5 Reasons why adolescents should avoid substance use

To learn more about substance use disorders and other mental health conditions, visit “ManoSandesh” playlist - available on the official NIMHANS YouTube channel - youtube.com/@NIMHANS. About the Speaker : Dr. Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bengaluru. He is a clinician-researcher with expertise in alcohol and substance use disorders, treatment policy, and behavioural interventions in addiction care. His work focuses on understanding treatment needs across individual, family, and community levels. He is actively involved in teaching, qualitative research, and mentorship in addiction psychiatry. Dr. Narasimha also serves as Chair of ISAM NExT (International Society of Addiction Medicine – New Professionals Exploration, Training and Education). Beyond academia, he is an ultramarathon runner and a passionate advocate for public mental health engagement. About ManoSandesh video series : ManoSandesh is a video series spread over many episodes to address different mental health conditions to promote awareness and respond to commonly asked questions. This series is conceptualised, coordinated and produced by the Department of Mental Health Education, NIMHANS, Bengaluru. This video is issued in public interest by NIMHANS. About NIMHANS : The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) is an apex institute situated in Bengaluru, India. It strives to deliver high standards of clinical and community care in the fields of mental health and neuro sciences. For more information, visit website: www.nimhans.ac.in/ ManoSandesh Team : Dr. Latha K, Associate Professor, Department of Mental Health Education, NIMHANS Dr. Meena KS, Professor & Head, Department of Mental Health Education, NIMHANS Ms. Smriti Baskar, Program Coordinator, Department of Mental Health Education, NIMHANS Ms. Shreya Shankar, Fellow, Department of Mental Health Education, NIMHANS Video Production: Ugama Media (www.ugama.co.in/) • Ms. Priya Shankar, Executive Producer • Mr. Nireekshith & Mr. Ruthik Kumar, Camera operators • Mr. Sachin Ebenezer, Video Editor #SubstanceAbuse #SubstanceDependence #SubstanceUseDisorder #TeenMentalHealth #AddictionAwareness #MentalHealthEducation #NIMHANS