Street play raises awareness on ‘Drug Abuse’ at Fortis Mohali

Mohali, June 26, 2023: The Behavioural and Mental Health Sciences Team at Fortis Hospital Mohali organised a street play on drug addiction at the facility here today. The event coincided with the UN International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking observed on 26th June every year. The theme of this year’s event is “People first: Stop stigma and discrimination, strengthen prevention.”

The play, presented in the OPD area, was supervised by Dr Hardeep Singh, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, Fortis Hospital Mohali, and staged by post-graduate interns from various institutes associated with Fortis Mohali. Dr Parneet Sidhu, Clinical Psychologist, coordinated the play to create awareness about drug abuse through the use of drama and humour.

Dr Hardeep said, “The street play was an attempt to shatter various myths surrounding drug abuse and also encourage the sufferers (addicts as well as their families) to seek proper treatment. The main idea is to convey that addiction is a disease like any other chronic illness and that there is help available.”

Most of the times, as is observed, addicts are either left untreated or dumped at various detention centres for 3-6 months, claiming to be De-addiction Centres when there is no mental health professional. “Addiction is a science and recognised as a speciality across the world. There is so much evidence to suggest that if treated properly, most of the addicts can lead a normal life. For this, families and the society, at large, have to change their perception – it is not just a social evil or a bad habit, it is a disease,” he added.

Discussing the issue, Dr Parneet, said, “It is a common observation that families spend lakhs on physical illnesses (even on an elderly person) while they hesitate to spend for treatment of these souls who are mostly young and can lead a very fruitful productive life.”