Music breaks barriers

We have often heard that music has the power to heal For 44yearold Roshan Mansukhani nothing holds truer over the past yearandahalf Roshan has been using musical therapy to bring drugaddicted teenagers out of their addictionSuhas Gokhale Pic FacebookIn 2015 Roshan had approached the Anti Narcotics Cell offering to help tackle the rising drug menace via his triedandtested method of musical therapy He attended a few awareness programmes by their ANCs side during which his Mansukhanis talks on musical therapy received a great response from the audience However there were no concrete steps taken to introduce his therapy as a method for curing drug addiction amongst teens On Wednesday Roshan again got in touch with the authorities asking them to include him in their awareness programmesRoshan Mansukhani who rehabilitates drug induced children via musical therapy at his home in Oshiwara Mumbai Pic Shadab KhanMy request as a citizen is to join hands with the authorities and help our youngsters by sharing a passionmdashmusicmdashwhich is a healthy one said Mansukhani a resident of Oshiwara Andheri W I am seeking the authorities support to conduct workshops on music in colleges and social institutions to create an awareness of this growing drug abuse I had approached the ANC last year as well and received a positive response from them but since there are lengthy procedures to everything the plan did not work outTheory behind the practiceSo how does this work How can music cure someone of their addiction especially in cases of teenagers who are hooked onto hard chemical substances such as mephedrone According to Mansukhani who teaches students how to work a DJ console music provides a healthy distraction When these kids realise that they can make people dance to the music they are playing it gives them a more positive outlook on life he said I talk to them as a friend Thats when the exchange of ideas happen and then eventually the transformation towards the real world with a positive attitude develops in the child I have a format of eight sessions with each child and by the end of the third session visible changes in the childs attitude can be seenThe basic principle of Roshans practice is perfect said 59yearold Suhas Gokhale ex senior police inspector Anti Narcotics Cell who had met a few of Roshans students who had at the time been completely cured of their addiction When a person is addicted to drugs there is a sense of euphoria that they experience This is because of the dopamine released by the brain which is responsible for creating a bubble of artificial happiness According to him children get excited while learning how to spin music which in itself naturally secretes dopamine in the brain instead of having it dopamine triggered artificiallyYes musical therapy can heal and cure admits the ex ANC official The problems with todays generation is that the youngsters are not involved in anything productive which is why they get hooked on to drugs They are too busy on their phones or on the on the internet and think they know everything Why then hasnt musical therapy been used as an efficient tool for deaddiction programmes To be very frank very few people are seriously concerned about the drug epidemic Today we have 55 lakh addicts in Mumbai and Thane but the total number of beds in hospitals for such patients numbers at a mere 200Social tabooMusic is used as a twoway communication tool by Roshan who is more of a friend than a therapist His therapy sessions include a combination of making music listening to different genres of it and discussions between him and the teenagers Music therapy is known all over the world to ignite a surge of confidence in a person he pointed out It is only in our country that we treat drug addicts like untouchables which is not the right attitude at all My fight is against changing this mindset of societyDrug addiction is a social taboo in the modern day Indian society despite of how progressive we claim to be said Roshan When a person comes back from the hospital after an accident we welcome them back home But when a person who was into drugs comes back from rehab we shy away from interacting with them Drugs are a reality and its only going to get worse we need to change our outlook and discuss this epidemic with our children with an open mindDoctor speaksMusic can be used as a supplementary measure to help curing addiction said Dr Smriti Bhatia MBBS While listening to music endorphins are released in the brainhellipin some cases the dopamine secretion also increases Dopamine is a feel good hormonehellipthere have been studies when the levels of dopamine increase when the person is in love or eats chocolates I think musical therapy has a similar approachmdashthat of providing a distraction If youre on the verge of addiction then sure music can help you take a Uturn But when you reach the point of addiction music wouldnt serve as a complete cureIf one likes the music that is being played their brain will automatically secrete endorphins such as dopamine said Marius Dsouza junior doctor JJ Hospital But drugs like mephedrone and other such amphetamines have a certain psychological dependence as well as physical withdrawal symptoms I dont think music would prove to be an apt substitute for such an addiction But yes when the entire process of counselling and providing guidance is combined with musical therapy it might help in battling drug addiction But music alone as a cure is most likely to failVoices 16year old Amit Sahini namechanged one of Roshans students who came out of addiction I was into MDMA earlier I enjoyed it because it gave me a lot of energy After my musical therapy sessions with Roshan I started feeling a change the music gave me the same energy as the drug The first change that came about during my sessions was that I began to feel free mentally Today I have been clean for a year and am currently playing football at the Barcelona Sports Academy in Andheri East I still play music regularly as well18yearold Raj Shah namechanged I was into meth for two months and used to do it regularly But after I took up music the amount of meth I used to intake reduced drastically and then I stopped doing it altogether Music became my drug after that