THE UNTOLD STORY OF A RECOVERED DRUG ADDICT
Bad company breeds bad habits they say and it stands true in Arslan’s case. Peer pressure coupled with a sense of inquisitiveness makes one fall prey to habits that cause destruction and there are very few who have the willpower to overcome that and come out as champion. Such is the story of Arslan.
“If only you knew what I had gone through, you’d know why” Arslan says.
Arslan was 20 when he was brought in contact with heroin, the deadliest kind of drug on planet earth. The consumption continued for over six months. His journey from an addict to a survivor to an exceptionally well performed student is nothing less than an inspiration.
To write a testimonial, it takes a certain level of courage and reminiscing to come up with a few words that reflect the entire scenario. For him, the inspiration came with the death of a friend last year. Haider , a close friend of his and an inspiration for most, with respect to his impeccable academic standing, succumbed to cardiac arrest after overdosing of heroin.
His story begins with him leaving his hometown Lahore to pursue studies in Karachi. Looks can be deceiving. That is what makes it difficult to choose right from wrong. Mr. Ali is the main antagonist of his life story. When he first left home to pursue further studies in a different university, everything was alien to him. The diversity of people he was living with – from his roommates to his dorm mates, everything was relatively different from what he was accustomed to. In such desperate times Ali entered his life and introduced him to a rather peculiar looking cigarette and he accepted thinking, “It’s just one time. What bad could happen?” little did he know it would change his life altogether. He remained unaware about how potentially dangerous the drug was and it shocked him when it suppressed his abdomen pain which was due to a rare gastrointestinal illness with many side effects, including a consistent localized pain in my lower abdomen that he carries with him till date.
He quotes tales of how he would lie to everyone in his life; how he would travel to different cities alone with just a few hundred rupees to get the “good stuff”; how he had lost his respect and esteem; how his friends would innumerably try to save him from this conquest I was taking part of and how the rising level of drug tolerance would increase his consumption.
He does not consider himself as one of the conventional addicts who have sob stories and unhappy childhood. In fact, he referred to his childhood as “bed of rose”. He was neither depressed nor emotionally challenged.
“Maybe just one time! Just for the sake of trying something new” he says was the reason for him.
For the six months that he continued the consumption his biggest fear was what if my parents find out and on February 12th 2015 they did. They were distraught. The end was coming, he kept blaming. He considered suicide and the possibility of leaving home.
He narrated,
“Soon, my mother left to her chambers, and I followed her, in order to give an explanation. As I entered her chambers, I found her standing upright on the prayer mat, crying as she bent over the prayer mat, and oh it was the worst feeling of my life. “Save me?” I thought for a moment. ‘Nothing can save me, beloved mother.’
That turned out to be a turning point in his life. February 13th, 2015, 12:03 AM – the defining moment of his life when he had decided to quit for good. From the day till now there is no going back and the struggle has been real but he has been successful in beating the devil. Lately his GPA has risen to 3.7 with people in his class considering him to be the most reliable and the smartest person in class.
“Using heroin didn’t rid my mind of pain, depression (if any), anger, and emotional pain—it had only suppressed those feelings” he says but he has goals that he is adamant on achieving. One of them is to inspire addicts to call quits. .He wishes to make a change – use his story and learning from retrospectives in a positive manner, to make a difference. He wants to write to papers. Once he has completed his Bachelor’s program, he will proceed with Civil Services of Pakistan according to him.
Rehab does not help as much as the people in our lives; it’s that sheer willpower fuelled by the love and support of the people who chant “we love you, and we believe in you” every time you make a bold step that does the magic.
He says “Every life matters, it’s never too late, even if you’ve been an addict for year. If not you who, if not now, when?”
