Behind Closed Door: The Unspoken Battles Of Drug Abuse
Hi my name is Baani Singh and I am a freshman at UC Berkeley majoring in Public Health. This blog post aims towards addressing an issue that has been secretly impacting the Punjabi-Sikh community, drug use. While it typically happens behind closed doors, drug use, especially among young people, has become an urgent rise in trend. The stigma about the topic makes it very difficult to have an open conversation about, causing this issue to not only grow but also worsen. Families often suffer silently leaving the individuals that are struggling with substance abuse without any support or proper help. It is better now than never to break this vicious cycle and finally have a conversation about it with the community.
Health Risk And Consequences
Drug use brings physical, emotional, and social consequences. By misusing substances such as opioids, prescription medications, or other drugs, addiction, organ damage, overdose, and even death can occur. Not only does drugs affect an individual physically but also mentally in the sense that it heightens anxiety, depression, and along with aparanoo. In a lot of cases drug use fuels conflict and instability within families. Within the Punjabi-Sikh community there is a rise within the young population of a dependency on drugs which more often than not leads to a decrease in school performance, poor employment, and bad relationships. Whenever substance use occurs and happens in silence, it can contribute and lead to generational harm, , as children often are the ones witnessing or are being impacted directly by the user through things such as trauma.
Barriers To Seeking Help
Stigma is one of the main reasons as to why people often do not seek out for the help that they need. Conversations about drug use and abuse are normally met with shame, denial, or simply just silence. Most families fear that this “secret” will get out into the public causing judgment from others or a dishonor upon the family name, making them hide the issue instead. The cultural expectations and strength and bravery makes individuals conformed into refusing to find help or even just simply admitting that they have issues. This is why Punjabi-Sikh families often feel isolated because existing currency treatment options misunderstand patients due to a lack of cultural understanding and awareness. But without having safe spaces that balance both struggles that individuals have along with community values, healing can become very difficult and seem out of reach.
Solutions For Change
-Education And Resources: By raising awareness through youth workshops, school partnerships, or discussions at the Gurdwara door towards safety and healthier o options can open up. Support groups and counseling that recognize the dynamics of Punjabi families along with Sikh teachings and votes can really allow for individuals to feel more comfortable in seeking care and help than allowing their situation to worsen.
-Mental Health: By encouraging open discussion about stress, trauma, and mental health then the stigma around asking for help can decrease. By promoting alternatives such as mindfulness, Seva, physical activity, or even therapy can help provide healthier coping tools and help prevent substance reliance and abuse.
