Teenage drug addiction is a very scary phenomenon. Drug addiction in adolescents is difficult to treat, if only because in most cases, giving up drugs for them looks like a compulsion and desire of parents. Children at this age are changeable in mood, want to feel independent and always go against each other. Unfortunately, the price of such a “whim” is very high.
Stages of adolescent addiction
The process of addiction to narcotic drugs in adolescents is completely similar to the adult scheme.
- First, the reception “for the company” begins, the teenager is driven by curiosity or environmental pressure. Note that after the first doses, dependence may not occur.
- At the second stage, positive attitudes associated with narcotic substances are fixed in the mind of a teenager. This is already one of the signs of psychological dependence. It is believed that without a dose it is no longer possible to communicate with peers.
- At the final stage, physical addiction occurs. Drugs are no longer enjoyable, but a dose is needed to relieve painful symptoms.
Teenage drug addiction has one peculiarity – children do not feel the danger posed by drug-containing substances. Young people can take drugs several times a day without feeling normal. From this, dependence comes even faster.
You should be alerted:
- always long sleeves, regardless of the weather, environment;
- specific drug slang;
- sloppy appearance, dry hair, swollen hands;
- unnaturally narrow or dilated pupils of the eyes, regardless of lighting;
- slurred, prolonged speech, clumsy movements in the absence of the smell of alcohol from the mouth (sometimes the smell is present, but its intensity does not correspond to the degree of intoxication;
- the desire to avoid meeting with older family members;
- irritability, sometimes cynicism in conversations with you;
- disappearance of things or money from the house.
Causes of adolescent addiction
The causes of drug addiction in adolescents can be due to biological (hereditary), psychological and social factors.
Biological factors – genetics, structural features of the brain, the presence of diseases (psychopathy, schizophrenia, etc.).
Psychological factors in the development of adolescent drug addiction are psychological problems that can manifest themselves both due to unhealthy relationships in the family, improper upbringing, and due to the difficulties of adolescence.
Weak will, lack of orientation in life, self-rejection, the presence of psychological trauma, lack of support from parents – all this can lead a teenager to take drugs.
Social factors – the desire to keep up with others, from those who, in the adolescent’s understanding, are authority. Teenage drug addiction often develops due to lack of attention and parental control: a child makes friends in antisocial groups.
It should be noted that severe adolescent drug addiction is mainly due to psychological and biological factors, and “superficial” or periodic – social.
Effects
Narcotic drugs have an extremely negative effect on the immature reproductive system of a teenager. Every third girl taking heroin stops menstruating, in other cases, as a rule, menstrual irregularities are observed. With adolescent drug addiction, both girls and boys, pathological changes occur, leading to infertility and increasing the risk of developing fetal malformations. Due to disorders of protein metabolism, normal muscle growth is disrupted. As a result of intoxication, liver damage and neurological disorders occur.
The psyche, volitional and emotional sphere suffers. Teenage drug addiction entails an increase in criminogenic activity. To raise money to buy drugs, teens may start stealing, robbing, prostituting, or becoming petty drug dealers to distribute psychoactive substances to their peers. Indiscriminate choice of sexual partners, characteristic of adolescent drug addiction, turns into unwanted pregnancies, the spread of syphilis, HIV, gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted infections. The risk of developing syphilis, HIV and hepatitis B increases even more with injecting use.
Reaching your bottom
The nature of the disease – addiction is such that it undoubtedly brings any person to the very bottom of torment and suffering, and this is at best. But, since each person has his own bottom, many simply lose their lives.
It is not at all necessary to go to the point of losing everything that is most valuable in life. Although very many, before deciding to seek recovery and recover, lost everything that could be lost. And some were more fortunate, and they turned off the road leading to nowhere before something terrible happened in their life.
Illness – addiction is always progressing, and the life of a teenager becomes more and more uncontrollable. The teenager begins to degrade in all areas of his life.
Teenage addiction – symptoms of the bottom of the disease – addictions:
- Constant lie.
- Making excuses.
- Denial of problems.
- Rationalization of use.
Illness – addiction leads a teenager to self-destruction, which automatically causes pain and suffering to his environment. Loneliness, fear, anger, become life companions, and the teenager simply becomes exhausted – the drug takes over.
Despite this, many still continue to use drugs. Illness – addiction does not allow a person to get rid of his destructive behavior.
Sinking to the bottom of the disease – addiction, the teenager begins to get tired more and more from the feeling of his own insignificance. He gets tired of constantly disgusting himself. He must come to understand that he has suffered enough and no longer wants to live like this. Consequently, there will be an incentive to start looking for a way out of the problem and, of course, the teenager needs to ask for help.
Treatment
If at the initial stage the elders noticed in time the oddities in the teenager’s behavior, they can still influence him. When the process is running, you cannot cope on your own. Only emergency medical help is able to prevent trouble and death.
The course stage of treatment involves initially cleansing from toxins. After getting rid of withdrawal symptoms, a comprehensive rehabilitation follows, consisting in the treatment of psychological dependence in a hospital. Doctors conduct psychotherapy sessions individually and in groups.
Resocialization is the process of restoring a personality with relatives, close ones, real friends. It is necessary to spend leisure time so as not to be drawn to another relaxation.
The future of children depends on the support of adults, because drug addiction leads to only one thing – death.
Decision-making
At some stage, the teenager begins to realize that due to illness – addiction, his life has become uncontrollable and rushes into the abyss. It is impossible to begin the process of liberation from the disease – addiction, without recognizing this fact. Drug use becomes a slave lifestyle, and in order to achieve liberation and happiness, you need to start changing yourself and your lifestyle. Drug use results in slow destruction and increasing pain.
In spite of everything, the teenager makes a decision: by all means, he is heading for recovery.
Making such a decision leads to the first obstacle – denial of the presence of disease – addiction as the cause of existing problems. There is always a choice, and this choice must be made: either to admit that there is a disease – addiction, and help is required, or to seek death, continuing to deny that there is a problem. Life begins to level out and transform when a decision is made to seek help.
Over time, on the way to recovery, the teenager begins to see how destructive his illness was – addiction. He begins to be grateful, and his chances of continuing his recovery increase.
There are always difficult times on the road to recovery, and you need to be able to get through them. Habits, ways of thinking, behavior, people, places and things can all make a teenager return to a past lifestyle and feel a state of discomfort.
Of course, in the period of life that is free from drug use, a teenager wants to be accepted in society, that is, it is difficult to refrain from past qualities – servility, posturing and coolness. But, ultimately, in order to live a full life, a teenager will have to make his right choice – to give up his past lifestyle.
New period of life
Illness – addiction certainly affected the life of the teenager and his environment, especially his family members. All family members are stuck in this disease – addictions, but a teenager can only change himself. A lot of young people find it very difficult to come to terms with this concept. That is, the changes of the teenager himself does not oblige him to change his environment.
Each teenager just needs to take responsibility and correct one part of the disease – addiction, from this common family “pie”. Those “lacerations” inflicted by the disease – addiction to the family of a teenager, will heal and heal for a long time, and this will take a lot of time.
The family should just get used to those changes in a young man that occur day by day on the way to recovery. Many young people have lost the trust of their families, and it will take some time before a teenager can regain that trust.
There is always a way out, and the teenager himself can help his family to believe in himself – to regain trust, becoming responsible, attentive to the needs of the family, and grateful. Before trust returns, the family needs to see that what the teen says is true.
The fact is that a huge number of young people still remain clean from the use of chemicals. The question is, how do they do it? None of them ever makes promises to anyone that they will never return to drug use. But, each of these young people lives by the principle: only for today to live without drugs.
The very decision to remain pure from use only for today gives a huge amount of strength to continue the road to recovery.
Only today:
- I solve the problems of today.
- I accept myself and the world around me.
- I work on the recovery program.
- Attend meetings and support groups.
- I share my experience of recovery.
- I support and care for others.
- Learning to live and love.
On the road to recovery, you can understand one simple thing – no need to complicate your life. It is impossible to live in yesterday, and what will happen tomorrow, no one knows. But you can live and enjoy life without drugs only today. No one can be doomed to hopeless suffering if he does not want to. Every problem has a cause, and this reason can be found in yourself, you just need to start looking.
