director’s message
Drug addiction is a chronic and relapsing mental disorder affecting particularly male youth and adolescents. It not only causes adverse effects on the physical, mental, and moral health of the individual but the family life also gets grossly disturbed. The prevalence of drug abuse in a society makes it unwholesome and the rate of crime also increases. Infact it erodes the very existence of society. To start with, a drug is taken for pleasure but gradually with the development of tolerance and craving it becomes a compulsion. Various socio-cultural factors have also been found to be significantly correlated with drug abuse. Religious or spiritual pursuits have a powerful influence on a person’s psyche and life in Eastern culture.
Collectively, Drug addiction is a leading cause of preventable disability, morbidity, and death. And addiction needs to be tackled whole-heartedly by medical, familial, societal, and spiritual means.
To address the problem effectively, The Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib (HP) launched the Akal Drug De-Addiction campaign in 2004 on the premises of a holy shrine. At present we have two Akal Drug De-addiction Centres, one at Baru Sahib in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh and the other at Cheema in Sangrur district of Punjab.
The Punjab Centre situated at Cheema in Sangrur district is the largest Drug De-Addiction Centre in Punjab set up in rural area. The Psychiatric Services cum De-Addiction Centre at Baru Sahib with 50 beds is also the largest Centre in the state of Himachal Pradesh. In addition it has the best facilities for the treatment of female patients suffering from drug addictive disorder. The third state- of – the-art Drug De-Addiction Centre is coming up at Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab shortly. We manage our patients with holistic treatment comprising a blend of traditional and spiritual components with an emphasis on family therapy, group counselling and engagement of patients in indoor and outdoor games. Thousands of families have benefited from the treatment at both centres so far.
The treatment has to be multi-dimensional, so efforts should be made to seek family support besides reduction in the availability and demand for drugs. By the treatment at the Drug De-Addiction Centres, we can reduce the number of persons suffering from drug dependence. It is important for the patients to visit the centres regularly for follow-ups along with the family members. Poor follow-up is directly related to the poor outcome. It is, however, more important to make concerted efforts to control illicit drug trafficking, and to lay emphasis on education and creating awareness about drug abuse especially among vulnerable segment of society.
Drug addiction has multiple causes and requires a multi-pronged approach for management. The role of parents, teachers and educators cannot be over emphasised in preventing the menace of drug abuse. Spiritualism which has the potential to regulate individual, family and social life is one of the important factors to minimize or eradicate the menace of drug taking. Meditation, prayer and other religious practices impact our thoughts and judgments and hence can be very useful in preventing drug abuse, managing and rehabilitating the drug addicts. ❞
Dr Col Rajinder Singh (Retd)
Director
Akal Drug De-Addiction and Rehabilitation Centres
Baru Sahib (H.P.)
Cheema Sahib (Pb.)