'Bhaang' helps enhance memory, concentrations?

Like thousands of students in state, Rishabh was burdened with the expectation to score high marks in class X board exams starting next month. When he met three friends on Shivratri, they told him that consuming bhaang enhances memory and concentration. But, a good dose of the intoxicant on a stressed out mind did just the opposite and instead revealed his pent-up frustration.

The four friends consumed bhaang on Shivratri. However, Rishabh, a student residing in Satellite area, went into euphoric mood. He started abusing his mother and also got violent. The other three remained unaffected.

As Rishabh's condition refused to show any sign of improvement, he was brought to the clinic of Dr Mrugesh Vaishnav, a consulting psychologist in city on Monday night. "His friends had suggested that consuming bhang would boost memory and concentration," said Vaishnav.

Memory-enhancing pills, tonics and therapies have always been in demand ahead of the board exams. But, other consulting psychologists in city say that they have been receiving such cases where students want them to prescribe pills that help them remain awake. "A student approached me and said he needed a pill to remain awake. He felt sleeping would spoil his reading schedule," said Dr Prashant Bhimani. He said he got a patient who could not read if anyone in the house made the slightest of noise.

Dr Hitendra Gandhi, professor and head of psychiatry department at the VS Hospital, said that while requests for prescription of pills to remain awake come regularly from college students, it is unusual to get such requests from school students. "Like every year, students with signs of depression have been frequenting us. It is important to remember that enough sleep is a must for the body. Besides, what matters is the level of concentration with which one reads, and not the number of hours," he said.

According to psychologists, because of parental pressure and unrealistic expectations, students sink into depression and start talking about suicide. They add that it is important to keep calm, read and appear in the exam with full confidence.