For the past handful of years there has been a mushrooming of what, could, to my mind be called, ‘Rehab Resorts’ designed for addicts. The word addicts, as in our collective consciousness, brings to fore junkies riding a carousel with a year-long supply of cocaine, heroin, marijuana or whatever, snuffing and injecting themselves, in the process making Instagrammable moments.
Or if it is about alcoholism, then the screenshot is of those inebriated, hammered-to-the-eyeballs tipplers, yet still slurring away, hurtling out the choicest abuses, so as to get into a violent entanglement with family members. These high-end rehabilitation centres, promise, as goes the saying, the Moon. Spending a few months in Rehab Resorts — with fine dining sans any wining, of course — besides being put into collective counselling, with a good measure of didactic mentoring, constant family sessions, the addict as well as his/her folks are dragged into a kind of a psychodrama, leading for the most, to a cul-de-sac, and more often than not, back to square one.
Of course, there are recreational activities thrown in such as playing table tennis, watching movies, sports or soap operas on TV in the Common Room. Not quite three years ago, at the aforementioned kind of supposedly semi-upscale de-addiction centre, I was invited to see how all the families of the patients conglomerated together with their wards and counsellors for a ‘fusion lunch’ to talk of their trying times, the persistent painful episodes impacting the family unit, an offshoot of drugging and drinking. A mass-produced exercise in exhaustion, resulting in an ear-deafening blame-game shouting feud.
Besides this scene remaining with me, another downhearted thought stayed on --- in Delhi, the capital of India, drugs were available off-the-counter, kids as young as 13-14 could whiz down in their parents’ cars, without naturally a license, and buy a bottle of scotch or a case of beer or a crate of country-made brew, with no questions asked. And this was not about Delhi and neighbouring Gurugram or Noida, but news reports kept pouring in of how prosperous Punjab had gone down the drain, with so very many kids hailing from all segments of society, voraciously consuming drugs that are carried across the border. Were there not supposed to be wide-eyed police patrolling over our bordering country or was it a simple open and shut case of sleeping on duty?!
Shimla, also referred to as Patiala’s, ‘Apple Blossom Backyard’, where school children, since ‘it is in the air’ explanation, now prefer a high dose of ‘Angel’s Dust’ to a good old scoop of chocolate ice cream. However, I cannot waste more ink, lest I find myself with not enough space to talk of what I set out to. So here goes, without getting into needless prefaces. At the start of the year, I found out, through a friend of a friend, that there was a place, a sanctuary which treated addictions, behavioral disorders, stress brought on by myriad colliding reasons or more… ‘Sanctum, Wellness And Healing’, located somewhere beyond Chattarpur, New Delhi.
This took me down there to get some insights on a research paper I was writing on the preying addictions, that were striding only towards a soaring surge of cases. Was India in a snake pit, soon to be sunk in quicksand?! Sanctum, is run by a pair of refreshingly bright, perceptive and energetic psychiatrists — Dr Danish Hussain and Dr Niharika Singh. Both of them, especially Dr Danish, since there was more of a one-on-one with him, Dr Niharika joining in later, provided an unearthing understanding to what we, as lay people, for the most, misconceive that it is the dependency, the craving habit of drugs, alcohol or both, that brings on symptoms manifesting into rage, anger, a sense of low self-esteem and though at the same time projecting a persona of an inflated self, leading to an imposter syndrome…On the contrary, Dr Danish explains, to what I interpreted that where high-voltage irritability, depression, panic attacks, rising levels of anxiety (when one might, as a consequence, be sweating like a swine, face awash with sweltering dampness) are already existent; they driving one to going on a drinking binge or a junkie blowout simply to cope, to get by or shut out the world, that somehow is not tailor-made for them.
Before filming by the tangible snapshots, it may be added here, that both are medical doctors, with MDs, majoring in Addictive Psychiatry so in plain speak they, depending on the individual’s case, besides wholesome yet non-judgmental counselling, administer the requisite medication, for perhaps, calming the patient to be more receptive to the treatment.
In other words, the brain is a muscle that can be trained, given individualized, custom-fit therapy. Both speak with an earnestness regarding the holistic treatment Sanctum is attempting to administer —touching on conditions such as ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) which often begins to exhibit itself from childhood persisting its way into adulthood. “ADHD, the term is self-explanatory — the person has difficulty in focusing, has a wavering attention span, is either restless or overactive’’, explains Dr Danish. “However’’, he adds, “a holistic approach can work incredibly well —talk-therapy, with a mild dose of medication, especially in the case of youngsters, since the medicine too can become addictive, is the combined first step to a treatable journey.’’
The duo, make mention of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Anger Management…the key one perceives is, that at Sanctum, treatment commences after contextualizing the patient’s life experiences… Coming back to addictions, the two also concede that many a time, it is not necessarily a behavioral disorder that drives a person to become a dopehead or a heavy guzzler or tragically both, but inflexible peer pressure.
They narrated how one of their patients could not be more relieved that he would at long last, be able to complete his degree with online classes cum assignments. Had he thought of returning to college, he would have been enslaved by his peers back to his crackhead ways. The Upside of Covid-19…no venturing outdoors, the shutters of all universities locked down, well and good…for, as one can perceive, a considerable length of time. And yes, the traumatic rollercoaster ride, the family of the patient/addict is not discounted.
Dr Danish and Dr Niharika empathize, with a sort of emotional intelligence, work at undoing the hardwired despondency and forlornness brought on by one member’s frazzled, cantankerous ways, to be putting it in mild terms. Fractured Families to be soldered together---as difficult, I would say, as preventing a marriage counsellor from getting a divorce…Speaking of counsellors, this Wellness sanitorium---A Port in a Storm. Gauri Kapoor, an affable and determined counsellor, a former alcoholic---who unlike most women, has no qualms about revealing how she had become a boozehound---is definitely an asset, soulfully sharing her trials and tribulations with the patients. Before letting this piece sail, the decisive difference, in my considered opinion, is that Sanctum, with medical doctors, having the highest qualifications, besides acquiring professional training from premium medical institutes of America (does Harvard ring a bell) goes way beyond other Rehabs Refuges.
The Beatles song, ‘Here comes the Sun…’ plays in the head, with the prayer that Udta Punjab, Udta Bharat may steadily take a backseat.
Lastly, before putting this pen down, at several other centres, the treatment largely is conducted with, what can be best likened to robotic regimentation, where a standardized approach is used for each individual.
This space would be incomplete without me bringing in Hippocrates, who affirmed, ‘’Wherever the Art of Medicine is Loved, there also is a Love of Humanity’’.
(Dr Renée Ranchan writes on socio-psychological issues, quasi-political matters and concerns that touch us all)