What I Learned About Substance Abuse in High School
When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I took a substance abuse class. At that age, I did not realize that alcohol abuse in reality was a sub classification of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and particularly about alcohol side effects, 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 throughout the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol treatment and the diverse alcohol rehab clinics that are normally available to individuals who engage in abusive drinking.
Harmful Effects That are Correlated With Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse
Some of the dangerous consequences linked to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class without a doubt startled me. The ruined lives and countless serious issues experienced by most alcohol dependent people 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 ruination that alcohol dependent people almost always experience.
Let this sink in for a moment. What fifteen-year-old teenager 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 issues before he or she becomes twenty-one?
What youth wants to experience alcohol withdrawals 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 young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that centers on hazardous drinking?
These issues were so meaningful that I talked about some of them in class during the school year. What was completely unbelievable to me was the number of students who simply didn’t care about the detrimental consequences of irresponsible drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t be troubled with the truth and how these outcomes can destroy their lives. For the first time in my life I started to comprehend something that my grandfather used to articulate throughout my youth: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.
It’s Important, Energizing, and Beneficial to Keep Yourself From the Unhealthy and Debilitating Outcomes of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
And even at my young age, I also began to comprehend how invigorating, important, and beneficial it is in life to remove yourself from the unhealthy and damaging results of drug and alcohol abuse.
Mail this post