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Teen Drug Abuse
Drug abuse by
teenagers is very common, which can lead to disastrous
consequences in the future. A large proportion of
deaths in people between 15 and 24 are reportedly
connected in some way or the other to drug or alcohol
abuse. Such abuse also leads to violent criminal acts,
such as assault, murder or rape. Some young people
also take drugs to overcome depression and anxiety.
If a young member of
your family suddenly starts behaving in a aberrant
manner or tries to keep aloof from other family
members, you have some reasons to be suspicious.
Physical signs like red eyes, nagging cough, and
changes in eating and sleeping habits should also
serve as warning signals.
A teenager with a
family history of drug abuse and a lack of social
skills can move rapidly from the level of
experimentation to grave abuse or dependency. Some
other teenagers, who have no family history of such
abuse, may also reach the level of utter dependency.
Although any prediction is almost impossible,
teenagers with a family history of alcohol or drug
abuse should especially abstain and refrain from
experimenting.
The user's
preoccupation with drugs, plus its effects on mood and
performance, can lead to poor performance in schools,
colleges or workplaces, resulting in dismissal. A
child’s drug abuse can devastate parents and other
family members, and ruin family life. According to the
National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance
Abuse conducted by the National Center on Addiction
and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University,
teens and their parents view drugs as their biggest
concern.
The effects of
different types of drugs on teenagers include
irritability, insomnia, convulsions, anxiety,
paranoia, violent behavior, memory loss, learning
problems, increased heart rate, lethargy, panic
attacks, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, daily coughs
and phlegm, more frequent chest colds, muscle tension,
teeth clenching, dehydration, hypothermia, brain
damage, and death.
Multi-Generational
Drug Abuse
Drug abuse is a most
divisive force within a family unit. It causes people
to lie to those that trust them, to use violence
against those that love them and above all, to loathe
themselves. In many cases the abuse of drugs goes on
for many years, causing an ingrained type of damage
that becomes a feature of daily life. Yet amidst the
pain and suffering that is caused by drugs, there
often remains an inability for individuals to fully
heal themselves. In fact says that the incidence of
drug abuse amongst children of drug addicts remains
disproportionately high, in spite of first hand
experience with the devastating disease. This fact
clearly outlines the need for and the significance of
expert rehabilitation programs that counters the
disease to the same extent that drug abuse has
negatively impacted the family.
There are a variety
of methods and programs that exist with regard to drug
rehab programs but the priorities of almost all drug
rehab programs are defined by the level of abuse of
the drug addict. The process of successful drug rehab
programs is usually based upon a series of fundamental
needs which are designed to:
- Allow the
immediate effects of the drugs in your system to
dissipate
- Safely detoxify
the body and remove lasting traces of drugs from the
body
- Avoid relapse
by undergoing individual counseling
- Identify the
things that may trigger a relapse
- Undergo family
or marital counseling as appropriate
The last point which
relates to family and marital counseling can be
extremely significant for the purposes of breaking a
lasting cycle of abuse. Most rehab programs are keen
to point out the need for families to tackle drug
abuse and agree that the role of family and friends as
a means of support cannot be overstated. Hand in hand
with this issue is the need for individual members of
the family to be reconciled with the pain of their
experiences. Family members simply cannot provide a
supportive network for recovering addicts if they are
continuing to harbor resentment or unresolved issues
that stem from the drug user. Secondly, the chances of
forming a multi-generational pattern of drug abuse are
far greater if family reconciliation is not
undertaken.
Jennifer Bailey -
Steve Joseph |