The rising menace of drug abuse in the interstate border areas of Himachal Pradesh has added a new dimension to the mental health challenge confronting young people. In Kangra district, particularly in Nurpur, which adjoins Punjab, the spread of narcotics and the involvement of youths in drug peddling have raised concern among law enforcement agencies and the local community. Substance abuse is leading to anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance and other psychological problems among young addicts.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot every person experiencing a mental health problem uses drugs, but addicts require compassionate, evidence-based treatment rather than social condemnation,\u201d say mental health experts.<\/p>\n
Local social organisations and the authorities have stepped up awareness initiatives in view of the seriousness of the problem. In September, the Idea of India Foundation, a local NGO, launched a 60-day campaign against chitta and other drugs in the Nurpur development block, seeking greater participation from families, youth groups and village communities. The Nurpur police have also intensified their anti-drug campaign, especially to dismantle interstate drug trafficking networks in the region.<\/p>\n
The situation highlights the need to integrate mental health counselling into drug prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. Local experts say that mental illness continues to be surrounded by myths, misconceptions and stigma. Despite growing awareness, many people hesitate to seek professional help for fear of social stigma, which delays diagnosis, treatment and recovery, particularly among youths.<\/p>\n
On World Mental Health Day on Saturday, Dr Sumit Singh, a noted psychiatrist and mental health advocate working in the Punjab-Himachal border areas, highlighted an unsettling reality. \u201cPeople, especially in rural regions, often fail to recognise the early symptoms of mental illness. Instead of seeking medical help, many turn to faith healers and quacks, delaying treatment and worsening their condition,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to Dr Singh, prolonged stress, socio-demographic pressures and chronic physical illnesses are key factors contributing to mental health disorders. He warned that symptoms such as insomnia, irritability, loss of appetite, restlessness and persistent sadness should never be ignored. \u201cThese are warning signs, the mind\u2019s way of asking for help,\u201d he said, urging people to seek professional care promptly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The rising menace of drug abuse in the interstate border areas of Himachal Pradesh has added a new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[134,309146,554,555,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-630569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-himachal-drug-abuse-mental-health-crisis-youth","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}