A Sweet Escape
Posted: Monday, November 24, 2008
by Sara O'Rourke
'Good morning, Starshine, the Earth says hello!'
Welcome to my candy shop - take a browse of the rows of colourful, fruity pills, and don't forget to try our new fizzy drinks; guaranteed to give you the mind trip of a lifetime. Not after anything sweet? Choose from stickers, stamps, gels and crystals. The choice, dear customer, is sincerely yours.
With such astonishing statistics, I took some time to think about why we do things that could potentially endanger us. Drugs and alcohol carry huge warning signs; think of your school work deteriorating, your relationships disintegrating, your health, both mental and physical, towered over by a hidden question mark. And, in today's society, we all very well know the negative connotations associated with them both. As if there weren't sufficient drug awareness courses, enough violent and distracting advertisements invading our TV screens, even stories that torment our fears by word of mouth. Why, then, do we still do it?
Let me relate myself to this question. After slaving away for weeks, months, sleepless nights to in the end be handed a piece of paper I'm not afraid to show my parents and future employers, I feel like I need to swing the other way and run as far as my legs will take me from any pressurised environment. In the spirit of freedom, the thoughts of a great release, of confidence and frivolity, it all catches the eye.
I'm not sure whether it is a direct form of rebellion to abuse drugs and alcohol - perhaps, quite understandably, we punish those who have pushed us, or whom we feel have pushed us, by risking ourselves with these substances. Perhaps it is a subconscious way to share our worry, to force the third party to empathise with us and feel the same level of anxiety and fear that we felt. Our parents, our schools and friends will all feel concern for our well-being.
But there again, why would many people keep their substance abuse a secret, if it served predominantly as a tool of such a sort? For these people I can propose that drugs and alcohol make them feel they can be themselves. When we go through the schooling system, we are shoved in one end and out the other all together as a group, all experiencing the same situations and examinations. When we break free from that amalgamation, perhaps we thirst for a way to define ourselves as individuals - and drugs and alcohol aid us in doing just that. Not only do they give us a sense of independence - we are playing with our own fates - but they grant us whole new and different experiences that school just won't cater for.
There is always the basic answer, of course: curiosity. It killed the cat but we choose to largely disregard the health hazards involved. To counter-balance our lives of discipline and all the trouble that comes with growing up, the thought of cool, surreal hallucinations and sensations can seem something worth trying. We learn to live for today, to make the most of what is out there, that everything should be tried once.
Are we that unhappy? Are we that bored? Is anyone really that curious?
I recall, to end, one experience of being preached to by a drug counsellor at school. It's laughable what this particular counsellor taught us, and I believe this account will speak for itself in letting others know what work needs to be done to curb our enthusiasm for drugs. She walks in and approaches the whiteboard, marker at the ready - draws a pair of graph axes - "This graph represents the feelings you will have if you try certain drugs" she enthusiastically explained. First she drew cannabis - a fairly low line, with no obvious trough. Then came the E, LSD, and all such hallucenagens - up it curved. And then, to finish off this masterpiece of education, she drew on coke. The big guns. "Now, you will start off with a high, it will hit you like a bullet...they say the sensation is better than that of an orgasm." We all gasped, naturally. That good, huh? Of course, what goes up, must come down. Down she took the marker, further and further, but not far enough. She had convinced and attracted us all. Words are a powerful thing. *www.sadd.org/stats.htm
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Having worked with numerous health professionals I can sadly report that some of those giving out these 'drug warnings' take the drugs themselves, (past and present). Not all of them of course, but enough of them to make you wonder why they can't take their own advice.I went to an after work 'doo' once and found that myself and one other were the only health professionals NOT taking cocaine that night. Those who were had already taken a few other highs before that too.Funnily enough, those that were drugged spent all night talking about work in a 'loop'. Very dull. Yet the next day they reported having had a 'great' time. How dismayed they were when I reported back to them the truth. They just 'thought' they were having a great time. I have often found this to be the case when in the company of drug users.......they are remarkably dull.I myself find saying no to drugs very easy. I value my sanity and don't want to take my mind on a 'trip' especially one that might leave me paranoid, depressed and anxious in later life.Though.........I do drink alcohol when socialising sometimes and in actual fact this is THE most damaging drug of all. It destroys and takes more lives then any other and yet...it is perfectly legal.I shall leave you with that thought!
ps the nurse who was pushing the cocaine at the after work party had a special table made for her and her friends coke habit and was in her 50's, so by no means are drugs a teenage phenomenon.
Hi Sara.I think another reason teens experiment with the illicit drugs despite all the warnings is that they think they will be different. That "it" won't happen to them. I've known a few teens that seemed to think that way. I've known some also who don't seem to care for their lives and if they are cut short ... so what? It is all very sad to me.Your article brings up some very good points about sacrifice and reward. It's a shame that drugs have to be the "reward" for so many.Thanks for sharing your thoughts.Dianne
"Are we that unhappy? Are we that bored? Is anyone really that curious?" Sara O'Rourke
Perhaps the answers lie in your oxymoronic title, Sara. Why would one wish to escape from life if it is so sweet? It's about being human. If you're like me, you take everything back to the Garden of Eden and what made Adam and Eve trip up. It was their humanness and partaking of the forbidden.
Although human, we have choices. It might be wisest even if not considered intelligent, to politely refuse illicit drugs and any behaviour that can alter one's state of mind and being . . . forever. Life is sweet. There's no need to attempt to escape it.
You've written to and researched this topic very well. That teacher should be sent for further training.
dearest sara,if i wasn't so afraid of planes, and had the money, i would come there and be by your side constantly, making sure such a sweet girl didn't ingest anything into your pureness.i have 3 kids, 17, 21, and 23, and they each have probably 5 good friends i've watched grow up, so i have been around 18-20 kids for years.i myself, was a kid, and i'm sure you can figure out what that means. i am also a recovering alcoholic, went through te 12 step program, and have not drank in 15 years.my reason, and most of the teens i've had conversations with blame their "ingestion" on trying to escape whatever ails them; their parents, school, a romance gone wrong, whatever hurts them. i can assure you, life is so much better when you know where you were last night, who you were with, what you did, where your purse is, and even where you (okay me) left my car. stay away from all the "illusions" they don't last, and they can do irreversible damage, or cause death, by simply drinking too much and pasing out, getting sick, and swallowing your own, well you know.anything mentioned takes away your inhibitions. "oh, i can dance better, i can have conversations with the opposite sex better, i can think more openly, i can write better, i can draw better." yes, and you can ruin your mind and body better.this was a brilliant article.keep your brilliance. my daughter's name is sara, because it's my favorite name.no H either, i figured, why bother adding another letter to have to write, when you get the idea without it.people want to "experiment" instead of learning what is bothering them that they want to escape from.take care, and that is an order:)i have just adopted you,my best for you sweetness,sue
Your article is interesting to say the least, however all the explanations given as to why people take drugs, just seem like a lot of excuses. People are rational beings, or so they should be, and if one would just look at the big picture and see where the road of drugs would take them, all their excuses would go up in smoke.
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