Yvonnie Bailey- Davidson
Dear Counsellor:
My 28-year-old daughter is having a drug problem. She takes ganja and cocaine. She roams the streets, can't keep a job and sells my household goods. I need some help for her.
Lola
Dear Lola,
Substance abuse and misuse is a problem in Jamaica. Many people old and young get caught in the web of deceit to maintain their drug habits. There are facilities in Jamaica to help people to rid themselves of the habit.
Cocaine is highly addictive and cause the users to do various illegal things. The individual's system needs to be detoxified, meaning the drug needs to be cleared from the body. Most users need the help of others to get clean. To stay clean from drugs, individuals need to avoid the people, places and things that encourage the use of drugs. This is easier said than done because Jamaica is a small place. Abstaining from drugs is the key to controlling one self as it pertain to drug use. People use drugs to soothe their sorrows and stress. Self- medication is popular with people as they think that they are being independent. Drug use usually start out as a minor thing, being introduced by friends.
Cocaine can cause various medical problems as well as psychological problems. Some individuals become afraid, panicky and have auditory hallucinations. The individuals feel as if they are developing schizophrenia or depression. Many individuals start the drug use to calm anxiety and depression as well as trying to cope with life's challenges. Individuals need coping strategies to deal with the trials and problems of daily life. One needs to assess one's strength and achievements. We need to celebrate our success and triumph over failures. Failures are temporary setbacks and we need to look positively to the future.
Individuals can successfully kick the drug habit and should endeavour to do so. People should not experiment with substance of abuse because they are very addictive and it will be difficult to discontinue the use of these drugs. The lives of many people have been ruined because of drugs and this should be a lesson to others not to try drugs.
My son
wets his bed
Dear Counsellor:
My son age seven years wets his bed at nights since infancy. He has some nights when there are no bed-wetting but he usually has this problem on a weekly basis.
Joan
Dear Joan,
Bed-wetting is a common problem and it runs in families. Many times the parents or relatives had similar problem. It is nothing to be ashamed of as many children have this problem. Children should not be punished as this is a medical problem.
One of the theory for the bed-wetting is that the brain centre is immature and with time, the mechanism will fit in place to cause complete dryness at nights. Most children outgrow this problem spontaneously as they grow older and it becomes less of a problem.
One of the issues is that the child is sleeping deeply and the sensation of bladder fullness doesn't awaken him. The other issue is that the bladder has to be trained to accommodate large volumes of urine.
Many children can developed, emotional and behavioural problems because of shame and guilt about the bed-wetting. One of the strategies to control bed-wetting is bladder training. The individual is asked to drink a lot of fluids in the daytime and urinate infrequently. This is done so that the bladder get used to large volumes. Fluid restriction is the other strategy. The child has to abstain from drinking fluid in the late evening and passes urine in the bathroom before bedtime. After falling asleep, the child is awaken to pass urine in the bathroom. The child is rewarded for dry nights to motivate and maintain success. Medication can be given to cause dryness at nights. If there are emotional or behavioural issues, then these are dealt with via counselling, support and reassurance.
Remember that it is a common problem and children do outgrow it.
Dr. Yvonnie Bailey-Davidson; El Shaddai Medical Centre; 927-4824; email yvonniebd@hotmail.com.
