The affects of addiction in Burgersfort

We live among people who struggle with addiction on a daily basis. For some people, various addictions like excessive shopping seems harmless in comparison to drugs or alcohol.

Addiction comes down to one basic concept: the heartfelt desire of a person to fill an empty feeling that they are experiencing.

Steelburger/Lydenburg News posted on a WhatsApp group the following message: “I know this might be a strange question, but is there anyone on here that has recovered from an addiction or still suffers from one?”
The newspaper was inundated with replying messages and focused on some of the responses that we received. One cannot help but feel the brokenness of the community in these messages.

The people following are given false names to protect their identities and privacy.
• Frieda has had a troubling childhood. Due to things that happened to her, she started to experience insomnia (the inability to fall asleep, or stay asleep). Now in her late 40s, she realised that she cannot function without sleeping medication. She already uses a large dose of a tranquillizers on top of the sleeping medication. “As soon as I get to the last pill in the bottle, I immediately start to panic; thoughts go racing through my brain as to where I’m going to get the next batch,” commented Frieda. She cannot bear the thought of going one night without it.
A different kind of addiction that does not harm your body, but definitely your finances and relationships, is shopping.

• Lizz has been a shopaholic since she earned her first salary. As soon as her money hits the bank, she jumps online to buy all sorts of things. She has credit card debt as well as clothing accounts as high as
R28 000. A few years ago she was put under debt review as it became too much for her to handle, even though she still continues to scrape every cent together to spend online. This has caused ructions between her and her husband and is the main reason for fights in their household.

• Tony had the kind of addiction that one would easily associate with the word ‘addiction’. Since she was in primary school she started to experiment with dagga. Soon it escalated to “harder” drugs. She recalls the people with whom she used to use drugs. “It’s people with money, big houses and fancy cars,” says Tony. At the age of 16 she was admitted into hospital for depression, but as soon as she got out she went right back to her old habits. It was only short of her 22nd birthday that she had a nervous breakdown.
She took a bus to Durban and booked herself into rehab. “Going into rehab is a life-changing choice; only you can make that decision and stick to it.” She has now been clean these five years, but during her time of use she was almost shot, had a bounty on her head and stole from her family. This is a life that she has put behind her, and will never look back.

• Tracy was diagnosed with a tumour behind her left eye. This caused her to get, what she says, “headaches from hell.” The tumour was later treated and she could feel the relief, but her mind was still telling her that she was having headaches. As soon as her prescription medication ran out, she went to pharmacies to buy bottles and bottles of Codeine. She would almost always drink more than the prescribed dosage.
Now eight years after successful treatment, she is still unable to live a normal life without the medication. Asking her if she would quit using them, her answer was simple, “No, I don’t see a need to. I reacted to the message because I drink a lot of pills, not because I’m addicted.” Her husband on the other side is troubled by her use of Codeine, but feels that he cannot do much about it.

• Shorty felt he needed to live on the edge to feel alive. He was a good kid getting good grades. One day, out of curiosity, he smoked cannabis. The feeling was so overwhelming that he continued smoking it eight times a day for four years.
There was a time when he felt the need to experience more. He made a list of all the drugs and decided to try all of them at least once. Halfway though this list he hit rock bottom by overdosing on a mixture of methamphetamine and heroin. He survived the ordeal, but shortly afterwards tried to end his own life. It is then that he realised he had to seek for a rush in a safe way. He has now been clean and sober for two years, and finds his thrills in doing adventure sports.

These are stories from merely the tip of the iceberg. Addiction is a serious problem in our community. If you are trapped in such a lifestyle and would like to get help, call the South African Substance Abuse toll-free hotline at 0800-12-13-14, while SMSes can also be sent to 32312.