A methamphetamine-induced "high" artificially boosts self-confidence, many users are overcome by a so-called "superman syndrome." In this state, methamphetamine abusers ignore their physical limitations and try to do things which they are normally incapable of performing. Meth is highly addictive because people often continue using the drug to avoid an inevitable crash that comes when the drugs' positive effects begin to wear off. Even first-time users experience many of meth's negative effects. [Source: Clearhavencenter.com].
I didn’t see “self confidence”when the Highway Patrol Officer led this young man into the chair inside the Nurse’s Clinic at Intake [where arrestees first get searched and processed in prisons]. Bowing his head way low, his chin almost touching his upper chest, he wouldn’t dare look me in the eye. I saw some beads of tears fall as he constantly rubbed his eyes with the digits of his left hand.
“Sir, it’s okay. You can talk to me. I want to help you. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know…I don’t know.”[as he kept hiding his face from me].
“Do you drink alcohol?”
“No.”
“Do you use street drugs?”
“Meth. I use 8-ball everyday, whatever maximum amount my hands could get,” he mumbled under his breath.
Vital signs were: Pulse: 110, Blood pressure: 109/69. So, the pulse was slightly racing.
“If there was nothing wrong, how come you couldn’t look me in the eye?”
“I’m seeing people. They are not even there. I don’t want to see them. And sometimes, I hear voices.”
“What are the voices telling you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you feel like hurting yourself because of that?”
A forced “Yes” was given. [I placed him on Suicide Watch].
How sad that there are so many young people hooked up on drugs at such an early age. They like the “sudden thrill” that the illegal substances give them, without thinking of the drugs’ adverse effects, specially on their health. The substances control their lives. Like a bug trapped in the spider’s web, their bodies are ensnared with the habitual use of drugs.
It is a scary world out there as peer pressure or just out of curiosity, children are prone to being tempted to use illegal substances. Instead of the “high” they get from these drugs, as parents, we can help our children avoid the use, as we start by building up their “self esteem”. If they have a positive image, children have a better way of standing up against peer pressure. We must remind them that they are God’s special creation [Psalm 139:13-16] and worth of dignity and respect. Kids might think that “using drugs are cool” but we must warn them that they are truly dangerous.
As parents, we can monitor the kind of friendships they have outside our homes. It helps to know the other friends’ families. Unsupervised, it is a temptation for drug experimentation. If we provide our children activities, their minds would be busy doing something productive instead.
Prayers and a closer walk with God will help them live by the Spirit. The Spirit is God’s gift to all who will believe in what Jesus had done. It indwells all believers permanently. [2 Corinthians 1:22 –“and who has also put His seal on us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”]. When we allow the Spirit to freely occupy every part of our lives, then He will guide and control us.
So…"got Spirit?”
“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”
–Romans 8:5
“For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” – Romans 8:13
“Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?”
- 1 Corinthians 3:16
“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” –Galatians 5:16
“We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” -1 John 4:13
