These self-assessments were given credence by the investigators for not only being consistent with other measures, but because the subjects were voluntary participants who were not required to initiate or continue the treatment study as a condition for leaving jail or avoiding prosecution. In May 1997, a young Rwandan girl came to a clinic in Kigali reporting nausea and the feeling of insects crawling on her face. She complained of the strong smell of feces and grew increasingly agitated and fearful, describing vivid images of people trying to kill her at that moment. For months she had vomited at the sight of avocados, and for three years she had been unable to tolerate the sight of rice. Addicts are people who have learned how to give themselves a quick chemical fix or achieve an emotional high when they either want to or have to change how they feel, and when they want to ignore real-life problems.
Most people do that, but the next morning, they feel sick or foolish.
They don't do it again because it didn't work for them. Guidance on Substance Use Disorders in Young People After a teenager's suicide attempt, her desperate and bewildered parents dragged her to a mental health clinic. Only after a month in treatment did the clinician learn that the teenager had been molested when she was 8 years old by an uncle and threatened with death if she ever told her parents. The findings are disturbing. What they found is a worrisome indicator that substance use in this country is a significant problem for women, particularly among young girls ages 10 to 14.