PRAYAGRAJ: Case one: A 22 year-old girl of

, pursuing MBA from Noida, suddenly started shivering and getting frequent fits and when the family members consulted they were shocked when the doctor told them that she is addicted to drugs and alcohol and now when she is not getting the same, she is suffering with withdrawal symptoms.

Case two: Sonu (name changed), a resident of

and student of BTech started becoming angry and irritated on pity issues in his family. Later, he told his parents that he has been taking

(LAD) drug and now because of the lockdown, he is not getting the same and may be this is the reason for his irrational behaviour.

Case three: Parents of young Saurabh (name changed), a student of class 11 of a reputed convent school of the city fainted and started vomiting. In front of doctors he acknowledged that he is habitual of inhaling nail-polish remover and because of lockdown, he is unable to procure the same.

The above mentioned cases are among the cases being handled by team of psychologists, including psychiatrist Dr Rakesh Paswan and the clinical psychologists, Dr Ishanya Raj of de-addiction centre at ‘Mann-kaksh’ of

, at

.

During this challenging time of Covid-19 outbreak, there is a rise in number of people approaching the center and surprisingly in few cases the family members are shocked to know that their kids were addicted to different types of substance abuse and now when they are not getting the same, because of lockdown, their bodies are showing withdrawal symptoms.

“When a habitual drug user is deprived of a drug, he or she suffers from what is called as withdrawal symptoms. Abrupt stoppage of certain substances such as alcohol, benzodiazepines and opioids can be problematic as withdrawal symptoms are significant and even life threatening”, said Dr Raj.

Most of the cases, coming to us after lockdown period are complaining about withdrawal symptoms like difficulty in falling asleep, irritability, tremors, indigestion, violent behaviour and other associated symptoms like nausea, sweating, agitation, depression etc and we want to convey to all, this is the best time when one can leave the addiction as medicines and counselling of the experts can bail them out”, said Dr Paswan.

He further informed that an average 4-6 cases per day are reported at the out patient department (OPD) of the centre wherein either the patient himself or his family members bringing them come for treatment.

The duration, intensity, and type of withdrawal symptom will differ based on which drug was used, the method of abuse, the level of dependency and if there are other comorbid conditions present.

Dr Raj further told TOI, “Certain factors can result in an increase in substance abuse during lockdown which include social isolation, availability of a lot of free time, stress regarding the ongoing pandemic and lack of other recreational activities. Currently, the cases are coming in open because of non-availability of the substance, increased costs, and inability to go out”.

However, the team of experts are also optimistic of the fact that rather than taking this lockdown period as a challenge, this term can be utilised as a unique opportunity to get rid of the substance addiction.

“For many, this time has resulted in forced abstinence which was difficult to achieve despite various effects. Now people are getting opportunity to spend quality time with families. They should be making best use of this time for introspection into their own lifestyle habits, a definite change can be achieved”, said Dr Paswan.

Spending time for more positive recreational activities doing physical exercises, Yoga, meditation, healthy diet etc can help in avoiding negative influences of life and have a more positive approach towards life. Help of partners, parents and other family members can be made use of if a person is having difficulty in achieving this alone, he added.

If needed, a professional help from a clinical psychologist should be obtained. Various treatment modalities like motivational enhancement therapy, coping skill training, family therapy etc are available.