Behavioral addiction episode By Ikenna Daniel Molobe
Behavioral addiction episode
By Ikenna Daniel Molobe
Many people who use drugs live in poverty, unemployment, and social isolation. Some become disengaged from education, training, and family life. When ill, they may resort to self-medication rather than seek proper medical attention. Because many cannot afford adequate healthcare, they sometimes die from illnesses that are entirely treatable. In certain cases, healthcare providers themselves may be reluctant to admit or adequately attend to people who use drugs, thereby reinforcing their exclusion.
The stigma, discrimination, and social rejection faced by people who use drugs—from families, communities, and public institutions—should concern everyone, particularly because health is a fundamental human right. Many individuals who later develop drug dependence do not deliberately choose such a path. Their entry into drug use may be linked to frustration, unemployment, domestic conflict, peer influence, emotional distress, or the absence of guidance and support. Seen in this light, their condition becomes less a matter of moral failure and more a human crisis requiring compassion and intervention.
These individuals require help rather than condemnation. They deserve dignity, protection, and the realization of their rights. When families and communities respond with care, understanding, and support, recovery becomes possible. Indeed, many people begin to heal once they feel seen and valued again. However, when individuals are dismissed as mere nuisances, and society withdraws concern, the cycle of drug dependence often deepens and spreads.
Where compassion is absent, psychological trauma may intensify. Without support, some people who use drugs may sink into despair, increasing their substance use or losing the will to live. In extreme cases, hopelessness may lead to suicidal thoughts or a reckless indifference towards life itself.
Even those who successfully undergo counselling, treatment, and rehabilitation frequently struggle to reintegrate into society. Communities may continue to regard them as criminals or social burdens. Many are denied employment and opportunities, and, deprived of meaningful alternatives, some return to drug use as a means of coping with rejection.
Drug use has become a significant challenge in many societies. Numerous young people have lost their lives to its consequences. Addressing destructive drug use is therefore not solely the responsibility of governments or professionals; it is a collective moral obligation. A society cannot enjoy peace when a segment of its population is excluded from care, participation, and the fulfilment of basic rights.
The effects of drug dependence extend beyond the individual. Some who use drugs may become involved in theft, vandalism, or risky behaviors, including dangerous driving. At the same time, they themselves are often victims—exploited by criminals, exposed to violence, and vulnerable to preventable infections that may claim their lives. The question we must ask ourselves is simple: shall we continue to lose our loved ones and allow our communities to deteriorate, or shall we act with humanity and responsibility?
Many families, if not all, have their own story to tell about their loved ones who may have been affected by drugs. The story of Alex shared below is one of such stories that we may not want to tell because it always brings back that sad and nostalgic memory of life. This story reflects the author’s encounter with people’s experience that were either victims or affected with distressing story of drugs and addiction in the real life. The author chose not to use or quote the real names, dates and place of such events but rather narrated through the author’s view. Drug dependence stories sometimes don't have a happy ending but whatever the ending, sharing them is helpful. Through storytelling, awareness is created, empathy is awakened, and silence is broken.
While reading the story of Alex below, it would be very useful to consider and reflect on the following questions:
What could have really assisted this person?
What would I have done, and what should I have done, if I was there?
How might the harms of drug use be reduced while individuals struggle with their difficulties?
What services, support systems, or resources could keep them safe, healthy, and protected from infection or death as they are guided towards recovery?
What can we, collectively and individually, do to help people who use drugs regain their rightful place in our communities both during treatment and after recovery?
The story of Alex
Alex, my friend, became dependent on heroin. He was married to Tessy, a friend he met at a heroin ‘shooting party’. “I saw her and fell in love, and she saw me and fell in love too.” Alex said to me. A month after their marriage, Tessy became pregnant. While pregnant, she stopped using drugs when her doctor advised her of the danger of drugs to the baby and her health. Though Alex continued to shoot heroin. Nine months later, their child was born. Alex was too excited to be a father. After the birth of the child, Tessy suffered from postpartum depression. Later she recovered, but she went back to drugs when a friend brought over some heroin, and she took up the habit again. “I cannot wait for a clean needle,” said Tessy. She shared the same needle with her friends when they injected heroin.
Alex and Tessy later had a little misunderstanding and split up. Six months later, Tessy became ill and was taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed as HIV positive. She later developed AIDS, having suffered rejection from her friends and family. She was taken to an herbalist for treatment. She couldn’t be bailed out of her misery. Her condition deteriorated considerably, and she died of AIDS. Alex was told about her death, but he could not do anything at that particular time because he was already sick. He was losing weight gradually. On a visit to the hospital, Alex discovered that his T-cell count had fallen to 280. His doctor told him that he was HIV positive and he had to begin anti-retroviral drug therapy. A week later, when he returned for a follow-up visit, the hospital had been temporarily shut down. Alex wept. “If I knew, I would not have gone into drugs, and now I probably would not see my son become an adult.”
Alex was living with HIV and could not afford treatment drugs. He was battling with the illness, as he could not get proper treatment. He developed skin rashes all over the body. He was also infected with tuberculosis, and 7 months later, he died. I never supported Alex’s lifestyle, but I missed him.
The story of Alex is one of the true-to-life narratives drawn from Not a Great Moment, a collection of short stories, by Ikenna Molobe, exploring the human cost of drug abuse — not only for those who use drugs, but also for the families, friends, and communities who share their consequences. Through reflective storytelling, the collection seeks to encourage understanding, compassion, and awareness, and to remind us that behind every addiction is a human life that might yet be saved.
