NOT SO LIMITLESS!

OFTEN when a person indulges in substances and becomes intoxicated, they may begin to feel like they are invincible, like they have become enlightened and are now limitless.

The catch is, despite this feeling, we humans have a tipping point at which we not only reach our tolerance limit but go too far. This is how we end up overdosing.

Overdosing is when a person takes too much of a substance - be it legal, like alcohol and over-the-counter medication - or illegal, such as cocaine and crack. Overdoses can be either intentional; where the person in question ingests the excessive amounts of substances purposefully, either to reach a new high or to self-harm. On the contrary, overdoses can be accidental, where someone may unintentionally consume more than the intended/prescribed amount of the substance or even mix substances that react negatively when combined, thus causing them to overdose.

The reasoning behind a person’s overdose is not limited to just them wanting to get high or being a little careless with what combination of substances they consume. There are several risk factors that could lead to one overdosing.

The risk factors of overdosing are:

• Not knowing or not following dosage

instructions

• History of mental disorder can lead one to use substances as a coping mechanism

• Improper storage of drugs, where they can be easily accessed and misused by children

• History of substance abuse or addiction makes a person more vulnerable to overdosing.

So, what should one do if their friend has overdosed? The first step, as with all things, is to know and understand what the symptoms of an overdose are/look like.

Common symptoms of overdosing are:

• Serious stomach aches/cramps in the

abdomen

• Chest pains • Loss of balance • Being unresponsive despite being

awake and conscious

• Seizures • Paranoia • Hallucination (be it auditory, visual,

or both)

• Erratic or slow pulse • Difficulty breathing • Loss of consciousness • Agitation • Loss of co-ordination • Diarrhoea Due to just how different one person

can be to the next means that symptoms won’t always be the same across the board. Oftentimes, the symptoms displayed by a person who is overdosing depends on several variables, which can be both physical and mental.

Common factors to an overdose:

• Age • Weight • Ones build/body type

• How much of the substance they have

consumed

• Which substance the person has

consumed, as well as whether they consumed multiple substances.

• The persons state of health

These factors are important things to take note of when seeking emergency assistance.

How to administer first aid for overdoses:

Once you’ve determined that your friend may have overdosed, you have to

remain calm and dial 997 (ambulance) or 112 (emergency number), no matter

the substance that has been consumed as saving one’s life trumps avoiding getting into trouble. The next step is to lay the person on their side, then ensure their airway remains open by tilting the

head back and lifting the chin. It is important to not try to make the person vomit or feed them as doing so forcibly can lead to them choking.

And, as easy as it is to dismiss or relegate overdoses to being a hard substance issue, some of the “tame” drugs can still

lead to adverse effects if consumed in excess or mixed with other substances. For instance, marijuana is widely known to

be highly unlikely to overdose on. Despite this, it is still possible for one to be hospitalised due to having ingested either dabs or edibles which frequently have a higher amount of THC than

smoked marijuana.

BOSASNET offers counselling services to people experiencing problems with substance use, depression, anxiety, stress, anger management and adjustment issues. If