What Parents of Teenagers Need to Know About Mephedrone Addiction

Psychologies: It is widely believed among young people that there are “hard” drugs – those that are injected, and “soft” – that is, all the rest. And mephedrone is conditionally considered a “light” drug – a kind of seemingly safe bonus for parties.

Andrey Grishchenko: Of the banned substances characteristic of the urban environment, opioids and psychostimulants are considered the most addictive and toxic. The use of both is associated with serious consequences for the psyche, the body as a whole, and ultimately with death. Mephedrone belongs to the group of short-acting psychostimulants. It has an unusually strong euphoric effect. And the desire to repeat the experience of “unearthly bliss” surpasses all rational defenses of a person who has a tendency to addictive behavior.

But many are sure that addiction does not appear from mephedrone …

…And this is a big mistake! Dependence on mephedrone develops very severe. And first of all mental. There is a strong attraction, craving: the need for a new dose reaches such an extent that the consumer turns on “tunnel thinking”. That is, the surrounding world is subject to oblivion, ceases to play any important role. If we compare mephedrone in terms of its effect with other types of drugs, it will definitely be in the lead.

How do psychotherapists explain the emergence of mental dependence on drugs?

Figuratively speaking, craving appears where the black hole of psychotrauma gapes. This is a place that will never “overgrow” by itself. Often a person’s behavior seems to be subordinated to some traumatic event, after which both the “world” and the “I” will never be the same.

Where does the trauma come from, which can eventually lead to the development of addiction?

Usually there is more than one traumatic event. When working with addictions, we often deal with the so-called “developmental trauma”. This refers to life in conditions that are very different from the norm. These include, for example, life in a dysfunctional family, where the structure of the natural hierarchy is often changed, whose members do not perform important family functions. As a result, interpersonal communications are distorted.

Such families are often overwhelmed with guilt and shame. The roots of these experiences are in the events that are “hidden” in the depths of the family tree. These events may not be talked about in the family, they may not even be remembered, but they still work to fulfill the post-traumatic program that forces people to make “pathological decisions”. Self-destruction – and that is the essence of addiction – is part of this program. Therefore, the first and most important step is to change the microenvironment in which the addict lives.

Who seeks the help of addiction specialists?

Recently, there have been more and more complaints about dependence on mephedrone. Parents of teenagers who are in trouble, as well as adults who are socially adapted, ask for help. And everyone has the same question: “I am not in control of myself or the situation, what should I do about it?” And if adults can still remain critical to what is happening, then in adolescents, due to the underdevelopment of brain structures, it is greatly reduced. Add here a high degree of toxic effects on brain structures – and you get a very ugly picture, disgusting and terrible.

How is drug addiction treated?

First – always detoxification and drug correction (as far as possible) of mental and behavioral disorders. And then you need to go through a full course of rehabilitation in a group or personally – with a psychologist specializing in addictions. Fortunately, there are a lot of professionals and companies offering such services now. The type and depth of psychotherapy depend only on the degree of preservation of the mental abilities of the patient.

Psychotherapeutic care has now long gone beyond the clinical field. When working with addiction and codependency, psychotherapy does not so much change the situation as it allows you to look at it more objectively, to go beyond the “system”, when affects (extremely strong emotions) demolish all the boundaries of “common sense”.

Working with a therapist will help you not to “break wood”, slow down, and maintain the ability to have a sober attitude to the situation. This is hard work. And trust the professionals here. The situation in which the client found himself speaks of the need for his development. And reliance on the experience of a professional will contribute to its growth.

Is it possible to say that there are some “trends” in the world of prohibited substances? We remember the fashion for opium at the end of the 1980th century, the 2000s were marked by a surge in heroin addiction, and in the XNUMXs the so-called “club drugs” held the palm …

These “waves” always have a social background. During serious socio-economic cataclysms, military conflicts, there is always an increase in social diseases, including drug addiction.

No need to delve into history to remember how this disease affected the population of our country and other states. Any war, any crises and upheavals “lead on a leash” alcoholism and drug addiction. In the same way, at the individual psychological level, psychotrauma and the subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder always include one form or another of addictive behavior – food, play, emotional.

Chemical addiction is undoubtedly the most difficult of them all.

It’s scary to even think about it, let alone talk about it! I would like to convince myself that, well, this problem will definitely not affect us.

In our culture, there is still a belief that drugs are the lot of the elite or the marginalized. That this is some kind of “not our circle” problem.

In general, when you ask people questions about the presence of chemical dependence in the family at the reception, their voices are often made quieter. After all, it’s really not customary to talk about this, it’s not customary to wash dirty linen in public. But talking about a problem is easier and more effective, the less fear of making it public.

What should the relatives of drug users do?

Even before the condition of a sick family member requires urgent measures, relatives of the patient should seek help from a specialist – a psychologist, a psychotherapist. The goal is not to send a relative to be treated faster and by any means! First of all, you need to deal with your own experiences, attitudes, limitations. Throw away unnecessary “spam” imposed by stereotypes and social legends, deal with your own history in order to make decisions consciously and balanced.

If the whole family system is not ready to change, the result of the treatment and rehabilitation of the patient himself often turns out to be minimal. This is a direct guide to action for all parents who began to notice the odd behavior associated with the use of alcohol and drugs of their sooner or later maturing children. Your appeal for help just for yourself (paradoxically!) is the key to success. Possibly the main one.

What exactly should not be done if adults notice oddities in the behavior of their child?

Parents of teenagers sometimes go for all sorts of interesting tricks: they arrange surveillance, interrogations with predilection, hack into correspondence … It is easy to guess that these seemingly preventive actions often give the opposite result. They force the teenager to fence off even more, to withdraw into himself, to seek help anywhere but at home. I would like to wish all parents angelic, compassionate patience and clarity of vision.

Believe me: if a person is in trouble and cannot change it, somewhere at the deepest level he is always perfectly aware of it! No matter what he says about his condition, no matter how hard he tries to convince everyone, including himself, that he keeps the situation under control, somewhere deep inside there is a sprout of a healthy attitude towards the current situation.

The main enemy in this case is distrust, the “alienation zone” between a teenager and his relatives. In families where there is a place for devaluation, condemnation, comparison in communication, it is very difficult to conduct a fairly frank dialogue about the problem. But it certainly can and should be learned.

How do you know if a teenager is using drugs?

As mentioned above, a teenager has much less ability for self-control, so the signs of using illegal substances can be noticed quite early. A small checklist will help to detect the problem at an early stage. What is happening can sometimes resemble a complicated transitional crisis, but the severity of behavioral disorders in the case of drug use is still much more distinct.

Your child may be in trouble if he shows the following signs:

• Mood swings, abrupt and inexplicable;
• Expressed, demonstrated hostility, the desire to isolate themselves from their parents;
• Strange meetings and mysterious “affairs”, suspicious new acquaintances;
• Loss of money from home, often quite large sums. The teenager cannot give a sensible explanation of where he spent them;
• Slang associated with drugs appears in the speech, strange words, jokes on the topic of use;
• Insomnia, agitation at night, drowsiness during the day;
• School performance drops sharply, a teenager is often reprimanded for violating discipline, he forgets about alternative hobbies, hobbies, sports, and so on.