Shocking Discoveries About Drug and Alcohol Abuse in High School
When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I registered for a drug abuse class. At that age, I did not realize that alcohol abuse in truth was a sub classification 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 people all through the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol rehabilitation and the various alcohol rehab clinics that are frequently available to individuals who engage in excessive drinking.
Some of the negative results linked to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class definitely alarmed me. The ruined lives and countless serious issues experienced by most alcohol addicted individuals made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. More to the point, I did not want to face the damage and destruction that alcohol dependent individuals almost always go through.
Reflect on this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old person wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What teenager wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that drinking alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What adolescent wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related difficulties before he or she becomes twenty-one?
What youth wants to experience alcohol withdrawals when he or she tries to stop drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause difficulties 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 young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that focuses on abusive drinking?
These issues were so meaningful that I talked about some of them in class throughout the school year. What was downright incredible to me was the number of students who basically didn’t care about the detrimental outcomes of irresponsible drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t be bothered with the truth and how these outcomes can destroy their lives. For the first time in my life I started to grasp something that my grandfather used to tell me all through my teen and pre-teen years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.
Tags: alcohol abuse, alcohol rehab, alcohol rehab clinics, alcohol treatment, alcohol withdrawal symptoms, alcoholic rehabilitation centers, alcoholism, drug abuse, mental health, self improvement, substance abuse