Habituation

Of all the terms that are used to describe the state or dilemma of the user of drugs,habituation is,or should be,the least trouble some.Ordinarly when we speak of habits we indifferently label them good or bad;we see them more or less as personal qualities or characteristics of individuals.However,when the word 'habit' or 'habituation' is applied to drugs,a dismaying emotionalism and vagueness creep in.The fact is that all of us are creatures of habit.Our daily lives are largely filled with repetitive functions,some of which,like eating,sleeping,excreting,are necessary for the ordinary business of caring for the body's needs.There are other habits that we are trained to adopt in order to go about the'business of living';for example,we have our automobile motors regularly tuned up,and we take care of our monthly accounts.Thus habits are both 'public' and 'private' in nature,and without them,without a certain repetitiveness,our lives would tend to become chaotic.Habituations helps us give order to our lives.They are personal,private,& idio syncratic,and they often apply to a particular person's idea of pleasure.
                                                                 Thus, a man and his wife come together at the end of a working day,and they touch,kiss and caress.Have they not done these same things a tousand times before,and will they not comtinue to do them in the future?How pleasent,how satisfying,to be 'habituated' to the kiss,the touch,the gentle words.The same couple has its habits of eating,of drinking,of smoking,of musical taste,and of recreation.When looking at ourselves honestly,we can usually seperate those of our's that we belive good & those that we belive as bad,although the seperation is,beyond a certain point,arbitrary and personal.But generally we suppose that good habits are those that add a pleasure,or atleast satisfying,dimension to our lves or the lives of others,and that bad habits are those that diminish us or our fellow men.Yet,when the habit is esentially private,who is to judge whether it is good or bad?
                                                                  Many people enjoy a glass of wine at dinner or a packet of fags.The repetitive act of taking a favourite drink everyday is indeed a habit.It could be called an indulgent habit,and those who belive that drinking alcohol of any kind,in any amount is immoral,would called it a bad habit.But for the habituated-those who delight in the sensuous aroma,the golden liquid,the pungent taste,the suffusion of warmth-the experience is most pleasurable.It is,to them,a good habit.
                                                                  On the other hand,many millions of persons in INDIA take different drugs habitually,by prescription and non-prescription,and a good number of those come to be-dependent on them,a word that we'll discuss in the next post...........................