By Ibrahim Mohammed Saani, GNA
Tema, Dec. 4, GNA – The Tema General Hospital Mental Unit has revealed an alarming rate of daily cases of substance abuse among adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19.
Mr. Fabian Samlafo, the Deputy Chief Clinical Psychologist at the Tema General Hospital, revealed in an interview with the Ghana News Agency that every day at least a case or two of his patients were having mental health illnesses due to drug abuse, especially among students.
Mr. Samlafo also revealed that their assessment had shown that the children were usually introduced to illicit drugs by friends or family members.
While some used tramadol, others resorted to tobacco use to prepare dishes, toffees, or stew beyond recognition.
He said parents must be vigilant and pay proper attention to their wards by catering for their emotional needs and educating them on drug abuse.
Attributing some of the causes of the menace to bad parenting, the clinical psychologist said a low level of communication between parents and children led many children to seek advice or influence from bad groupings, resulting in addictions.
In reference to the case of one adolescent patient, Mr. Samlofo said a guardian who was into drugs introduced the school-going boy to it, so he saw no wrong in doing it, stressing that the situation was worrying as many were losing their minds to it.
He suggested incorporating drug misuse education into school events once a semester through sessions with mental health professionals, where students could discuss their experience and the repercussions of hard drugs and receive counselling as well.
He, however, said the public must also be surrogates for people to lead them out of the dangers of smoking and the use of hard drugs.
“The law allows people to call on law enforcement agencies like the police and soldiers to make an arrest of any nomad who becomes dangerous to himself and others, especially the violent ones,” he added.
Explaining, he said mental health illnesses were of two types: herberfronic schizophrenia, which usually develops in people between the ages of 15 and 25, who are usually in the habit of packing refuse on the streets and making it a big load to carry, and when they are engaged in conversation, they talked back nicely and are not violent.
The other type he noted as the chronic type, who mostly exhibited violent behavior like facing incoming cars or chasing after people, was a danger to themselves and others because, in a situation where they got knocked down by a vehicle or killed accidentally, faulters will face a jail sentence.
He said there were numerous treatment choices available to people with mental health illnesses, such as once-a-year injections, six-month injections, and quarterly injections, without taking any additional drugs.
But highlighting the fact that ongoing self-care and persistently seeking out encouraging support are also critical to the long-term management of mental illness,
It is possible for someone with herberfronic schizophrenia, or the acute type, to live a normal life if they are committed to treatment.
GNA