Comenius multilateral project 21 st century hazards 5 th meeting in Poland November 2012

1. Comenius multilateral project21st century hazards5th meeting in PolandNovember 2012

2. Special Gymnasium & Lyceum of Athens

3. Anthropic Hazards The problem of drug addiction Participating students: Costas Alexakis, DimitriosDemertzis, Yannis Roussos Supervising: GeorgiosKaleveas-Physical therapist, DespinaPhilippidou-Greek language teacher

4. Talking to a teenager about drug addiction is a quite demanding project. Especially if this teenager is a handicap person with a slow perception of reality. Psychologists and civil workers who occupy themselves in the sector of Prevention believe that a 2-hour- course on the topic of drugs may affect negatively an adolescent. • In other words there is no point in teaching students what kind of drugs there are, where they can find them and how the use may affect their health and emotions. Consequently , the best way for raising awareness is the voluntary participation of a student in such a project. • In the grounds of this approach we told students of the last grade that we are going to have a lesson on the subject of drugs. A group of 3 students were offered to attend it and the presentation you are going to watch is the result of this attempt.

5. ObjectivesGetting acquainted with modern social problems that are faced by teenagersCreating a friendly and secure educational context for the students within the school bordersRaising awareness on the problem of drug addiction

6. Procedure1.We invited our students to talk about themselves , about their relationships with their friends and family, their feelings in certain difficult situations. We shared opinions about what we could do to avoid them and how we could solve some problems we face in everyday life. It came out easily that true friends and support from the family are of major importance in problem solving. On the other hand , lack of human relationships, love and affection may cause contact disorder or addiction to substances.

7. 2.We asked our students to collect some photos from the internet and look for researches about drug addiction , ways of prevention and therapy.3.We watched ‘’Requiem for a dream’’, movie and then commented on it.4.We invited them to share this experience with us via a power point presentation , with the supervision of their teachers of course.This is their work!

15. drugs artificial substances that act on the central nervous system and are used to change a person's mood.

16. the scientific term for "drugs" is “addictive substances”, as all these substances cause physical and psychological addiction • the use of these substances affect basic brain function as well as mood, causing pleasant or unpleasant feelings

17. crack heroin cocaine amphetamines opium morphine codeine Chasis LSD anti-anxiety Spirits Petroland glue puffs smoke

20. everyone is wondering: why people take drugs? or don’t they realize how harmful they are? but…everyone knowsthe answer

21. in most cases drugs are used with the illusion that they are going to be the solution to serious problems i.e. They are used either to • calm down anxiety • relieve from unpleasant emotions such as loneliness, sadness, frustration • eliminate depression and fatigue

23. addiction is caused by two major factors : a powerful stimulant (the desire) and a weak personality the results of these are • increasing dependence on their use to stimulate pleasant emotions • loss of personal freedom (addiction)

25. Teenagers are prone to trydrugs and addictive substances

26. We know why

27. …don’t we?

28. boredom stress psysicalpain rejection hunger for new experiences risking to be part of a group to be pleasant for fun teasing each other life style curiosity get “high”

29. On the other hand Family problems Unemployment Low self-confidence TV School pressure Many hours away from home Lack of communication Lack of mutual trust

31. surveys show that the number of users increases dramatically, especially due to financial crisis At the same time Modern way of life becomes more and more demanding and impersonal

34. What should we do? • we ought to face, recognize and deal with the problem • drug users are not outcasts. they are members of our social and family environment • talking about drugs should no longer be a taboo. We should all change our attitude towards drug addicted persons

36. It is said that: a completely drug-free society… isa utopia In other words a world without unhealthy stimulants is alsoa utopia

37. However we should take action immediately“prevention-choice-protection” these keywords could be the motto against drug addiction

38. raising awareness on the issue especially among young people • support addicted persons offering opportunities to make choices and find their way back to real life • take political action against drug dealers

40. In our homeland… • The therapeutic communities is by far the most successful and systematic attempt, to provide an answer to the problem of drug addiction. • Despite this, the Therapy Centre for Dependent Individuals, the country’s largest rehabilitation network, stated that the crisis has already cut deeply into state-subsidized programs for drug addicts. • The report said life will get worse for many addicts, and projected that growing poverty will drive more people to drugs and alcohol if centres aren’t available to help them.

42. treating drug addiction through therapeutic communities has three main advantages: • individual therapy • creation of a healthy and supportive environment for ex –users • re-introduction to society

43. Landing down to reality is an enormous shock for the user • drug addict passes from a chaotic attitude and way of life to a world of increased responsibility • basic values such as solidarity, love and sharing offer a new perception of life to all members of the community

44. Yannis, 26, stated: ’’All I need is a chance to fight and live. I think I deserve to prove to all the people that I am not a public danger but a living part of the society.’’

45. Our challenge is to bring these boys and girls back to life

46. Drugs are so good for anyone to escape miles away from the reality, but the point is that the reality is so rich, that it isn’t worth avoiding it. Charlie Chaplin (American comedian)

47. Thank you very much for your attention!!!