How Stigma Of Seeking Help And Lack Of Public Education Led to Cocaine Addiction

"Gina" (not her real name) came to see me today, and we did EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) for when she was separated from her son. And what came up in the session was a reason why she became addicted to cocaine, thereby losing her son.

Gina has been clean since going to rehab nearly three years ago. Before that, she was in a very abusive, emotionally violent, and physically dangerous marriage. And she started abusing cocaine and alcohol as a way of coping with her marriage. She genuinely did not realize what a bad thing it was to pass these chemicals down to her son via her breast milk. She did not even know that her son was being poisoned on a regular basis. And so her ex-husband took the baby away, did a drug test on his urine, and then applied for and got custody. This was a very painful experience for Gina, who felt very close to her son, and he totally collapsed afterwards as a result. We tapped on various aspects, such as "Even though he said I will never see my son again..." and brought the pain from a 9 out of 10 to a 6, finally ending at a 4 for now. This was great progress, as before, she could not even give me a number, but simply tapped and talked after having a good cry.

Gina was suddenly distraught again, full of remorse. "I didn't know he would get the cocaine with my breast milk", she said. And so we tapped for "this guilt" and "this remorse". And then I tapped on Gina as I explained to her that in Cape Town, it is often seen as shameful to admit to being depressed or go for help with an emotional condition. I said maybe if it was perfectly acceptable to go to the doctor for depression then, the doctor would have prescribed medication to help her and either told her to stop breast-feeding or found a way to give her a solution that allowed her to continue breast-feeding. However, in the absence of that option, Gina bought cocaine instead. Gina was nodding empathetically all the way through, and she felt much better afterwards. All that remained was perception. It is common for drug-takers in Cape Town to take drugs and then work or do the housework or chat to friends. Drugs are usually not taken recreationally in Cape Town. They are taken in an addictive way. I tapped on Gina as I explained the difference between an addict and a recreational user, so that she can help her son if he ever gets into that situation. She said "Oh, so a recreational drug user would have expressed her milk and thrown it away until the cocaine was out of her body?" to which I reassured her that a recreational drug user would not have taken drugs during the period of pregnancy and breast-feeding. I also explained that she can be proud of being clean for all this time now, and be proud of what she is making of her life. Gina left this session looking relaxed and reported feeling much calmer.

I was originally going to write this article as a way of showing how EFT helped Gina feel so much better in this session, and how it helped her recover from the worst of this very traumatic memory. However, I felt it was more important to spread the word about drugs, social taboos in Cape Town, and drug addiction versus recreational use. There is so much need for education out there. If you work with impressionable, vulnerable, or young people, maybe you can help spread this message too. Thank you so much, Gina, for letting me tell your story.