What I Learned About Alcoholism and Drug Addiction 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 grasp the fact that alcohol abuse in reality 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 individuals all through the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol rehabilitation and the diverse alcohol rehab clinics that are often available to alcohol abusers.
Some of the injurious consequences correlated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class absolutely startled me. The ruined lives and frequent difficulties experienced by most alcohol dependent 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 damage and destruction that alcohol dependent people almost always encounter.
Reflect on this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old teenager wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What adolescent wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that consuming alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What young person wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related issues before he or she becomes twenty-one?
What adolescent wants to go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to stop drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause serious issues in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after an individual 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 irresponsible drinking?
These issues were so noteworthy that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was absolutely astonishing to me was the number of students who essentially didn’t care about the harmful effects of irresponsible drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t be bothered with reality and how these effects can destroy their lives. For the first time in my life I started to comprehend a saying that my grandfather used to articulate all through my youth: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.
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