- Those that engage in excess alcohol usage find themselves drowning into the substance because of various reasons.
- Some may be fighting loneliness and the need of the substance to fill the void in their lives while others it's peer pressure.
Image: FILE
Pombe haramu or illicit brew and overconsumption of legal alcohol is killing our people, especially the youth, who make up roughly 65 per cent of the population. Risks to health and wellbeing cannot be spoken about without talking about the abuse of drugs and alcohol. Alcohol, which is highly accepted and abused in Kenya, is, according to experts, one of the most lethal drug out here.
I had the opportunity to attend a week-long training by the University of Cologne in Germany, under a short one-week spring programme on health, well-being and diversity. One of the issues under discussion was on embodiment, as a way of keeping active and avoiding multi-morbidities as someone continues ageing. Why discuss embodiment, while looking at illicit brews?
Those that engage in excess alcohol usage find themselves drowning into the substance because of various reasons. Some may be fighting loneliness and the need of the substance to fill the void in their lives, others peer pressure and the notion that feeling high makes them feel better about themselves, boredom and the need to try new things and also those that have social anxiety issues and feel that alcohol brings the best out of them. All these reasons are around having that extra time, and not using it constructively.
The consequences of patterns of this abuse are impaired body functioning, avoiding friends and loved ones, violence and emotional issues. How can embodiment, which is a term used to describe the mind and body connection, help those that are trying to fight addiction to alcohol? Its important to realise that embodiment means different things to different people.
I, for instance, love music and dance. In stressful situations, I play different kinds of music. If studying, I will choose the slow type of music, if it’s a Friday evening or the weekend, I will choose something danceable. This fills my void in so many ways, I can avoid bad company, and idleness and yet fill that space unconsciously and at the same time gives me joy and purpose in everything that I do.
Someone else can love hiking. Hiking, or a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. For those that love hiking, there is always a weekend plan, to go to a particular mountain or hill or challenging terrain to hike. This would mean spending time researching and spending money on hiking equipment like the appropriate outfits and shoes.
Fighting the production of illicit brew and the sale of legal alcohol to the young may be no mean feat for the government. This is because, the problem is very deep-rooted, there is carelessness in our country in that front. But working towards substitution, rehabilitation and encouraging those in not-so-bad stages of alcohol abuse to adopt physical embodiment type of activities. These include music, dance, art, hiking, hands-on projects, educational games and yoga, among others, and incorporating them seriously in our communities by providing the space and infrastructure, which can help divert the attention people give to alcohol into something more meaningful in their lives.
Communications researcher and scholar, currently pursuing peace and development work studies in Sweden ([email protected])