol. I’ve met some amazing people on twitter, People like @makaveli1371(Joshua) from Kansas, USA. He’s filled with so much positive energy, surely we all go through depression sometimes; but to be able to help people get through theirs by spreading positivity around You even when You are going through the same thing is what he and I have been doing. I realized he was appreciative of all my positive tweets so we became friends—although We’re from different parts of the World, we’ve been helping each other go through depression and also helping others in the process of our own mental healings get through it as well. Reason I’ve chosen to use my twitter account to tweet inspirational/motivational tweets every Morning, Afternoon and Night is because I understand that many Youths are going through terrible times. What I started as a positive way to get me through depression and anxiety at first have become a priority now; I never really imagined that people could relate to those types of tweets and even get inspired by them; because twitter is so full of more negativity than the positivity. People come into my DM to thank me because my tweets motivates them to get through each struggling day, some even alert me whenever there is a slight delay in tweeting on the daily scheduled time, so with a healthy mind; I met My partner(@RubyWe94) on there. More grateful to her as well—She’s a great person. We live in a different era now, We are in a world of chaos right now and most people don’t seem to care about other people’s feelings; We live in a world where bullying and savagery is applauded. Please if Your loved one/friend/neighbour is a drug addict or an alcoholic, never judge them…encourage them and be patient; this things take time. There are more depressed people walking around with smiling faces, be observant and let’s help make the world a better place.
This is my closing statement—Until we decide to hold our political leaders accountable for the misuse of public funds, the war/fight on the abuse of drugs and alcohol will not stop; until we decide to make social media a more friendly platform instead of all the bullying and oppression—Depression, Alcohol and Opiods will never cease to exist. Say No To Drugs and let’s help fight this canker together.
Bright Sarpong
Twitter: @sarpongmic
