 when they realize that your body has become so dependent on you adding this to your internal systems that you can't do without it. So that's the biggest myth that when you're in the midst of an addiction, you can't just stop. It takes a really strong willpower to go cold turkey and say, okay, Hillary from today, I'm not taking this drug at all. And for you not to fall back into that system, especially if you're surrounded by friends or family who are doing the same thing as you and you're trying to stop. That's the hardest thing to do. The fact is that the minute you put something into your body, it's going to add value or not add value to your body. So what happens is, for example, when you take sugar, sugar is adding something to your body. Same way that you take a drug, it's going to give you something. It's going to give you a feeling of happiness, a feeling of positivity, a feeling that you're on top of this world, right? Or it will make you, you think it makes you think you forget all your problems. So those are facts. And that's why it's called a chemical. You're changing the chemical balance in your body. And it's creating this whole false sense of bravado around you. And the minute it tapers off, you start feeling, oh, I'm sad, I'm depressed, I'm angry. So you'll take it again to get that feeling of high. You end up not solving your problems. You'd never solve your problem. All right, we are speaking of the COVID-19 pandemic where almost every sector has just told, but now at least the things are now coming up, at least for our country, we could speak so. But do you think young people especially have free time to use drugs? And if they are, are they readily available? Because most of the drugs, they are shipped to Kenya. Yes, drugs are very readily available. Whether you're talking about hard drugs, whether you're talking about over the counter drugs, whether we're, I mean, for example, where Kenya is one of the biggest producers of Mira, we export it. It's an export product. So with COVID pandemic, we have got a lot of people home, unemployed, lost their jobs, sent on leave, children out of school. So this is now becoming a bigger issue. We have, you've been reading in the newspapers about teenage pregnancies. Exactly. Actually, CS Magwa was saying, a number of people are saying drug abuse could be attributed to the increased teenage pregnancies. So our problem just doesn't stop anymore with the drug abuse. It's becoming a wider problem where you're looking at rape, you're looking at teenage pregnancy, you're looking at a lot of gang wars, gangs forming, just because, you know, people are really out there and they have so much more free time on their hands that they don't know what to do with themselves. I hear the use of drug. It takes just that one day, that one moment. But then how does drug abuse and addiction develop in someone? So like I said, everyone is different. Your body will react differently to my body. It may take you a week to develop to a point of dependability where you're completely dependent on this drug and it may take me four weeks to become that level. But constant use, daily access to it makes your body, it makes you say, okay, I know I have this thing. Now I can take it. And the minute you start, start partaking in it repeatedly over time, your body is dependent and that is when you start abusing it. Now what could be the common signs and symptoms of drug abuse and the addiction that from an instant I can tell this is an addiction or someone is abusing drugs? For someone who's been doing it over time, there are immediate things like slurred speech. Your pupils are completely dilated. There is a look, an excited look on your face all the time, your hyper, you're super excitable. Small things will make you happy or angry. So it's two extremes. There is a lack of coordination in your movement. Walk style, talk style, your whole body is just lack of coordination. So that's someone who is in the midst of an addiction. You've mentioned of the coordination and I have seen people who use cannabis there's a way they kind of feel bossy. Is that the idea? So that's what the drug has done to you, right? It's changed your chemicals in your brain and it's telling you well nothing can beat you and you know you're you're it. So it's a feeling of bravado that I mentioned earlier that this makes you feel completely you know on top of the world. Now if you are living with a teenager or maybe a friend or a colleague or a family member, what would be the warning signs that someone is using their drugs and how do you talk them out of it? The warning signs that someone is using drugs is you will see two different sides of someone. When they're on a drug you will see a different character and when they're not on the drug you will see a different character. Secondly, talking them out of it is very difficult unless you catch them very early in the stage. If you catch them further along then they also want to have to change and that goes for anything right? You will you won't change unless you yourself really want to change and you need the help and you accept that you need help. So the initial signs are you know mood swings from happy to sad or sad to happy. Anger you know suddenly some small thing that maybe three weeks ago one month ago a year ago would not have made you angry is now making you angry. Depressive episodes manic depressive episodes where you're laughing and happy and suddenly you're crying in an instant. Those are the immediate signs. Lying is a big sign. And maybe there's those people like you have mentioned will be you see the two sides of the person. They are this the time they will be happy and the other they will not. But now considering what drug would do to someone and realizing what they are doing what would you say are the best chances of attacking when they are in drugs or when they are not? In well you have to catch them head on sometimes confrontation is the only way and you say to that person look I know what you're I know you're taking something tell me what you're taking so that we can find a way out of it. Some things like tobacco for example if you're a chain smoker there are options of the chewing gum the patches so you're still getting a little bit of the nicotine in your body through these things but you're easy slowly weaning often same with alcohol there is if you're a real bad alcoholic there's medication that psychiatrists and doctors will prescribe you that will help you stay off the alcohol. So with the hard drugs again there is multifaceted therapy where it's you know you need other drugs to wean you off those drugs you need counseling psychologists you need medical help sometimes you need restraint you know where you're actually put into a place a rehabilitation center and say well this is it we're controlling everything that goes into you into your mind and into your body. So there are avenues for help I know churches and religious organizations also help especially in Kenya there are a lot of social groups and social workers within the estates who are accessible to people who for help so there is quite a bit available you just have to be in a position to say to this person that listen we need help and we're going. We've heard stories of people who have gone for rehabilitation and when they come back they get to drugs again what could be the lasting solution for this kind of thing. The only lasting solution is yourself you've got to want to be clean you've got to want to help yourself it's not easy it's not easy for anyone to avoid peer pressure where you know you're in a group of 10 friends or 10 people and you're the only one saying I don't want to drink or I really don't want to take this drug I've seen what it does to me so it's hard it's hard to stay away from peer pressure sometimes it's also best to not when you come back from rehabilitation or when you're trying to solve your problem to stay away and cut off relationships with such people because you know they're going to take you back to where you were so it's building strong networks it's building strong families and strong people support around you to say okay I need help or I feel like I need to take a drug who do you call yeah all right now do you think being idle contributes so much to the use of drugs especially a time like this where students are now going to to schools even the universities are closed so people have so much freedom yes of course they've always said an idle mind is a devil's workshop there's a reason why people say that right so being idle being at home being unable to go to school college university work just gives you and then on top of it the uncertainty of this whole COVID pandemic whether you'll get a job whether we will go back to school in January so it just makes somebody who is slightly less strong in their mind say you know what I have nothing to lose let me just go and take this it makes me feel good I might as well true and for the sake of parents who abuse drug especially the alcohol most of the time they take it when they are stressed now if this kind of a person is already into alcoholism how do you help him out even without taking them to rehabilitation because they are trying to solve a problem what could be another means of solving their problem other than being into alcoholism the first thing is to find out why they think alcohol we're taking alcohol is going to help them solve a problem in my opinion in my experience it's usually just trying to forget right your burdens are so many and you think let me just take this so that for the next few hours it's not something my mind is thinking about constantly whether it's money problems whether it's work problems business problems family problems right so the best thing as a friend or a partner is to say to that person is we're in this together let's talk about it let's find a solution taking alcohol is not the solution you'll forget it for a few hours but when you wear off it's all going to come back now we're speaking of COVID-19 pandemic where the students are home parents are home before then just like you had mentioned you will realize something different most of the parents do not know their children yeah right now they are home they are seeing something they have not been used to other than the one month for the holidays and the three months in school you're not with your child yeah right now they are with your children and they are seeing almost everything how can your parents right now try to curb drug abuse and addiction I think connection try and connect with your children as much as possible get to know your children for for the human beings that they are you know when we were growing up Hilary if you remember maybe not so much your age group but my age group was if your parents said no it was no but the children of today want to question they want to ask you well okay you're saying no but explain to me why you're saying no so it's a whole new game of parenting right now you can't just say no or your parents can't just glare at you and suddenly you've got to say okay I better toe the line the kids today question you and you've got to be able to make them understand your logic so the minute you create that connection with your child the minute they're not afraid of you so to speak but they're they know they have to respect you but they don't have to be scared of you true and they can come to you and say okay I'm facing this problem or my friend is trying to introduce me to this and I'm not sure what to do so just create openness open communication with your children is the best thing I would advise right now true all right how about how about the elite child who sees their father is abusing drugs or the mother is abusing drugs how do I approach my parent and tell them I think this is not the best thing I think if you're a child with a with a parent who is in an abusive relationship with a drug your best that would be to go to another adult that you can trust because for you as a child to go to a parent may not come across especially a parent who's drug abused alcohol abuse substance abuse you will probably get into a fight or an argument so the best thing you would do and I think I would recommend is find an adult that you can trust and speak to that adult and let that adult speak to your parent true all right and finally if I'm not into drugs how can I prevent myself from falling to that trap watch your friends who watch who you surround yourself with all the time it's really important that as as a child as a parent you know who you're around the minute you feel that you're around someone who is in an abusive relationship with drugs or another person try and get out to fit that person no matter how much you think that person needs a friend sometimes for your own safety and your own health you need to stay away true toxic relationships are really bad all right I'm going to give you like 30 seconds so this is your camera to give us your final recommendation and speak to the youth outside there who are the majority who use these drugs and they are into addiction and getting out of it is difficult your final answer thank you there is help around you just need to find it drug abuse drug addiction substance abuse is not the solution in the long run it will harm you more than it's helping you right now you may feel that it's helping you make you feel happy make you feel that you know you're in control of your life but at the end of the day you're not so please seek help and find someone who can help you get out of it thank you all right thank you so much operational for coming and highlighting these problems and how we can get out of it especially at such a time when we have so much time on our hands we are not going to school we are not even working most of the jobs have been closed most of the people are depressed are using drugs and I'm sure our young people have learned thank you so much for thank you and back home thank you so much for keeping us company she has been my guest impressionist a psychologist and chemical dependency expert I hope you have learned something I'll be coming back again still on matter matters health before we talk about politics keep it why in the morning my name is deriva hillary see you in a bit