By Pauline Odhiambo
The opposite of addiction is not sobriety; it's connection. In a landmark TED talk that resonates with anyone who has battled addiction, the British-Swiss author and speaker, Johann Hari, candidly holds forth on what it takes to stop being a slave to habits that destroy.
It is a lesson 30-year-old South African journalist Tendani Mulaudzi has learnt the hard way, going through the travails of a six-year battle with cocaine addiction before reclaiming her life, dignity and everything she had ever worked for.
"I started using in 2014, about 11 months after my dad died from cancer, and I had been drinking quite a bit as a way of coping with the loss," Tendani recounts to TRT Afrika.
"We had gone out drinking at a club before moving to a friend's house, where I was offered cocaine,’’ she says.
What started as a social experiment at a party with friends quickly had her hooked. Tendani, who was at the time in her final year at the University of Cape Town, says she had previously tried other drugs as "a one-off", but never thought she would get addicted.
With cocaine, the media and film production graduate went from being self-conscious to suddenly being full of confidence. But the burst of enthusiasm was short-lived. Once the high faded, she would start craving more.
Tendani funded her addiction using money she had received from her late father's life insurance policy, depleting the funds within a year.
"I was 20 and had what felt like unlimited funds at the time; so, I just spiralled out of control. That was the same year I dropped out of postgraduate law," she recalls.
Widespread problem
A kilo of cocaine in South Africa was priced at US $26,000-29,000 in 2022, according to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Although it is illegal, cocaine consumption is widespread. An estimated 350,000 people use cocaine daily in South Africa, going by data available from the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime. Worse, UNODC projects the number of drug users in Africa to rise by 40% by 2030.
In Tendani's case, education was the one redeeming feature of her journey, keeping her afloat even as addiction took its toll on her.
Despite her escalating drug use, she continued her journalism studies, finishing among the top five students of her batch in 2016.
Addiction nonetheless cost Tendani several jobs, and even a relationship that returned to haunt her years after recovery.
In 2017, she was offered an internship at a news organisation. Her bosses noticed she was quick on the job, and soon promoted her to a permanent position as a reporter. “I could get news bulletins out in 30 minutes, which impressed them. So, I held that job for about a year until 2018, when things started to escalate," she recounts.
In November 2018, she was confronted by her then-managing editor, who pointedly asked her if she had a substance-use problem. "I denied it even though they had footage of me ordering alcohol almost daily." Feeling deeply ashamed, Tendani didn't come to work for the next five days until she was called back and urged to go into rehab.
Addict to counsellor
Data collated by WHO shows that about 40 to 60% of people relapse within 30 days of leaving an inpatient drug and alcohol treatment centre, with up to 85% relapsing within the first year.
A three-week treatment programme Tendani had enrolled in January 2019 failed after she started drinking again. She then tried a sober living house – a peer-managed home designed to help people maintain sobriety – but was caught drinking and asked to leave.
In South Africa, rehab is court-ordered under the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Act. The threat of a court-ordered rehab finally forced Tendani to find a long-term solution to her addiction problem.
“I spent six months at the Healing Wings recovery centre in Nelspruit. I was initially very reluctant to go, but was told that if I didn't go willingly, I could be court-ordered and sent to rehab for up to a year," she tells TRT Afrika.
Little did Tendani know that her six-month rehab stint would eventually lead her to become a counsellor at the same facility.
“I changed so much in those six months that I decided to stay till nine months. Then I decided to volunteer there for up to a year, and eventually became a counsellor there.”
She also began detailing her struggle with addiction through creative writing – a therapy for herself and a cautionary tale for others.
‘’I have learned how important it is to stay focused on recovery," she says. Tendani worked at Healing Wings for nearly two years until 2022, when she left to pursue a career in communications.
Echoing Johann Hari, she has nothing but words of encouragement for those struggling with addiction.
“Just stay connected to your support system, and don't be ashamed to ask for help. Sobriety may not be an easy journey, but it's the best thing I have ever done for myself."
