Two girls, two cases: Self-image issues, break-up, and addiction
| Date :14-Oct-2023 |
By Kartik Lokhande
Addiction never comes alone. Sometimes, it is the root of a set of problems. Sometimes, germ of problems aggravates into the festering wound called addiction. In both cases, several factors are inter-linked. The cases of two young girls -- Nishita and Muskan -- serve as examples of this inter-connection.
Nishita’s Case
Nishita is a college-going girl from a neighbouring State. She is obese. Since her teens, she developed inferiority complex due to obesity. As she went to college, her body consciousness increased. Because her friends subjected her to body-shaming, she developed a low self-image. After rounds of overthinking about solutions, she finally decided to adopt a different method to get rid of the problem. Nishita started being in the company of boys. Also, she started behaving boldly. Out of the perception that smoking was an act of boldness, she developed that habit. Soon, she got so addicted to smoking that in a bid to justify it, she became opprobrious. She started deriding beautiful and shapely girls, for being weak and reserved. All the while, she unknowingly started smoking more.
Addiction is addiction. It starts in one stroke, but does not stop at once. So, she graduated to Cannabis. There was a student who acted as a supplier in hostel. The addiction affected her health so much that she used to faint frequently. Obviously, this became a matter of concern for her parents. The girl’s father is a businessman and mother a housewife. They consulted a doctor, who observed that the girl had spells of anxiety, and often cried without any provocation. She became inconsolable in such spells. Thankfully, step in time by the family led her to a counsellor. The counselling is working, but only to a limited extent as the girl is finding it difficult to quit smoking. Nishita’s de-addiction is a work in progress.
Muskan’s Case
Muskan is a student in a private medical college. The reason she got addicted to alcohol, and having ‘weed’ sometimes is rooted in her growing up years. A growing up girl faces a lot of issues -- about physical appearance, emotions management, relationships, and so on. She usually confides in her mother, and seeks advice to tackle these issues effectively so as to stay on course in life. However, whenever Muskan wanted to discuss the issues with her mother, the latter would bring up her own problems in the course of conversation. The mother would whine, whimper, and lament about her ‘place’ in the family. Discussion on relationship between her parents left the bright girl confounded and she gradually stopped seeking mother’s advice. She started looking for other ways. She entered into a relationship with a boy, and found comfort in it.
But, that comfort was short-lived as the boy also grew up and got admission in an institution elsewhere. So, he left for higher studies despite her pleading. By this time, she too got admission to a medical college. But, the break-up left the girl in depression, which led her to drown her sorrows in alcohol as she had seen in movies and web series, and heard from her friends. Occasionally, she tried ‘weed’ too to get rid of depression. Obviously, this adversely affected her. As time passed by, her addiction started getting reflected in her behaviour. As a student-doctor, she became irregular at her duty. She faced problems while making presentations, forgot things, had issues dealing with inter-personal communication. As a result, fellow students complained about her.
All these problems deteriorated her condition further and Muskan lost her smile. She had depressive, crying spells. Thankfully, Muskan proved to be a strong girl. Being a thoughtful girl, she realised that she had to take corrective steps in time. Taking advantage of her medicine study, she diagnosed her case and sought professional help. Muskan’s decision was right. She is sober now, doing well, recovering. The sparkle is returning to her eyes, and smile is back on her face. She is concentrating on her studies. She may prove to be an example for others to emulate. Because, if an individual decides, nothing can hold him/her in shackles of addiction.
(To be continued)