In the heart of Bowenpally is a privately run deaddiction centre that looks just like a regular independent house. Tucked away in one end of a quiet residential colony, the three-storey building with an entrance amid a canopy of trees does not even have a signboard.
“We used to have a signboard, but it scared away patients,” explained de-addiction therapist V.S. Gideon of ‘Living Sober Rehabilitation Centre’. “If we put a signboard, people in the neighbourhood will start having a problem,” said an assistant working at the centre, underlining the stigma still associated with drug deaddiction centres.
The hall, also the waiting area for outpatients undergoing deaddiction programme, has a screen flashing live CCTV footage of at least a dozen patients. Aroma of home food wafted from the kitchen, which is busy cooking for recovering addicts. Over the past seven years, this centre has treated close to 1,000 addicts.
Most families avoid deaddiction therapy until the situation gets out of hand, so such centres end up getting mostly critical cases.
“In fact, misdiagnosis is a common occurrence in such cases. Seeing the physical symptoms and behavioural patterns, families often take addicts for mental health treatment. The underlying cause of the symptoms, i.e. addiction, goes unidentified and unaddressed. By the time the family realises this, it is too late and the case is further complicated,” said Dr. Gideon.
Madhulika, a doctor at the deaddiction ward in the Government Mental Health Centre, Erragadda, seconds him: “Instead of addiction, families focus on problems caused by it. Only when addiction starts affecting their family lives and personal relationships do they come seeking expert help.” As of May 2023, the Telangana government had 34 deaddiction centres across 33 districts.
Deaddiction: a never-ending journey
The journey of deaddiction is akin to a coin flip, with some recovering addicts making it big in their lives and some losing it all.
A 25-year-old recovering addict managed to pursue a bachelor’s degree and, later, a master’s degree in legislative law, after undergoing a four-month rehab programme. On the other hand, a teenager, a long-term victim of polydrug abuse, ended up with severe mental health disorders, including schizophrenia.
Dr. Gideon highlighted marijuana as the gateway to drug addiction among the cases he has dealt with. “It often starts with marijuana consumed with alcohol, which makes it more dangerous… then progress towards harder drugs such as LSD, heroin and cocaine,” he said.
Deaddiction is a lifelong journey, with chances of relapse as high as 90% (rate as per medical experts). A typical rehab programme lasts for about two to four months, depending on the severity of the case and willingness of the addict.
Harish (name changed), a former art teacher at a school in Hyderabad who had been addicted to alcohol and smoking since early teenage, is now undergoing deaddiction at Erragadda. “It feels good, I have quit drinking completely and only smoke a cigarette a day from smoking over five earlier,” he said. His life changed after he fell down the stairs in his school, after which he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and underwent a divorce. Mr. Harish is now working as a freelance artist.