Growing drug menace alarms rehab center

Counselors at the Well Well-Spring Foundation, Inc. (WSFI), a private drug rehabilitation and treatment center in Quezon City, have expressed their concern for the growing magnitude of drug addiction.

"Thousands of lives have been wasted, some ending up in jail, mental institutions or worse, cemeteries, because of substance dependency," said Victor Parcon, a WSFI psychologist.

Fr. Larry Faraon, WSFI spiritual director, said what makes drug alcohol addiction more excruciating "is the fact that the whole family gets entangled in a mesh of emotional pain, deceit, anxiety and denial and more often than not, it is denial that grabs away or postpones the opportunity of seeking appropriate help."

"Chemical dependency is a problem that gets worse as the drug using continues. Life is at stake here, a chemical dependent needs urgent help just as a very sick person needs immediate medical attention," Faraon explained.

Parcon noted that chemical dependency is a disorder which has a deceiving nature. "The mind of a person hooked on drugs becomes so cunning making the addicted person himself believe that he is still in control and that nothing is wrong really. The addicted mind, which has taken over the person, will almost always conceive anything just to perpetuate the addiction," he said. WSFI is located at No. 6 Maalalahanin St., Teachers' Village West, Diliman, Quezon City with telephone numbers 920-5993, 927-1317.