Drugs are a mistaken therapy for self-esteem boosting

Have you ever wondered why some musicians have two personalities, the on and off stage ones? Well, for some, it is because of their dependency on drugs such as cocaine and weed before performing. There are some artists who seem so full of life on stage, lively and vibrant but when you meet them off stage, they are so different; in fact every bit insecure with no confidence whatsoever. Today, it’s not just musicians who are fighting with self-esteem issues; so many other people depend entirely on drugs for self-confidence and esteem. There is this misconception that drugs give some kind of energy to the user thus creating an unusual strength and enthusiasm. As a result, this pathetic fallacy has fooled so many youth into wasting away on drugs and alcohol. Currently, there are many musicians who can’t perform on stage without having a dose of their ‘confidence booster’. However, over the years, through the experience of different users, drugs have proven to be ineffective and only harmful to one’s health. Michael (real name withheld on request) started using drugs through peer pressure while at University. He was just beginning his career in fine art, music and modeling when his friends lured him into using drugs. “At first it was a good feeling as it gave me some kind of magical and seemingly super natural energy; it got me thinking of how much I had missed out on – or so I thought. I got addicted to it and just couldn’t do a thing without it,” he narrates. He says that he got so obsessed with marijuana that he took it as if his life depended on it. He would never go for a modeling gig, have a meeting or interview without having some of his marijuana. He even started borrowing huge sums of money from his mother whenever he was broke, just so he could buy drugs. He would suffer withdrawal effects like shivering whenever he hadn’t taken drugs; they literally became his meal and his eyes were always red. It was a very bad addiction that made him lose and hate the real him; he only loved himself under the influence of the drugs. He had to be taken to a rehabilitation centre to stop using the drugs. This derailed him in his academics and career. “These drugs didn’t actually give me confidence since I had no self-esteem without them .They only took away the little esteem I had, drowned in debts and thus ending up in a rehab centre. I narrowly survived prison as well,” Michael explains. Well, that’s just Michael’s story but truth be told, drugs might hype you up a little bit but they can’t give you self-esteem. In order to have self-esteem, you have to know your worth and value as a person. You are priceless, precious and have everything it takes to achieve whatever you need. You don’t need drugs to have that confidence. It starts with changing your mindset about yourself. m.kaitesi@yahoo.com