Drug Treatment
In recent years, drug and alcohol abuse by young people has markedly increased.
Some surveys indicate that over 80% of schoolchildren in United States have used one or more substances (drugs) for non medical purposes. Today, young people have access to a wide variety of potentially dangerous and sometimes addictive drugs.
WHY YOUNG PEOPLE MISUSE DRUGS
There is no single reason why young people turn to drugs. Some try them out of curiosity or for “kicks”. Others consider drugs the “in” thing to do. Many children feel isolated from their families and from a society they consider to be infested with hypocrisy, materialism, and distorted values. The misuse of drugs or alcohol is thus a way to rebel against parents and other authority figures. Some teenagers even experiment with drugs because they perceive adolescence to be a time for living dangerously.
Other children may have emotional or psychological problems for which they receive little parental understanding or help. Still others may be congenitally predisposed to have a high initial tolerance to alcohol or other drugs and therefore find them relaxing or stimulating, according to their needs. To these youngsters, drugs provide an escape from a fast moving world where they feel insecure and confused, unable to cope with the problems and pressures of everyday living. Studies among young teenagers show that a constantly increasing number drink alcohol, not only for social reasons, but also to relieve boredom and anxiety.
The “shift to alcohol” among adolescents, may represent a trend toward reconciliation with society’s “drug of choice”. There is no good reason to misuse drugs. But in a world where pills and other drugs are available for the relief of many ills and alcohol is socially acceptable, experimentation with drugs is understandable, though not justifiable.
SIGNS TO LOOK FOR
The sooner parents and teachers act when they suspect a youngster of experimenting with drugs, the better the chances are of preventing addiction. It is not easy to tell when children are misusing drugs. Those who do so become adept at hiding the fact.
But there are a number of telltale signs, none of which are absolutely conclusive, that should alert parents and teachers to the possibility that a youngster may be taking drugs and in need of help:
- Change in a child’s behavior, such as increasing aggressiveness or sluggishness, unusual flare-ups of temper, or uncharacteristic passivity.
- Change in school attendance (frequently absent or late)
- Change in work habits (sloppy homework, apathy)
- Shying away from family activities and a general withdrawal from former pastimes.
- Poor physical appearance.
- Association with known drug miss users
- Stealing or borrowing money, needing more money than before.
