How Benzodiazepine Addiction Almost
Destroyed One Man’s Life
By Dr.
Fourkan Ali
Prescription
medication addiction has been thrust into the spotlight recently due to the
death (in April 2016) of global superstar Prince, who it has been since
revealed was struggling with an addiction to opioid painkillers for the past
twenty-five years. Since then, there have been many stories about how
prescription drugs are responsible for many more addictions than people may
have previously been aware of. Nick Selig is a former addict from Canada and is
speaking out to warn others of the dangers of prescription medication, having
struggled with a benzodiazepine
addiction himself at a very
young age.
Nick was exposed to the dangers of drug
addiction at a very young age when he witnessed his mother in the grips of a
drug-induced seizure when he was just a young boy. He recalls how he was
terrified as he watched his mother fall and hit her head and then jerk and twitch
on the kitchen floor. Her head was bleeding from the knock it took as she hit a
kitchen cupboard on her way to the floor. He admits that the episode haunted
him for years, saying, “Naturally at that age I thought she was dying.”
Family Problem
You would be forgiven for thinking that Nick
would have steered clear of drugs, having seen first-hand the dangers of
abusing drugs, but unfortunately, he too struggled with a drug addiction as he
got older. Just twenty-five years old, his life has been filled with traumatic
experiences. He spent time in foster care and descended into a prescription
drug addiction, under which he began stealing while under the influence.
Nick did not meet his biological father until
he was twelve years of age, but like his mother, Nick’s father also had a
prescription drug addiction and was an IV drug user. This family history of
drug abuse, plus the fact that Nick was already taking benzodiazepines for
anxiety, meant that the youngster had little hope of escaping the drug problems
that were to come. He said, “I think it was a mix of being exposed to strong
medication at a young age and seeing my parents abuse prescription narcotics.
My experience of drugs got very intense very quickly.”
Relationship Breakdown
Not everyone who takes prescription medication
will develop an addiction, but some risk factors make a person more likely to
be affected. Sadly, for Nick, he ticked a number of these boxes. Not only did
he have a family history of drug abuse but he had also suffered a traumatic
experience and was himself exposed to drugs at a very young age.
At the age of twelve or thirteen, Nick and his
sister were placed in care, but Nick, who was desperate to see his father and
gain his approval, would often run away from his foster carers. By the time he
was fifteen, he was living in a group home and was abusing painkillers. It was
at this point that he took up with a bad crowd. They stole a van, which they
then took for a joyride through the streets. He was arrested and charged with
theft. He said, “It was definitely the worst thing that I’ve done. It scares me
now to think about it. It scares me to think about what could have happened
that night.”
Nevertheless, Nick did not stop there and
amassed around twenty criminal charges while still a minor. He admits that many
of his crimes were carried out to fund his drug habit, and added, “A lot of the
small theft was to help offset the cost of getting prescription drugs because
they’re not cheap when you don’t have a source of income.”
Addiction Help
Nick was lucky that he managed to get help for
his addiction while still in his teens. He is also incredibly lucky that his
offences were all committed when he was a minor. He now has a clean record and
is sober. He was sent to a rehabilitation centre that he likened to a boot
camp. Because he was reluctant to accept help in the beginning, he spent longer
at the rehab centre than everyone else who entered at the same time as him.
Nonetheless, he finally admitted that rehab was what he needed and, after completing
his programme, he was accepted back into foster care by a couple who had just
two previous dealings with him.
Nick now works as a service advisor and has a
stable relationship and has had a child. However, over the years, he has
witnessed drugs take the lives of three friends. He also continued to have
dealings with his biological father, who fell even deeper into drug addiction.
Nick is keen to tell his story now to warn others of the dangers of
prescription medication and how benzodiazepine addiction can destroy lives.
Prescription drug addiction continues to be a problem both in his home country
of Canada and here in the UK.
Thankfully, private and public organisations
around the country are working hard to ensure that those affected are getting
the help they need. Addiction Helper is also working hard to help people access
this help. If you have a problem with addiction, contact us today for advice
and information on where to get help.
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