Addicts face withdrawal symptoms

Psychiatrists claim many will suffer from severe seizures

Withdrawal symptoms in addicts are being seen with demands surging in the black market as friends and family are trying to procure for them to keep them calm.

Psychiatrists estimate that more than 500 may to suffer from severe seizures and hallucinations in the next few days. With stocks drying up due to lack of transportation, they will report to hospitals soon.

Violent behaviour, anger, depression, fatigue, insomnia and urge for narcotics are signs to look out for, stated psychiatrists. Some of them also shift to narcotic

A change from daily routine for a long period of 21 days is stressful. People must think positively and utilise this time by spending it with their loved ones. — Dr Jyotirmayi K.

Psychiatrist

drugs from medical shops to deal with their urges. Experts said emergency doctors have been apprised as they will have to deal with these patients as there are no out-patient departments functioning.

Dr. Minhaj Nasirabadi, general secretary, Indian psychiatric society, Telangana state branch, explained, “We have appealed to all psychiatrists to guide emergency doctors who will be seeing these patients over the phone. They have been apprised of the situation as by early next week, we are expecting that there will be more patients as they will suffer from withdrawal symptoms.”

Government hospitals like Gandhi and Osmania do not have psychiatrists and often the patients who come there are asked to go to institute of mental health, Erragadda. Most of them never make it to the institute as it is far from both these hospitals.

Psychiatrists claim that boredom complaints are already pouring in. The complaints were mostly from men, who wonder what should they do during 21-day shutdown.

Social distancing has compounded troubles of many people as they cannot meet friends or relatives. They find it difficult to confine themselves to home.

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