There are two kinds of window… One lets you see the world with your own eyes, another shows you what others can see….
Once you get in, you are bound to get off… No matter how many magnets try to keep you in… You cannot be there forever….
We start our journey from the same place… But we end up being so much different… We don’t even notice how fast time goes by…. By the time we realize the temporariness of life, it’s too late to make a clear vision out of blurry memory…
Warning... This post is a discrete post... This warning message was written before the post was written...
The quote that's spinning inside my head is, "Stay hungry... Stay foolish..".... Of course you all know who said that.. But do you really know what did he mean? Do I really know? But I know one thing... You know it when you feel it... But there is one problem.... Just a simple one... 'Life' of feeling is kind of transient... You cannot have the feeling once that is gone.... But 'knowing' is different than that.... Once you 'know' it... You just know it... It's more permanent (Yah, I know, nothing is permanent)... To summarize, you know it if you know it... you feel it if you are feeling it... And if I want to create a relation between 'know' and 'feel' like I did at the beginning of this post... Do you think it's going to stand? 'You know it when you feel it'... Do you think it's valid? What's the problem in this statement? LOL.... If you are already angry by now... See the below picture:
This is how you can write shit.... But there's always something inside shit.. Yes, more shit..... :P But, trust me, there's some good shit in this post... A few people would get it... They are the people who are now laughing... And others are pissed off ;)
Have a beautiful life people!
Bangladesh got its independence in 1971. 26th March is the Independence day of Bangladesh. After 9 months of bloodshed Bangladesh got its victory on 16th December. History teaches us that behind every great victory, there is a leader. For the victory of Bangladesh, that leader was undoubtedly Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Before declaring the Independence on the late hours of 25th March, 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered a historical speech on 7th March of '71 at Ramna Race Course Maidan, Dhaka, which ignited the mass people of Bangladesh to get prepared for the Liberation war against Pakistan. The rest is history.
Listen to one of the most influential and powerful speeches to date (English Subtitle is included), see why Bangladeshi people call him the Father of the Nation, see how over two million people responded to him, see what it takes to be a great leader:
জয় বাংলা।
১৯৫২ এর ২১ শে ফেব্রুয়ারী এই বাংলার সালাম, বরকতের মত অনেক যুবক প্রাণ দিয়েছিল মাতৃভাষার জন্য... নিজের মায়ের ভাষার অধিকার প্রতিষ্ঠার জন্য... ভাষার জন্য এমন ত্যাগের নজির পৃথিবীর ইতিহাসে আর একটিও নেই... আর তাই আমাদের ভাষা আন্দোলনের এই দিনটি পেয়েছে আন্তর্জাতিক মাতৃভাষা দিবসের স্বীকৃতি...
প্রতিবছর আমরা এই ভাষা সৈনিকদের গভীর শ্রদ্ধা ভরে স্মরণ করি... শহীদ মিনারে ভোরের আগেই মানুষের ঢল নামে তাদের প্রতি শ্রদ্ধা প্রদর্শনের জন্য... আজন্ম বাঙ্গালী তাদের সম্মান করবে এই বাংলার শ্রেষ্ঠ সন্তান হিসেবে... আর সমগ্র বিশ্ব এই সম্মান প্রদর্শনের সাথে একাত্মতা প্রকাশ করে যাবে...
ভাবছিলাম, সালাম বরকতরা তো অনেক দিয়েছে... আমরা কি করেছি? আমি হয়তো কিছুই করিনি... তবে এই প্রজন্মের কেও যে কিছু করেনি তা হয়তো ভুল... সালাম বরকতের রক্ত আমাদের দেহে এখনো প্রবাহমান... এখনো আমাদের মাঝে এমন কিছু মানুষ আছে যারা প্রতিনিয়ত লড়াই করে যাচ্ছে বাংলা ভাষার জন্য... এরাই বাংলাকে পৌঁছে দিচ্ছে সারা বিশ্বের কাছে... আমি তাদেরও সালাম জানাই... তারা হলেন আমাদের নতুন প্রজন্মের ভাষা সৈনিক...!
বাংলা ভাষায় যারা দিনরাত্রি ব্লগ লিখে যাচ্ছেন... আমি তাদের সালাম জানাই... ইন্টারনেটে বাংলা সর্বত্র... আর এটি সবার প্রথমে সবার মাঝে ছড়িয়ে দিয়েছেন এই ব্লগাররাই...
উইকিপিডিয়াতে বাংলা এখন অনেক শক্ত... এর পিছনেও রয়েছে আমাদের এই নতুন প্রজন্মের ভাষাসৈনিকদের অবদান... আমার ফেইসবুক ফ্রেন্ডলিস্টেই এমন অনেকে আছেন যারা উইকি বাংলায় অবদান রেখেছেন... আমি তাদের সালাম জানাই...
বাংলা সংস্কৃতি, বাংলা গান, বাংলা নাটক, বাংলা সিনেমা, বাংলা গল্প, উপন্যাস, কবিতা, সর্বোপরি বাংলা ভাষাকে প্রতিনিয়ত উন্নত করে যাচ্ছেন আমাদের দেশের অনেক প্রতিভাবান শিল্পী এবং গুনীজনেরা... নিয়তটা ঠিক রেখে যে যার স্থান থেকে বাংলা ভাষাকে সমৃদ্ধ করে যাচ্ছেন এইসব মানুষজন... গানবোদ্ধা না হলেও অনেক গানই শুনি... এতটুকু বুঝি বাংলাদেশের তরুন প্রজন্ম বাংলা ব্যান্ড সংগীত কে এক অন্য উচ্চতায় নিয়ে গেছে... প্রবাসে বড় হয়েও অনেক বাঙ্গালী কত সুন্দর বাংলা গান গায়! সিনেমার জগতেও আসছে পরিবর্তন... কিছু মানুষ নিরলস পরিশ্রম করে যাচ্ছেন বাংলা সিনেমা কে নতুন করে সবার সামনে পরিচয় করিয়ে দিতে... এমন কিছু মানুষকে আমি খুব কাছ থেকে চিনি... বাংলা নাটকের কথা তো নতুন করে কিছুই বলার নেই... আগে যেখানে ফ্রেন্ডস, ডেক্সটার দেখে তরুণরা বিনোদন নিত, আর এখন সেইখানে জায়গা করে নিয়েছে 'হাউসফুল' এর মত জনপ্রিয় ধারাবাহিক নাটক... এসবের পিছিনেও আছে আমাদের এ যুগের ভাষাসৈনিকরা... তারা হয়তো নিজেরাও জানেননা তারা বাংলা ভাষাকে কতটুকু দিচ্ছেন... আমি এদের সবাইকে শ্রদ্ধা জানাতে চাই... গত কয়েক বছরে আমরা এমনি কিছু গুণীজনকে হারিয়েছি... আমি জানি নাম না বললেও সবার চোখের সামনে তাদের ছবি ইতিমধ্যে চলে এসেছে... আমি তাদেরকেও গভীর শ্রদ্ধা ভরে স্মরণ করতে চাই...
একটা সময় ছিল যখন বাংলা সংবাদ শুনলে সবাই নাক শিটকাতো... আর এখন এই প্রবাসে বসে বসেও সারাদিন বাংলা সংবাদই শুনতে থাকি... এর পিছনে আছেন আমাদের তরুন প্রজন্মের নির্ভীক সাংবাদিকরা... যারা বাংলা সংবাদকে নিয়ে গেছেন আন্তর্জাতিক উৎকর্ষতায়... নিজেকে সৌভাগ্যমান মনে করি এমনি কিছু নির্ভীক ভাষা সৈনিকদের সাথে নিজের তারুন্যের অনেকটুকু সময় অতিক্রম করার জন্য... আমি তাদের শ্রদ্ধা জানাই... "তোদের নিয়ে আমি আসলেই অনেক ভাবে থাকি... এই দূর পরবাসের মাটিতে যখন টিভিতে তোদের দেখতে পাই, রেডিওতে তোদের কন্ঠ শুনতে পাই, আশেপাশের মোটামুটি সব মানুষই খুব অল্প সময়ের মধ্যে জেনে যায় এরা আমার বন্ধুবান্ধব!" :)
আমি হয়তো অনেক সেক্টরই বাদ দিয়ে যাচ্ছি... সব হয়ত মাথায় আসছেনা এখন...তবে আমি এটা খুব ভালভাবেই অনুভব করি যে আমাদের নতুন ভাষা সৈনিকরা বাংলার সর্বত্র ছড়িয়ে আছে... যারা প্রত্যক্ষ, পরোক্ষ ভাবে বাংলাকে নতুন ভাবে জাগ্রত করে যাচ্ছে... প্রতিদিন... প্রতিমুহূর্তে...
সুনির্দিষ্ট ভাবে কার নাম নেয়ার কথা ছিলনা আমার এই লেখায়... তবে একজনের নাম এখানে আমি না লিখে পারছিনা... এই যে আমি এখানে সাবলীল ভাবে বাংলা লিখে যাচ্ছি, ফেইসবুকে যে আজ সর্বত্র বাংলার ছড়াছড়ি, প্রতিদিন ব্লগে এতো এতো বাংলা পোস্ট... এসবের পিছনে যেই মানুষটির সবচেয়ে বেশি অবদান তার নাম হচ্ছে মেহদী হাসান খান... আমরা বাংলা লেখার জন্য এখন মোটামুটি সবাই যে সফটওয়্যারটা ব্যবহার করি তা হচ্ছে 'অভ্র'... এক সময় বাংলা টাইপিং আলাদা একটা দক্ষতা ছিল... আর অভ্রের কল্যাণে এখন যে কেউই খুব সহজে বাংলা টাইপ করতে পারে... এই মানুষটা সম্পর্কে খুব বেশি জানিনা... ওনাকে ফেইসবুকে ফলো করি... ফেইসবুকেই দেখেছি উনি মেডিক্যালে পড়েছেন... শুনেছি খুব প্রচার-বিমুখ আমাদের এই মেহদী ভাই... এই নতুন প্রজন্মের ভাষাসৈনিক, যিনি ইন্টারনেটে বাংলা ভাষার ব্যবহারকে সবার জন্য উপযোগী করেছেন তাকে শ্রদ্ধা ও কৃতজ্ঞতা জানাই... সেই সাথে অভ্রের সাথে জড়িত সকল বাঙ্গালীকে জানাই সালাম... আপনারাই এই প্রজন্মের ভাষাসৈনিক... আপনাদের জন্যই একুশ বার বার ফিরে আসে... এবং বার বার ফিরে আসবে...
শেষ করার আগে অসাধারণ একটা টিউন আপনাদের সাথে শেয়ার করতে চাই... হয়তো ফেইসবুকের কল্যাণে ইতিমধ্যেই সবাই এটি শুনে ফেলেছেন... তারপরও আমি আবার এখানে শেয়ার করলাম...
বাংলাদেশ নিয়ে এই গান গুলো আমি ঘুরে ফিরে প্রায়ই শুনি… তবে বিশেষ দিনগুলোতে বলতে গেলে প্রায় সারাদিন শুনি… এই ডিসেম্বারে বাংলাদেশ নিয়ে অনেক অনেক গান শোনা হয়েছে… বিশেষ করে আমাদের ১৯৭১’এর মুক্তিযুদ্ধ নিয়ে… Youtube এ অনেক অনেক Playlist বানানো আছে যেখানে এই ধরণের গানগুলো একসাথে পাওয়া যায়… তবে এই পোস্টে যেসব গান শেয়ার করছি, এগুলো আমার All time favorite। এই গানগুলোর শিল্পীরা সব্ই আমাদের সময়ের… এই গানগুলোতে এমন কিছু লাইন আছে যেগুলো আসলেই হৃদয়ে ঝঙ্কার তুলে, গর্বে বুকটা ফুলিয়ে দেয়… ‘আমার বাংলাদেশ’! তোমাকে জন্মদিনের শুভেচ্ছা… !
পপগুরু আজম খানের বাংলাদেশ
নগর বাউলের বাংলাদেশ
এল আর বি’র বাংলাদেশ
আর্ক-এর বাংলাদেশ
মাকসুদের বাংলাদেশ
শিরোনামহীনের বাংলাদেশ
I have a very simple understanding of God's existence. But this understanding is optional. The mandatory thing is belief. it is bigger than understanding, bigger than any logic. But, however, sometimes, at some point of life, we all get these irritating questions popping up in our head. And, I am grateful to Almighty that HE always gives me an answer. This is just one of them...
Just think of a simple fact about math. There is 'plus' and to make this 'plus' meaningful, there's a 'minus'. Engineers, you guys know that if there's an input, there is always an output. Actually, you don't have to be an engineer to understand that. Think more generally, if there's day, there will be night; if there is light, there is also darkness! If you breathe in, you will breathe out. So, if there is something relative, there will be something absolute! As simple as that! Did you get my point? No? Okay... We already know that nothing in this universe is absolute. Now, are you okay with this? Everything is relative and there's nothing absolute? Seriously? You think so? I don't. Because, plus comes with minus, day comes with night, light comes with darkness. Absence of any of these opposites will make the other one meaningless. So, this relative universe is completely meaningless without something absolute. This absoluteness is necessary to make this relative universe meaningful. Now, what do you think? What can be that absolute thing? I don't want to answer the question. I just tried to show a way you can think... The rest is upto you....
As I said before... This is just a mere understanding... Which is very negligible in comparison with belief.... You want to call it blind belief? You can if you want... It doesn't matter to me... I place it above logic In fact, way above. When you feel the real belief inside you, you don't actually need any logic, any proof... Because, by then, you already know, you, yourself, are a proof...
[Image source. Kappaboom]
Since I moved here in Canada, I have been missing so many things... My family, my friends, that easy life where my parents used to take care of everything, those endless hangouts and so many other things... I even miss those things which I used to hate back in my country... like load shedding, traffic jams and so on... But I am not gonna write about these things... Today I will babble a bit about 'Tong Dokan'. I know those who don't know Bengali, don't have any idea what I am talking about... But don't worry... I will write a whole post about it now.. I am gonna tell about how this is related to my life, how this is related to every person in Bangladesh..
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A busy highway. There is a lot of noise. Loud horns from different type of vehicles. Apart from cars and buses, a lot of Rickshaws are moving slowly in the road. Some passers-by are anxiously looking left and right to cross the road. There are some banks and departmental stores beside the highway. A lot of people are going in and out. On the other side of the road there are some Taxis (CNG) waiting for customers. Just beside them two boys are sitting on a bench. They are taking tea and talking about something. One boy is taking raw tea and another one is taking milk tea. They seem like so lazy. It seems that they don't have anything to worry about in this world. One of them are now making phone calls. Well, a couple of phone calls. After sometime, three more boys join them. There is not enough space on the bench. So, one of those three boys came running and took the only place left on the bench. Another two boys are standing beside them now and probably saying something rude to the boy just sat. But that boy is laughing. Beside the bench, there is a little stall. A man is sitting inside it. It has a shade over it to protect him from the rain or extreme sunlight. There are some cups around him and a stove where he is making tea. He is serving tea restlessly. Some people are waiting for tea as there is a shortage of cups. The guy is handling everything by himself. He seems to know these boys very well. He is laughing with them for something. People are coming and leaving after taking tea but those boys are not moving their ass from that place. I think at least one of them is ordering for tea in every ten minutes. One of the two boys who has been standing, now trying to get a place in the bench by pushing other three boys. Obviously he is the guy with big body here. Eventually, one of the three boys who were sitting until now, stood up unwillingly. He was in the corner, so he had no choice. The guy who is making tea is laughing at them. Then he served them another round of tea.
This is a normal scenario of a tea stall in Bangladesh and these roadside tea stalls are called 'Tong Dokan'. No matter where you go inside Bangladesh, you will see this type of tea stalls everywhere. This is a place where every young people stops for a cup of tea. Most of the time they come in group. They chat with their friends almost about everything holding a cup of hot tea. This is the place where you will see the 'life' of young people. This is the place which witnesses the everyday life of Bangladeshi people, specially, the life of youth. No matter it's a University, a shopping mall, a corporate office or a train station, Tong Dokan is everywhere. It's nothing very uncommon that a group of friends are chatting in a tea stall by even avoiding an important work. Specially, you will see these incidents a lot in the tea stalls beside Universities. Students are chatting there hour after hour even they have classes to attend. It's about the fun that young people enjoy in Bangladesh. It's not like they are missing all the classes for chatting in Tong Dokan. But sometimes, they seem to do it. I used to do it a lot while I was doing my Bachelors.
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| CDS of IUT. This is where we used to hangout during our Bachelors. It's not only a Tong Dokan. But our purpose made it so |
These are very small things while you have them. You don't even notice their existence while you live around them. But once you don't have them anymore you start realizing the value of those small things in your life.
I have a tons of memory in tea stalls like this. I actually tried to picturize a tea stall which is 2 minutes walking distance from my home. I thought of my friends when I was talking about those magpie fun loving boys. The owner of that tea stall is 'Boro Miah'. He has been selling tea in our locality even before I started going out of my house on my own.
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| I
was talking about this place. It was taken few days before I left
Bangladesh. We were in a wedding ceremony that night and this was taken
probably around 4AM! Do you see the man inside who is making tea for
everyone? |
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| I passed countless hours in this place. We call this place 'Court' as once upon a time we used to build our badminton court there during the winter. The men in white shirt with me in the last photo is the owner of this place: Yusuf bhai! |
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| We even celebrated Birthdays in our court! |
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| This was another place for hangout. This place is attached to my workplace (UITS) in Bangladesh. We used to call this 'Extension'. I think I passed more time here than inside the office. Needless to mention, these are my colleagues. |
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| Well, this was a famous tour. It's in Patiya, my village. In fact 3 of us have our village home in Patiya. We went there just to take tea! Believe me! |
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| It's in 'Parkir Chor'. A famous beach of Chittagong. Well, I told you, there's a tea stall everywhere! |
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| Taking tea in a beach side Tong Dokan of Kuakata. There was nothing on that beach except this tea stall |
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| In a tea stall of Sylhet. My friend Emon lived there during his Bachelors. We visited him couple of times. And this was his place for taking Tea. |
It's just a lot of memory to share. I can write a whole book if I start describing my memories around Tong Dokan of Bangladesh. So, I better stop here.
I almost forgot to mention that it's the 5th anniversary of my blog. I published my first post here on this day in 2008. I can remember exactly why I opened this blog, but I am not going to share it here. I would rather say, 'There is a positive side of almost everything in this world'. And this is my first post after moving to Canada!
I met some awesome people through blogging during this long journey. My special thanks to Aunt Lydia for always believing in me and keeping me inspired for the good things I do.
I want to dedicate this post to all those people who own Tong Dokan across Bangladesh and serving 'tea with life' endlessly and restlessly to the people of Bangladesh. We all owe you big!
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| Jumman, A Tong Dokan owner in Mogbazar, Dhaka. My friend Alvi and Tomal's favorite Tea stall in entire Dhaka! |
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| Well, this photo reminds me of a great deal of memories. I used to go to EWU and I had to wait for someone there. And this was the place where I used to wait! And he was the man who used to serve me tea! |
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| He is the Tea-guy for us in Sylhet! |
Here's something in Canada I found which is actually the Tong Dokan of Canada. If any person who lived in Canada for at least one day, he/she already knows what I am talking about. It's Tim Hortons. By the way, this is the first place I went to after landing in Canada! Who knows! I may start missing it if I someday leave Canada...
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| Tim Hortons in Canada which slightly resembles Tong Dokan of Bangladesh |
Last but not the least, let's remember and show gratitude to the soldiers who bravely laid down their lives to protect their country, to save their citizens. It's the Remembrance Day, 2012.
“People believe that heroin is super, but you lose everything:
job, parents, friends, confidence, your home. Lying and stealing become a
habit. You no longer respect anyone or anything.” - Pete
"Heroin", one of the deadliest drugs of this world. According to BBC, there are 50 million regular users of heroin, cocaine and synthetic drugs worldwide. In most cases, these 50 million users didn't even realize when they became addicted. They started taking it as fun, as experiment, as accompanying someone who was already addicted.
Let's hear it from the voice of some people who eventually got addicted to heroin. For privacy issue, names or any kind of IDs of those people are not disclosed here.
Story 1:
"Was already mentally addicted to oxy, with the beginning point of some
mild physical addiction symptoms. Oxy was expensive though, and my
tolerance was going up. One day I was with my friend (who has become the
biggest heroin user I know fwiw) and we were getting some pills from
some dude he knew. The pill got me a pretty good high, just for one
night. The heroin got me a great high; twice! So for half the money I
got twice as many highs. At the time I did prefer the more sedating high and it lasted longer
than an oxy high, so it was largely about getting more for my money,
though I did enjoy it. By that point I had already been fucking up plenty good and heroin
helped feed that "I don't give a fuck" attitude. Having that attitude
for a few months were I first delved into heavy opiate abuse has forever
changed my life. "Not giving a fuck" for a few months has lead to a
fucked few years. This is fall 2005 I'm talking about; 6 years ago now. Six years later and I'm still fucked up. If I only knew then what I know now.... :("
Story 2:
"The year was 1999 I believe, it could have '98, but I just really cannot
remember, most likely '99. So anyhow, I was letting this Canadian dude
live with me at home (parent's place) in the garage where my room was
at. Him being from Vancuver, he was a "ex-heroin" addict, but still did
all sorts of other drugs. We would go to TJ a lot and go to bars or
pharmacias and get all sorts of drugs and either do them in a bar or
smuggle them home. Well one day he asks me if I want to try heroin. I
always wanted to try the "ultimate high" so I said I was game. We took
the trolley down to the border and crossed into Mexico. We went to one
of the very first shops where the very first bar is at and asked if they
have some heroin. (This actually very common to do. You just walk
around TJ and ask the "workers" at every shop, bar or restaurant and you
will get what you are looking for. Oh I almost forgot, we wnt to the
first pharmacia and got rigs, cotton and saline solution first. It's
totally legal to buy the whole fixing gear at any pharmacia, at least
back than it was. So anyway, we grab the shit from shop dude and than we
paid $5 to use the back room at the bar to do are fixing. The room was
actually just the back stairway. The friend made the shot for me and
told me to do it, well I missed so I made him do another one and made
him hit me. I was really tore up when we went back to the bar area. I
fell in love with the high, but did not really get back into it until
2006 or was '05, but anyway, it has ruined my life and now I am pretty
fucked because I am not allowed to see my wife right now because of
legal and in-law problems. I am very depressed at the moment and I miss
her very, very much. I would stop the world to melt with her."
Story 3:
"I started off with breaking my wrist in summer of 07 then had 2 major
car wrecks in february of 08 and july of 08 that both put me in a coma. i
broke my back and pelvis and ruptured 4 organs in the july 08 wreck and
was prescribed all kinds of pain meds. Before that i really had only
been smoking lots of weed. So fast forward 3 years later all 3 years in
pain management and the painkillers dont work that well anymore so i
become curious about heroin. Where i lived at the time there was no such
thing as h just lots of pills. So i move to a bigger city and within 3
months i found a good powder h connect and seeing as its cheaper and
usually a lot better than the pills thats what ive stuck with. My
quality of life hasnt changed i havent sold all my shit or anything for
that matter. Its really just a means to an end for me as im in pain
daily and the painkillers only work so much and they will only give you
so many a month. Yea some of it is addiction and some of it is
legitimate. I think had i not had my life changed so much so quick that i
probably wouldnt ever have touched it. Those wrecks have taken a huge
mental and physical toll on me. As a 24 year old i should not feel like
im 65 and hurt all the time and cant really do anything that normal 24
year olds do."
Well, there are million other untold stories like these. In most cases, the ways people get addicted to Heroin are almost similar. Heroin addiction is growing faster and faster around the world. One of the vital reason for this is the mass availability of this drug. This drug is sold maybe right next to your door. You never know until you look for it. In Bangladesh as well as in the whole world the sale of this drug is massive and beyond the imagination of normal people. In Bangladesh, young generation are the worst sufferer of this addiction. One's life depends on his/her youth. Once youth is wasted, the whole life is considered to be wasted. There are many examples who get out of this devastating circle. Those are the examples we read and see around us. And many others who don't/can't overcome the situation, stay in silence and mentally isolated.
Signs of Heroin addiction:
Loved ones or co-workers may notice a number of signs of heroin use, which are visible during and after heroin consumption:
- Shortness of breath
- Dry mouth
- Constricted (small) pupils
- Sudden changes in behavior or actions
- Disorientation
- Cycles of hyper alertness followed by suddenly nodding off
- Droopy appearance, as if extremities are heavy
The above signs are not unique to heroin abuse. More definitive warning signs of heroin abuse include possession of paraphernalia used to prepare, inject or consume heroin:
- Needles or syringes not used for other medical purposes
- Burned silver spoons
- Aluminum foil or gum wrappers with burn marks
- Missing shoelaces (used as a tie off for injection sites)
- Straws with burn marks
- Small plastic bags, with white powdery residue
- Water pipes or other pipe
Behavioral signs of heroin abuse and addiction include:
- Lying or other deceptive behavior
- Avoiding eye contact, or distant field of vision
- Substantial increases in time spent sleeping
- Increase in slurred, garbled or incoherent speech
- Sudden worsening of performance in school or work, including expulsion or loss of jobs
- Decreasing attention to hygiene and physical appearance
- Loss of motivation and apathy toward future goals
- Withdrawal from friends and family, instead spending time with new friends with no natural tie
- Lack of interest in hobbies and favorite activities
- Repeatedly stealing or borrowing money from loved ones, or unexplained absence of valuables
- Hostile behaviors toward loved ones, including blaming them for withdrawal or broken commitments
- Regular comments indicating a decline in self esteem or worsening body image
- Wearing long pants or long sleeves to hide needle marks, even in very warm weather
Users build tolerance to heroin, leading to increases in the frequency and quantity of heroin consumption. With growing tolerance, more definitive physical symptoms of heroin abuse and addiction emerge:
- Weight loss
- Runny nose (not explained by other illness or medical condition)
- Needle track marks visible on arms
- Infections or abscesses at injection site
- For women, loss of menstrual cycle (amenorrhea)
- Cuts, bruises or scabs from skin picking
Short Term Effects of Heroin:
- Euphoria (An exhilarating psychological state of pride and optimism; an absence of depression)
- Nodding off (alternately alert and drowsy state).
- Dry mouth.
- Severe itching.
- Constricted Pupils.
- Dizziness.
- Nausea, vomiting.
- Slowed mental function.
- Reduced physical pain.
- Warm flushed skin.
- Weakness in muscles.
- Slowed breathing.
- Overdose can lead to death
Long Term Effects of Heroin:
- Bad teeth
- Inflammation of the gums
- Constipation (Irregular and infrequent or difficult evacuation of the bowels)
- Cold sweats
- Itching
- Weakening of the immune system
- Coma
- Respiratory (breathing) illnesses
- Muscular weakness, partial paralysis
- Reduced sexual capacity and long-term impotence in men
- Menstrual disturbance in women
- Inability to achieve orgasm (women and men)
- Loss of memory and intellectual performance
- Introversion
- Depression
- Pustules on the face
- Loss of appetite
- Insomnia
- Infection of the heart lining and valves, normally due to lack of sterile technique.
- Liver disease
- Kidney disease
- Pulmonary complications, which are often infection related
- Skin infections and abscesses, especially among chronic injectors who suffer scarred or collapsed veins
- In addition to the risk of contracting the hepatitis virus, heroin users also have an increased risk of catching human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other blood-borne viruses.
Over time, heroin users develop a tolerance for the drug requiring them to use increasingly larger amounts to achieve the same feeling they experienced when they first began to use. After awhile, the tolerance level to the drug rises to the level that heroin use in any amount stops producing the euphoric effect the user once experience altogether. When this occurs, the addict continues to seek and take the drug just to feel "normal." They become physically dependent upon the drug. Thus becoming addicted.
How to overcome Heroin addiction:
Heroin is one of the most dangerous drugs available around the globe. It is also one of the most difficult addiction to overcome. But still there's way out! The first and the most important step to withdraw heroin is 'determination'. You have to be honest to yourself. You have to think that either you give it up or it's the end of the world. So, first, firmly decide that you will give it up no matter what. And then comes the procedures.
A variety of effective treatments are available for heroin addiction. Treatment tends to be more effective when heroin abuse is identified early. The treatments that follow vary depending on the individual, but methadone, a synthetic opiate that blocks the effects of heroin and eliminates withdrawal symptoms, has a proven record of success for people addicted to heroin. Other pharmaceutical approaches, like levo-alpha-acetyl-methadol and buprenorphine, and many behavioral therapies also are used for treating heroin addiction. Besides medical treatments, here are some useful tips:
- Realize that it is absolutely necessary to change your lifestyle. What you did and thought before and during your addiction was what got you into your mess, so don't hold on to it. Be open to change and changes!
- Do not go out with or associate with the same heroin using people. THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS! Even if you think they are, they aren't!
- Do not go to the same heroin using places
- Find new activities to occupy your time now that you are not using heroin
- Develop new friendships with non-using people
- Make plans for your free time so you are not bored and thinking about using heroin
- Determine what you consider risky situations/feelings/thoughts that could cause you to use again (for example: "one last time", or feeling lonely, or having a lot of money and the opportunity to buy some heroin). Try to find alternatives for all these situations BEFORE they happen, so you will be ready to deal with them when the time comes.
- Think of what you can do when you feel the need to use. Try to list as many alternatives as possible, for example, take a shower, be social, exercise, a meeting or call a friend. The bottom line is finding a distraction and purpose for your life.
- A long term, structured and stable environment is crucial for a successful recovery from heroin addiction.
- Developing a generally healthy lifestyle can help you stop using heroin.
In most of the cases when someone is seriously addicted to heroin, he/she must go through prescribed medical treatments.
You have to remember that withdrawal from heroin is not a matter of joke. It will cause troubles. It will effect your body and mind adversely in different steps of withdrawal. But once you are out of it, you are out of it! In this long run, the most important thing is 'determination'. So, you have to keep it high no matter what!
Here's a comment of a person who finally recovered from this dreadful addiction. He is saying these words to a current addict who is trying to overcome:
"I have been right there where you are now. I think maybe the first couple days are probably the worst but you are doing a great job so far so just hang in there it takes time. Once you get past the withdrawal you can begin to change your life. I know you can do it. Just remember this you only have to go through it once. I had to go through it many times until God reached down and pulled me up the last time. I would also like to tell you that no matter what happens never ever give up keep on fighting you will make it."
[Disclaimer: All information and pictures used in this article are collected from Internet]
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