Addiction among youth on the rise

Youth addiction has seen a “huge rise” in recent years, according to Natalie Bezuidenhout, a social worker and owner of Cornerstone Wellness Centre, a rehabilitation centre in Brakwater.

Bezuidenhout said she has seen an increasing number of patients under the age of 30 seeking help at her centre for addiction to various substances. The two most common reasons for rehabilitation are drug and alcohol misuse, which often begins before the individual turns 18.

Trauma

“Drugs are not the problem,” she explained, adding: "Drugs are a symptom of a deeper problem.”

She said people don’t use drugs for the sake of it, but rather as a temporary relief from stress or an escape from trauma.

According to Bezuidenhout, one of the most common underlying reasons for addiction is trauma, particularly childhood sexual trauma.

“So many people tell stories of being molested as a child and not being able to tell anyone about it. They internalise this and start to blame themselves for what happened. And then all the stress of school and work causes them to turn to drugs or alcohol to cope.”

Lack of support services

There is a lack of rehabilitation facilities for people under the age of 18. This is usually because it is legally more difficult to register a rehabilitation centre that caters to youth.

“When I registered Cornerstone Wellness, I was advised to only provide services to [persons older than] 18 since that would legally be easier,” Bezuidenhout said.

Moreover, many medical aids also do not always cover these services – or even normal counselling services – in their cheaper packages. Often these services are only available to packages with higher premiums.

In May, the government reportedly abandoned long-standing plans to build a rehabilitation facility for veterans in the Omusati Region, according to the Namibian Sun.

The lack of facilities, combined with the fact that many people cannot afford them, leaves many, especially in rural areas, without access to formal help. The only assistance they receive often comes from local churches.



Prevention is key

Bezuidenhout is of the opinion that more affordable mental health support services are required to treat addiction, but says that the focus should really be on preventing addiction before it starts.

Since sexual trauma is a major cause, children need to be taught from a young age how to identify that something inappropriate has happened to them and to report that to someone who can help. In this regard, Bezuidenhout believes that sex education has to be taught to children from as young as eight years old. This must be accompanied by more frequent drug awareness campaigns.

“The youngest drug user I have ever encountered was an eight year old,” she recounted.

“If we can prevent this guilt from building up, we might be able to prevent a lot of addiction,” Bezuidenhout concluded.

Irene Nel, a life skills teacher at Windhoek Technical High School, agreed when it comes to drug awareness campaigns. She believes that more campaigns will lead to better understanding about drug abuse.

She is, however, skeptical that earlier sex education will lead to less abuse of children.