HOW TO WEIGH WHAT YOU WANT TO

            

Overeating is one of the greatest sins of our modern society.  We have confused appetite hunger so often that we cannot tell the difference. Hunger is a signal from the body that it has actual need for food. It is not a learned response. The body needs to be refueled.

On the other hand, appetite is a learned   response tied in with what and when a person wants to eat. Perhaps one sense has been stimulated- the person smells a food, sees it, or thinks about it. This reminds him of a pleasant experience he has had with that food, and he wants to eat.

That is why it is hard for any person to know when he is overeaten. Of course there are the obvious signs. After overeating many, many times, he becomes overweight. But if we  are talking about how knows he is overeaten, there is probably only that full, stuffy feeling- which many people consider normal. 

If you want to be healthy and weigh what you really want to weigh, it is the best policy to train carefully the tastes and feelings for food. This can be done adequately only over a period of time. 

We used to think that a chubby baby, a chubby person, was the most healthy. That`s not true. Now we often go the other way, thinking that the skinny person is the healthiest. That`s not true either.  There is an ideal weight for each that is neither really chubby nor skinny.

If you want to maintain your proper weight for maximum health, you have to be in charge of what you eat. You can`t allow mere taste or sight or remembrance of a food to dictate to you. That`s why many weight –control programmes are erroneous- they don`t retrain your thinking about food.

Obesity is one of the major medical problems of our day. It is not disease of itself, but it predisposes to many diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stomach disorders. 

When you remember that for five pounds of fat there are about three extra miles of blood vessels, you get an  idea of what the body is burdened with when it has an extra fifteen or twenty pounds of fat to carry around.

We see this problem more among children than ever before,  and a  higher percentage of women are overweight than men, though men  are catching up. One reason for this is that in our society girls are not as active as boys.

It is easier for some people to keep their proper weight than others.  There are certain body types which do not tend towards obesity. For example you can identify the ‘bony’ type. It doesn`t matter what activity level they are on, what their eating patterns are they are very seldom overweight. 

So there are physiological reasons why some people have a harder time to maintain their weight. But this  is not to say they cannot control it. It simply means that they have to work harder at it.

That only weight reduction process we can prove really works is to retrain your  eating habits and increase your exercise. It has to be a pattern for  life both getting more exercise than you usually get and eating less often  or in smaller quantities so as to reduce your calorie intake. Crash diets  do neither of these on a continuing basis. One of the biggest problems of a crash diet is that you feel bad when you are on it. You think of  it  as  a diet – and when  you say ‘ diet’, you are sure to see beginning and an end.

As soon  as you reach that ending point, the chances are 99.9 per cent that you will go right back to the pattern that caused overweight in the first place.

Some crash diets are outright dangerous.  For instance, they may increase the protein and decrease the carbohydrates. They may decreases the liquid intake, so you lose a lot of water. When you step on the scales, you yell, ‘ Hurrah!  I`m losing weight’. But all you`re doing is losing water.  And you may be encouraged to stay on this rigid regime for an indefinite period.

There are many problems with high-protein diets. Again the major trouble as far as weight control is concerned is that it doesn`t   retrain a person`s eating habits.

Some people, including teenagers, are attracted by  the  claims  often made for diet pills. Let`s look at the various kinds of such  pills available on the market today.

First, there are drugs, some of which are in the form of lozenges that contain benzocaine. This is intended  to deaden the taste buds so you will not feel hungry.  But this has not been proved successful in losing weight permanently.

Other diet pills contain cellulose or pectin, or something else that is supposed to absorb water and expand in your stomach, so the stomach feels full without your having to eat food. The trouble here is twofold: You have to take a large amount to get sufficient bulk to satisfy and the temporary satisfaction rapidly passes. You may feel  full for the moment, but not for long.

Some diet pills are diuretics- they make you lose water. But again, this is all you lose, which is what is really necessary for adequate weight control. 

Amphetamines are sometimes prescribed for control of weight. There’s no scientific proof that this drug actually decreases the appetite. It may give a feeling of well-being, minor stimulation. Theory is that if a person feels good, he won’t be depressed and go to food as a solution. 

Appetite depressants may work for some people. However, the outside edge of their time effectiveness is about three months. Usually they  are effective for only about one month. Then the dieter tends to increase the dosage so it continues to depress the appetite.

Doctors say that the only usefulness for prescription medication for weight control is that they give a temporary boost, either to get the dieter started on a real control program or to give him a bit of encouragement when he reaches a plateau and loses incentive. But there are no useful long term effects. And for many people there is no indication that they even depress the appetite. 

Equally a problem is the person who is a string bean and seemingly cannot gain weight. Such a person may try and try to gain, but in failing to do so will feel as frustrated and defeated as the person who is trying to lose pounds. This is another reason to believe there is one physiological predisposing to either leanness or obesity. Of course there are a lot of people who fit neither extreme. 

The excessively thin person should first be sure he has no disease that is causing his condition. A complete physical check-up should assure him of this. A few people have anorexia nervosa, a severe mental problem that causes not to eat.  Second the thin person usually gets the idea that he doesn’t need to exercise. But we know what various kinds of exercise tone up the entire body so it can function better. Thus a well rounded program of exercise is essential.

For this person the diet is changed, not to increase the overall quantity, but rather the quality. He needs more high-density calorie foods. For example, instead of eating two slices of bread, he will eat only one slice but add margarine and jam, or use more salad dressings on his salads. At times such person cannot eat large meals, so he may need pattern of several smaller ones throughout the day.

Another misunderstood aspect of exercise is the assumption that exercise increases the appetite. Many claim hard exercise causes them to eat more. However this is not a rigid cycle. The exercise that increases your appetite is occasional exercise. It has been proved by long-term studies that consistent exercises actually decrease the appetite. 

You may have a hard time believing this, because you remember that first beautiful spring day when you went out of picnic. You played football and run three-legged races all day until you were famished. Then came the big meal. 

Yet this was the result of occasional exercise. You had more of an appetite because you were feeling better and everything was marvelous for you! Your whole outlook on life was better, and this increased your caloric need. On the other hand, regular exercise decreases the appetite. Understanding this is especially necessary for people with sedentary life styles. For them consistency in exercise is all the more needed. 

Different people prefer different kinds of exercise. The best form for you is the kind you think you can live with the rest of your life. I may think walking is the best for me. You may think its jogging. The next person may think its cycling. Whatever you can live with that makes you expend energy is the best for you.

At times teenager, especially girls who are weight-conscious, ask specifically what they should do. At a risk of repeating some of the points already made, here are some suggestions. The girl should analyze what she has eaten for a week. Rather than prescribe a diet say,’ let’s see what you may be able to live without.’ Perhaps she can decrease her diet by one milk-shake a week. Here we’re talking about 500 calories a week, and in a few weeks that’s going to be a pound. 

Now if she can decrease her week’s menu by more than that, the weight can go a little faster. It is unwise to decrease a teenage girl’s diet too much during those important, developing years. We find that the most teenage girls as a group are among the most malnourished, so we want to go slow in cutting things out of their diet.

The best thing for this weight conscious girl is in some way to increase her exercise. And we don’t mean by doing calisthenics, but by something she enjoys. Perhaps it can be walking or by extra activities at home that require going up and down stairs, something that can be incorporated into her daily life pattern. 

At times you can get teenage girls to do gymnastics, or play tennis, or take up some active game. Swimming is the big thing in summer. But the basic thing for teenage girls is to help her increase her exercise.  In the whole picture of weight control, most important is the need that it  could be done by natural, long range means that will increase the healthy functioning of the body, and in this way the vigorous use of the mind as well. 

DESIRABLE WEIGHTS ACCORDING TO FRAME AT AGES 25 AND OVER

 Weight in pounds and kilos in door clothing 

Weight in pounds and kilos in door clothing[i]

MEN
Height with shoes * FT. INS.          METRES.		Small LBS.                     KGS.		Medium LBS.                    KGS.		Large LBS.                      KGS.
5’2’’ 5’4’’ 5’6’’ 5’8’’ 5’10’’ 6’0’’ 6’2’’ 6’4’’	1.57 1.62 1.67 1.72 1.77 1.82 1.88 1.93	112-120 118- 126 124-133 132-141 140-150 148-158 156-167 164-175	50.8-54.4 53.5-57.1 56.2-60.3 59.9-64.0 63.5-68.0 67.1-71.7 70.8-75.7 74.4-79.4	118-129   124-136        130-143    138-152   146-160       154-170       162-180        172-190	53.5- 58.5           56.2- 61.7           59.0  -64.9 62.6-68.9         66.2-72.6         69.8-77.1         73.5- 81.6 78.0- 86.2	126-141            132-148              138-156   147-166     155-174            164 -184            173-194            182-204	57.7- 64.0 59.9- 67.1 62.6- 70.8 66.7- 75.3 70.3- 78.9 74.4-83.5 78.5- 88.0 82.5- 92.5
WOMEN
5’0’’ 5’2’’ 5’4’’ 5’6’’ 5’10’ 6’0’’	1.52             1.57               1.62                1.67                1.77    1.82	96-104          102-110  108-116        114-123         130-140         138-148	43.5-47.2              46.3-49.9              49.0- 52.6              51.7-55.8              59.0-63.5               62.6-67.1	101-113       107-119       113-126       120-135          136-151          144-159	45.8- 51.3           48.5 -54.0         51.3-57.1          54.4-61.2        61.7-68.5        65.3-72.1	109-125               115-131                121-138              137-154                145-163                153-173	49.4-56.7 52.2-59.4 54.9-62.6 62.1 -69.8 65.8-73.9 69.4-78.5

Calculation based on man with 1’’ ( 2.5cm) and women with 2’’ (5cm) heels.

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[i]

THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL

Journey starts in  the  digestive  organ

Some  people  feel more  happy, confident, and  relaxed   when  they  are  drinking. The  alcohol seems to relieve their tensions and given them pleasure.  These  pleasant feelings may begin soon after  alcohol enters the body.

                 1

But what is really happening in the body and the brain as the alcohol travels through? The alcohol in even  one  small drink is quickly absorbed, but it takes a long and  complex journey before it  is completely processed. The drink first enters the empty stomach (figure 1), and which minutes some of  the alcohol is absorbed.

The rest passes into the small intestines, where it moves over a deeply folded absorbing surface covered by small projections

                 2

Called villi. Each villus is covered by even smaller microvilli (figure 2). Alcohol dissolved in intestinal fluids moves between these tiny projections  and  is absorbed into  the cells  and  then into the blood capillaries beneath   them  (figure 3). From these capillaries the alcohol-laden blood flows into the larger blood vessels of the intestines.

Next it flows the networks of intestinal veins. The blood is carried 

                    3   

from the digestive  organs to the portal vein, which runs to the liver. Inside the liver   the portal vein divides repeatedly down to the microscopic level. Special capillaries, called sinusoids, carry blood to the liver cells.

Inside the sinusoids two kinds of bloodstreams join together one carrying oxygen absorbed from the lungs,

                           4

 

the other carrying alcohol and absorbed substances from the digestive organs (figure 4). Here some of the alcohol is oxidized and removed from the blood at a steady rate.

However, the liver cannot immediately remove all the alcohol passing through it.  Therefore most of the alcohol escapes unchanged into the veins leading out of the liver to return later for oxidation. The alcohol-laden blood is transported from the liver to the heart. The heart then pumping it to other parts of the body, including the brain, where the blood-alcohol starts to take effected (figure 5).

              5.  

ALCOHOL AFFECTS THE BODY`S COMPUTER

The brain is a living computer made up of millions of nerve cells or neurons, complex networks (figure 6). The neuron is the basic 

                              6.  

Component of the brain`s data processing capacity. It is a single unit- a living cell- supported by other cells. It has a body, several hair-like processes called dendrites, and a longer central fibre called the axon.

A neuron communicates by responding to messages or signals. Incoming signals may make the neuron transmit its own signal along the axon towards other neurons. The neuron behaves like a living electric battery, maintaining a small voltage difference across its membrane, positive outside and negative inside.

When pulses of energy arrive, they may trigger a kind of short

                      7.   

Circuit in the membrane. This brief discharge drives an electric pulse, the action potential, along the axon towards the synapse, this pulse being the contract with other neurons. There are two kinds of synapses: one contains excitatory chemicals, the other inhibitory chemicals. When an action potential reaches an excitatory

                           8.

 

Synapse, it releases molecules that create a current through the membrane and excite the neuron to fire (figure 7).

Both processes occur continually in the brain –inhibition and excitation. Excitatory signals can make the neuron fire vigorously (figure 8). Small doses of alcohol can make the neuron fire much less vigorously, and large doses can stop it completely. But if alcohol reduces the inhibiting signals, the neuron may start to fire more often than it should; this is called disinhibition.

                                  ALCOHOL CAN CLOSE DOWN THE BRAIN

Alcohol can affect millions of nerve cells and change communication patterns through the brain.

                   9.

 

 in the way disturbing specific brain functions. Alcohol can affect vision, distort hearing ,

                    10.

 

muddle speech , impair judgement (figure 9), dull the body`s senses, disturb motor skills, and reduce co-ordination. And deep inside the brain alcohol can affect the areas that control aggression, hunger and thirst, pleasure and pain, body temperature, and sexual activity.

The central core of the brain can be affected by alcohol, thus triggering the vomit centre and disturbing the centre of alertness, the reticular activating system. When no alcohol is present, the reticular system receives signals from   brain and body and responds by sending out wake –up signals to keep the organism alert (figure 10). Alcohol may decrease the incoming signals and depress the reticular system itself. If the system is depressed too much, it may fail to maintain alertness. Stupor or coma may result. And the closes down. 

MORE ALCOHOL, LESS JUDGEMENT

When alcohol enters the brain, it initially gives a pleasant  glow. To try to maintain or increase that feeling, some people drink again  and again. But the comfortable glow doesn`t last long. Through a complex journey alcohol circulates throughout the body and the brain, and if drunk in  sufficient quantities, it  can shut the brain down completely. This processes begins as alcohol is introduced into the body, and continues as drinking goes on. And the more person drinks, the less able he is to judge accurately what alcohol is really going to him.

ALCOHOL AND YOU

The alcohol is industry is big business. In Britain a figure of more than £100 million per year is spent on advertising alcohol to the public. Consumers` expenditure tops £7,645 million, and the Government`s revenue from this consumption is at least £2,927 million. The yearly consumption of wine by the British public is a rising 92 million gallons, and spirits 36 million gallons. These figures are increasing rapidly each year. 

WHAT IS ALCOHOL?

The word ‘ alcohol’ probably has its origin in Arabic , meaning ‘ a fine dust’ or essence’. 

There are four main types of alcohol: 

METHYL ALCOHOL CH3 OH; ETHYL ALCOHOL C2 H5 OH; PROPYL ALCOHOL C3 H7 OH and BUTYL ALCOHOL C4 H9 OH 

Ethyl alcohol is the one that is the spirit in intoxicating drinks, and its concentration ranges from 4 to 59 percent. Alcohol has very valuable antiseptic properties, and when used outside the body is a very useful chemical. Alcohol beverages are produced either by fermentation to the opinion of alcohol is not the gift of God. God , by His direct act, does not make alcohol. The laws of nature ripen grapes. If they are not eaten, they rot and decompose. The manufacture of alcohol is wholly man`s device. Dr. Henry Munros, lecturer in medical jurisprudence, says: ‘Alcohol is nowhere to be found in any product of nature, was never created by God, but essentially an artificial thing prepared by man through the destructive process of fermentation’. 

If we believe the advertisements, then of course we would accept that alcohol refreshes the parts that other drinks fail to reach and look good, taste good and does the body good. All this may lead us to assume that alcohol is stimulant. This is totally incorrect, as it actually a narcotic, a depressive drugs of habituation. Of all the effects produced by alcohol, those upon the nervous system are by far the most important because the master function of co-coordinative movement, perception, judgement and emotional control are affected. 

ALCOHOL `S EFFECT UPON THE BODY 

Alcohol differs from other beverages in that it does remain in the stomach for any length of time. Some is absorbed, through the walls of the stomach, into the blood stream- and as soon as that happens the drinker feels the effects. Alcohol which has not been absorbed passes into the small intestine; this, is circulated throughout the body and into the blood stream. Thus, when alcohol enters the body, it is soon carried to the brain. 

The brain controls all bodily functions right from the moment of birth. More intricate than any complicated computer centre, man`s brain is the most amazing of nature`s many works. In this three- and-a- half pounds of grey matter are concentrated ten to twelve billion nerve cells which serve as the control centre of the whole body. Because alcohol is a narcotic drug it has the same effect upon the central nervous system as morphine and anaesthetics. 

The first areas of the brain to be affected are the frontal lobes, or ’ upper brain’ – the site of man`s higher faculties, judgement, self control, reason and reaction time. Thus, because of this alcohol is a very dangerous drink for drivers. Alcohol accounts for at least one in ten of all deaths of the road. Seventy or eighty per cent of all crimes in Britain are considered to be influence of alcohol. Because alcohol acts on the brain as an anaesthetic, there is interference with normal brain activity, even though the drinker may not be aware of it. Under this condition, the best features of man are lost first, and his worst features brought out. 

BREATH - OXYGEN

The origin of man according to the Bible (Genesis 2-7) is that the Lord God formed man and breathed in his nostrils the breath of life – and man became a living soul. The mentioned of nostrils suggests the intake of oxygen. Every cell in the body needs oxygen. The human brain uses about one fifth of the all oxygen needed by a person when he is at rest. If there is a lack of oxygen, the first organ to be seriously affected is the brain. When a person takes a drink of alcohol, the red cells

in the blood start to stick together. These red cells are then unable to pick up oxygen from the lungs and release it to other parts of the body. Without oxygen, all cells will dangerous in the brain, for whereas body cells can recuperate and replaced, brain cells do not have this ability. A brain cell denied oxygen for three to five minutes will stop normal functioning. If complete oxygen deprivation persists for fifteen to twenty minutes the damage is permanent, the nerve cell dies, and medical men have long known that brain cells do not multiply and are irreplaceable. And so successive damage done to the brain accumulates throughout life. Many people who drink heavily, and live long enough, show this effect of brain cell loss in symptoms which are easily recognizable: premature ageing, memory loss, reduction of sexual activity and the deterioration of reasoning power. ‘Hypoxia’ is the medical term for a reduction of oxygen.

LIVER, HEART AND OTHER ORGANS

Alcohol, when taken orally, does not remain in the stomach, but is distributed to all parts of the body, and because it is a poison the body soon begins to eliminate it. Up to ten per cent is excreted through the urine, breath, saliva and sweat. The rest must be disposed of inside the body and is oxidized or burned. The liver has the major job of disposal, and to make this possible alcohol must be chemically broken down into suitable substances which the body can then eliminate in the normal way. Three pints of beer would need about six hours for disposal. When a person continues to drink, the liver becomes damaged and the cellular tissue of the liver is replaced by fibrous type tissue, this results in a condition known as cirrhosis. 

Doctors report that they are seeing cirrhosis increasingly in a younger age group. In two studies conducted in Birmingham (UK) the proportion of alcohol cirrhosis rose from thirty – three per cent to fifty- one per cent of total cirrhosis in just ten years. A statement from the report of the Royal College of Psychiatrists is very enlightening on the subject of cirrhosis: 

Emphasis must also be placed on the fact that, if the patient stops drinking, the liver disease will often cease to progress. There are few circumstances in which abstinence can be so life saving. 

The ‘beer drinker`s heart’ is the name often given to a degeneration of heart muscle tissue- a condition caused by alcohol. The heart muscle, as a result, becomes weakened, the heart muscle cells fill with fluid and a fatty heart develops. All manner of vitamin deficiencies can result from heavy drinking, and such illnesses as renal failure, pancreatitis, anaemia, gout, and a host of other bodily ailments put the person at risk. 

Diabetics know that alcohol can put their diabetes out of control, and creates difficulties in re-establishment and control of blood sugar levels. 

ALCOHOL AND FOOD VALUE 

Alcoholic drinks contain no significant amounts of protein or fat, and can therefore not make good the bodily requirements lost through wear and tear nor build tissue a new, so in that sense cannot be classed as food. Food, by definition, must build and restore cells and be store able as reserves against future use. A drug, by definition, is any substance which brings about a chemical change in the functioning organs of the body, and on the basis of this definition alcohol should be classed as a drug. It is true that since alcohol is oxidized in the body, thereby supplying energy and perhaps, to a very small extent, allowing the organism to save its fat and protein, it can be regarded as a ‘fuel’ food- but it toxic and tissue destroying properties by exceed its slight fuel. 

ALCOHOLISM 

Alcohol dependent persons are not born. They are made by the pattern of habits which they adopt and the forces which play upon them from their environment. 

Frequent drinking can lead to a power habituation which is beyond the control of the person. There are those who sincerely believe that this could never happen to them. They believe that it is only people with several mental problems who become alcohol- dependant; people who have good character, education and health and general will power can they think, drink without danger. 

This is not true. Alcohol dependence strikes people in all walks of life. One in twelve people who drink will have an alcohol-dependence problem before their life terminates. The estimated number of alcoholics in Britain today is approximately 800,000, all of who at one time were social drinkers, believing that were others had a drinking problem it could never affect them. 

A craving for alcohol is an early sign of dependence. The only one hundred per cent safe course by which this danger can be avoided is never to use alcohol. 

HARM TO THE UNBORN 

Medical experts have known for a long time that smoking in all forms by expectant mothers will affect and damage the foetus.The damaging effect of alcohol has not until recently been admitted. Now, researchers state positively that alcohol if taken during pregnancy, can definitely damage the unborn child. Dr. David Smith , professor of peadiatrics at the University of Washington, who was one of the first to identify the ‘ Foetal Alcohol Syndrome,’ says that one in very 350 to 500 infant is born with some type of mental or physical defect caused by the mother`s drinking pattern during pregnancy. More recently it has been claimed that alcohol can harm male sperm, so men expecting to father a child should consider their responsibility in the light of this danger. 

CONCLUSION 

Alcohol-dependence can be treated and sobriety can be maintained. Most alcohol- dependence persons can be rehabilitated so that they can live rewarding and productive lives, just so long as they abstain from all forms of alcohol. In some cases, where the illness has progressed to a very late stage, physical and brain damage is irreversible. However, in most instances, the social and psychological damage incurred may still be reserved with proper treatment, care and support. 

Man is made up of four parts – physical, social, intellectual and moral spiritual- and the balanced man must needs pay equal attention to all four if he wishes to lead a normal happy life. Many there are who, while developing the social, physical and intellectual aspects of their life, pay little or no attention to the moral or spiritual. These, may be are those who need the enabling power of religious faith to carry them through- this is where the message of the Christian Gospel comes in. 

Remember, there is no such thing as responsible drinking- only degrees of irresponsibility. So think before you drink.

DRUGS: USAGE AND ABUSE

BACKGROUND

From man`s earliest days various plants and crude chemicals have been used to treat illnesses. The foxglove was found to help certain types of heart disease and juice of the poppy pod   to relieve pain and have tranquillizing effect.  Highly refined extracts of   these plants are still used today as Digoxin and Morphine. Many useful drugs have side effects and if these give pleasurable sensations or effects the mind there is a danger of misuse which can damage the human body. Morphine is such an example.

OPIUM AND   ALCOHOL

Alcohol is mentioned in early history and in the Bible, Noah his spoken of as planning a vineyard, drinking wine and becoming drunk. In the middle ages the Arabs introduced distillation into Europe and alcohol was hailed as the elixir of life. Apart from its sedative effect it was used as a pain killer and anaesthetic .

Opium too, has a history of thousands of years. Early writes thought of it as a remedy given by Almighty God to relieve suffering. It was not until the nineteenth century when it was used in the America civil war to relieve pain, that its addicting qualities became fully known.

Cocaine was introduced as a supposedly safe substitute and stimulant but again it proved dangerous. This drug had been used by South America Indians as a stimulant and cure for hunger for centuries. Many other mind- altering or  psychotropic, substances have been  used –hashish or pot, peyotyl, kat, etc.

Some of these were used to give ‘vision’ of the Gods in certain religious rites. Other found they induced an unnatural state of intoxication but when used regularly produced as state lethargy and disinterest in work. The Industrial Revolution brought about a change from small scale alchemy to chemistry on a large scale with the synthesis of many organic chemical and drugs.

Coal provided the raw material for many of these; Nitrous Oxide was prepared by a chemist, Joseph Priestley, in 1776. Later Humphry Dave, famed for his invention of miner`s lamp, noted its intoxicant and anaesthetic properties when he had toothache! Bromides were used for all sorts of conditions from epilepsy to mania. It was soon found that toxic reactions ensued and confusion of the mind resulted.

Chloral Hydrate was introduced in 1869, first as a possible anaesthetic but later as a sedative. It is still used today and is very safe.

Barbiturates came along about the turn of the century. At first they were hailed as the answer to insomnia, among other things, but it was soon apparent that became dependent and could not manage without them. Today safer drugs are usually used.

Amphetamines were synthesized in the 1920s to combat fatique. They were used during the last war for this purpose. Again abuse was soon rife when they were used, not as appetite suppressants, but as pick –me-ups and pep pills.

In the early 50s safer sedatives were sought. These were termed tranquillizers. Among the most popular of these is Diazepam or valium. These drugs have been a phenomenal commercial and medical success, giving some  indication of the tensions of modern  life.

Again dependence and  misuse  is possible. About the same time a number of antipsychotic drugs were synthesized. These are still  used  to help the mentally ill. They  have made a major contribution of the treatment of a number of types mental illness.  Patients can often continue with a useful  life instead of being  incarcerated  in mental hospitals. Side effects are often present and the sparkle of an individual`s  personality is at times  suppressed by the process of  treating the sysmptoms mental illness. Up to about twenty- five years ago the only really effective treatment for severe depression was  electro- convulsion therapy. This is still used in intractable cases but  many antidepressant  drugs are now available and are effective in 80 percent of people. They fall into two, one of which  reacts  with foods and complications ensue  if care is not taken. These are not used a great deal now but the  other group – the tricyclics- are very effective and are widely prescribed. Every few years a new drugs is discovered which promises well, but side effects are found which make it dangerous- we  all remember the thalidomide tragedy. Most of the drugs used in psychiatry were discovered  by accident.

They have an obscure mode of action chiefly because of  the extraordinary and wonderful complexity of the human brain and  its  functions. We have  a limited knowledge of its biochemistry and consequently drugs are difficult to find to act selectively on a part of the  brain  which  may be malfunctioning.

We must remember that drugs only act on the mechanisms of illness. They do not prevent the factors that lead to mental illness or distress. Consequently a combined approach to the biological, psychological, social and spiritual factors will probably prove  the way forward for research in the future.

SOME DRUGS OF ABUSE

DRUGS NAME	SLANG	HOW USED	EFFECTS AND DANGERS
CANNABIS: Marijuana                   Hanish	Pot/Tea    Grass,   Mary Jane,       Weed Smoke boo   Hash	Smoked in Joints Sticks Reefers Pipes Eaten in food Smoked, Eaten	Euphonia, increased pulse rate. High doses may lead to reduced motivation, impulse behavior, and anxiety, bring on psychotic reaction. Brain damage, and possible effects on foetus. Like marijuana, but about six times as strong. Tendency to  Hallucinate after high dos
HALLUCINOGENS: LSD Mescaline Psilocybin	Acid, Sunshine Peyote,               Mesc	Swallowed (Capsules, liquid, Sugar cubes) injected	Hallucination, dilated pupils Unusual hilarity, intense, anxiety Paranoid reaction, impairment of normal motivational, some
STIMULANTS Amphetamines Methamphetamine Cocaine	Speed  Bennies,       Dex, Hearts,     Greenies,            Pep pills,            Coke,  C.,                  snow,  Dust (When mixed with heroin).	swallowed      (tablets), Sniffed as         Crystals Injected     Sniffed or injected.	abnormal alertness and aggressiveness, loss of appetite, paranoid activities acute depression as dose wears off (Crashing) rapid tolerance build up. Hyperactivity, paranoid Convulsions. activities, possible
DEPRESSANTS Barbiturates Alcohol              Tranquillizers	Downs. Yellows,      Blue Heavens,      Barbs Red,                   Booze Quieter’s,          (Downer)	Swallowed          injected (Tablets or capsules). Swallowed (liquid) .               Swallowed (capsules)	with alcohol or from unsupervised withdrawal Physical addictive. Danger of death from overdose, especially in combination Sluggishness, faulty judgments. Possible acute and chronic in toxication, cirrhosis, physical dependence and addiction,  with serious   withdrawal symptoms , including Convulsions and delirium. Drowsiness, nausea. Possible physical dependence from use of excessive doses               over long periods of time, with withdrawal Symptoms, including convulsions.
NARCOTICS OPIUM Heroin (opium derivative) Morphine ( opium derivative)	Poppy, Tar, Black Stuff.             Horse Skag, Junk, Stuff M.White      Stuff   Dreamer.	Smoked Sniffed, injected just under the skin. ( Skin popping) Or into vein (mainlining). Same as heroin	Euphoria then drowsiness. Likelihood of physical addiction with painful withdrawal or death from overdose Same as heroin. Slower-acting, longer-lasting.

TACKLING THE CAUSES

We would now like to consider tackling the stress of everyday like by making a supreme effort to get at the cause of the situation  rather  than dealing with the symptoms.

As pointed out at the beginning of this article, drugs have to be used to control and treat some illnesses. These should always be used under medical supervision.  Many of the conditions for which patients consult doctors these days could be better treated in ways other than by drugs. Many illnesses have a mental component which can be helped considerably by explanation of the disease process. Worries concerning financial social and marital problems loom large days.

The housing shortage with consequent overcrowding can make tempers brittle  when the children  play up. Often a brief consultation with a general practitioner is not the best answer to the many stress-related problems that rise. One is likely to come away with a prescription for some tranquillizer pills given by a doctor as a temporary measure until he can see his patient on several subsequent occasions to try to understand the underlying problem and find an answer. These may help an answer. These may help temporarily but it is far better to try to get help with the root cause than smother the symptoms with drugs.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Be honest with yourself, don`t complain of some bizarre symptoms if the real trouble is disharmony at home etc.
2. Share the problems with a reliable relative or friend who would respect your confidence. This could well be someone other than your best friend with whom you often associate. You will be surprised how anxious people are to help, if you give them the chance and approach them sensibly.
3.  If more professional advice is needed you might get this from your doctor or social worker- depending on the particular difficulty.

If it proves impossible to resolve the situation your doctor may refer you to a consultant or prescribe medication. Any drugs taken should only be used under the medical supervision of one person otherwise confusion may result.

Remember alcohol is a drug and disastrous consequences can result if used as well as some drugs prescribed by your doctor. Many death have  from  this combination- quite unintentionally.

Likewise advice is freely available from the other professional people mentioned – possibly not always the advice one might wish to receive, but it should be very seriously considered.