By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS
lmunnings@tribunemedia.net
A RECOVERING addict recalled her troubled past with drugs, while urging the government to do more than pass legislation to assist people suffering from mental illnesses.
Brandis Thompson, a 28-year-old resident of Freeport, Grand Bahama, vividly explained the lifestyle she once knew, as she initially started using marijuana as a teenager, which later mushroomed into using cocaine.
According to Ms Thompson, cocaine provided a “euphoric” experience for her, as she felt invincible. Outside of the high the drug provided for her, she said there were many side effects such as irritability, discomfort and being easily angered.
These comments come one day after members of Parliament debated the Mental Health Bill, which once enacted, will allow people suffering with mental illness to be better protected.
The legislation, which aims to repeal the current Mental Health Act, was first laid before Parliament by Health Minister Dr Michael Darville in July.
However, Ms Thompson said this Bill alone is not sufficient, as she believed it would be more effective if it focused on prevention measures rather than cure.
“Frankly, I was disappointed at the Bill. Obviously I would have assumed that mentally ill people had all those rights already. But I was hoping to see more along the lines of prevention of mental illness,” she told this newspaper yesterday.
As a recovering drug addict, Ms Thompson recalled the feelings she had after experiencing cocaine.
“I’ll never forget the first time because it was something that I never felt before. I was so euphoric. I felt like I was just on a mountain or like in a cloud, and I felt like I could do anything. I felt so brave, you know,” she told this newspaper yesterday.
Beneath her addiction was a struggle with mental health. Ms Thompson pointed to suffering from anxiety and depression, adding that the drug use made her mental state deteriorate.
“When cocaine was introduced to me, everything just got worse. I was depressed. I didn’t want to go outside. I used to keep my phone off. I was just obsessed with getting and using the drug.
“But, yeah, my mental health declined, within a short matter of months. I was a completely different person, and I didn’t even want to look at myself in the mirror anymore because I had lost so much weight. My skin was bad. My eyes were yellow. And I just hated myself because I was so hell bent on still using, even though it really messed my life up,” she continued.
The mother of one said she has been on and off the drug since the start of the pandemic in 2020, however she has since joined the road to sobriety.
She dedicated her sobriety journey to her son, despite being admitted to Sandilands for the third time most recently in October.
After seeking treatment in New Providence, the resident of Grand Bahama urged the government to further develop mental health institutions on all major Family Islands, saying The Bahamas has an “active drinking and drug culture”.
According to Dr Darville, the objective of the bill is to preserve the human rights of those diagnosed with mental illnesses, to ensure that appropriate levels of mental health care and treatment options are available in our communities; to empower persons with mental illness to make decisions about their care and treatment, while providing safeguards to protect them and ensure they are treated fairly and humanely.
Ms Thompson thinks more preventative care is needed.
“It shouldn’t be after getting in police custody, then help is offered to you, it has to start from early. A lot of these things can be identified from early. A lot of mental illness stems from trauma and if we could avoid putting our kids through so much trauma, we would eliminate a lot of mental illness,” she told this newspaper yesterday.
She encouraged the government to be proactive rather than reactive, by teaching the youth healthy coping mechanisms.
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