When I was a sophomore in high school, I registered for a substance abuse class. At that age, I did not realize that alcohol abuse actually was a sub category of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse, I read a lot about Alcoholic Anonymous, their meetings, how their programs have twelve steps, and how successful the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program has been for individuals all over the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol treatment and the various alcohol rehab clinics that are often available to people who engage in hazardous drinking.
Some of the harmful results linked to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class certainly terrified me. The ruined lives and many problems experienced by most alcohol addicted individuals made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. That is, I did not want to face the wreckage and destruction that alcohol addicted people almost always experience.
Let this sink in for a moment. What fifteen-year-old individual wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What young person wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that consuming alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What teen wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related issues before he or she becomes an adult?
What young person wants to encounter alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to quit drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause problems in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after a person has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would a teenager want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that revolves around hazardous drinking?
These issues were so noteworthy that I talked about some of them in class throughout the school year. What was completely unbelievable to me was the number of students who simply didn’t care about the negative consequences of excessive drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t care less about the facts and how these consequences can demolish their lives. For the first time in my life I started to comprehend a saying that my grandfather used to tell me all through my adolesence: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.
0 Responses to “What I Learned About Drug Addiction and Alcohol Dependency in High School”