A Consultant Neuropsychiatrist, Dr Maymunah Kadiri, says social media and substance addiction can be prevented through increased education and awareness campaigns.
Kadiri, also the Medical Director of Pinnacle Medical Services, Lagos, made this known in an interview in Lagos on Tuesday.
She described addiction as a brain disorder whereby individuals have a strong desire or compulsion to exhibit some behaviours or use some particular substances in a way that it difficult for them to control such behaviour.
According to her, people need to know that they can become addicted to their phones and social media and that they may not be able to bear the consequences of such addiction.
She said that phone addiction could be prevented through education.
“With awareness, people will know that they need to have control and when they can no longer control it, they need to see a therapist or psychiatrist for help.
“With that, they can quickly nip the problem in the bud or prevent an addiction that will be difficult to treat.
“Addiction is preventable but it is better to identify it early when the person is still young. Research shows that addiction is stronger among adolescents.
“When adolescents are exposed to substance abuse and the internet excessively, they can get addicted and their brain is not fully developed to be able to control what they take in.
“So, more education is needed in secondary schools on the need to avoid either social media or substance addiction because it can ruin one’s future.
The Neuropsychiatrist said that addiction complications could be looked at in different ways – as they affect the individual, his/her family and society.
She explained that a person addicted to psychoactive substances, the internet or gambling would spend and even borrow a lot of money to fuel the addiction.
“So, individually, the person is in a financial loss. This problem gets to their family in the form of indebtedness.
“If the addicts are not fully rehabilitated, they can become vagrants and psychotic. When young people are affected by this problem, you can imagine what it does to society,” the Neuropsychiatrist said.
Kadiri, who decried the mental health risks of addiction, added that addiction equally affects physical health.
She said that psychoactive substances like cannabis affect the lungs and heart, saying that excess alcohol consumption affects the liver.
“It has also been shown that when people spend a lot of time staring at the screen of their phones; they can come down with health problems.
“Some people may not know when they are addicted because the brain makes them feel that their action is normal.
“That is why an outsider is needed to educate and help the addict understand that they are spending a lot of time on an activity, having cravings or withdrawal symptoms.
“With education campaigns, addicts will be made to understand that they can stop the addiction if they want to, having known the negative effects associated with the act,” she said.
NAN
