M

uhammad Anis (“Sufism and rise of spirituality”, Aug. 24), you write that “some of them [people under stress] choose a shortcut to get out of that pressure through deviant ways, such as by consuming drugs and liquor”.

Consuming alcohol and other drugs to ease stress caused by a busy lifestyle is not “deviant”.

A large proportion of Indonesians consume caffeine to help them through the working day.

In many cultures, though perhaps not in your social circle, beer or wine drinking is an important adjunct to healthy socializing and recreation.

The investigation of plants as medicine for body and mind has been going on for as long as hominids have been intellectually inquisitive.

Ceremonies involving mood-altering substances are central to the tradition of many religions, including Christianity.

Millions of sufferers from mental illness have found relief thanks to the development of improved drugs in recent decades, and further beneficial discoveries can be expected in years to come.

Of course, chemicals can also be harmful, particularly in the badly regulated environment that politicians have so long cultivated.

But seeking refuge in “spirituality” can also be counterproductive, as you yourself point out.

Hence, you should not stigmatize those using alternative approaches to life’s problems as “deviant”.

Rather, you should recognize that for many people, a first step to overcoming unhappiness is discovering their right to choose; and that there are as many ways to deal with human troubles as there are human beings.

John Hargreaves
Jakarta