14
Jul
Posted on 2009 under Teenage Alcoholism |
It is common knowledge that some teenagers use drugs and some become addicted. When the behavior is looked at closely, we find that teenage alcoholism exists in some. These individuals can be solely alcoholics rather than others who are also addicted to other drugs found in our culture. That shouldn’t surprise us when we see alcohol as one of the drugs teens use. Alcohol is the most frequently used drug by teenagers. About half of junior and senior high school students drink alcohol on a monthly basis, and 14% of teens have been intoxicated at least once in the past year.
Why do teens drink? “According to the 2007 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study of 6,511 teens, the number one reason teens see for using alcohol/drugs is to deal with the pressures and stress of school. In this national study, 73 percent of teens reported that school stress is the primary reason for drug use, indicating that teens’ perceptions of motivating factors for using drugs are dramatically different than past research has indicated.”
Family risk factors for teenagers developing drinking problems include low parent supervision or communication, family conflicts, poor parental discipline, and a family history of alcohol or drug abuse. Individual risk factors include problems managing impulses, emotional instability, thrill-seeking behaviors, and perceiving the risk of using alcohol to be low. Teenage peer pressure from other drinking teens tends to be strong.
As defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, “alcohol dependence is a negative pattern of alcohol use leading to a number of problems, which may include needing more alcohol to get intoxicated (tolerance), difficulties that occur when the effects of alcohol wear off (withdrawal), using more alcohol or for longer time than intended, and other life problems because of the use of alcohol.”
What are the symptoms of teens drinking? Some of the most common symptoms of alcohol abuse in teenagers include the smell of alcohol on their breath or body, mood swings, stealing, and changes in friends, lying, making excuses, breaking curfew, staying in their room, becoming verbally or physically abusive toward others, having items in their possession that are connected to alcohol use.
Adolescents may have established regular usage, have become preoccupied with getting intoxicated (“high”) and have developed problems in their social, educational, vocational, or family life as a result of using the substance. Teenage drinking and driving endangers not just the teenager, but other people as they become victim to the reckless teenage driving brought on by intoxication.
The final and most serious stage of alcohol or other drug use is defined by the youth feeling normal only when they are using. During this stage, risk-taking behaviors like stealing, engaging in physical fights, or driving while intoxicated increase, and they become most vulnerable to having suicidal thoughts.
These teens can change and put their drinking into manageable levels or even abstinence. Recovery may require that the whole family’s behavior to be looked at and evaluated as it relates to the teenager. This requires some change. For the teenager, new thinking needs to be introduced, healthier friends need to be found, and a few limits need to be applied. A stay in rehab may be in the teen’s future, but these facilities and their treatment approaches need to be evaluated before putting a teen in one. Furthermore, many support groups are available, but some are not going to be helpful, and some groups aren’t safe for minors. Some groups teach abstinence while others are centered on moderation.
To begin to understand all the options, start by visiting the largest online site containing non-12-step addiction articles, http://www.addictioninfo.org/. If you need help sorting all this out, I suggest visiting Marc Kern, Ph.D.’s website, http://www.habitdoc.com/, where one-to-one help is offered.
There is hope, teenagers do change, and so do their families.
31
Jul
Posted on 2009 under Uncategorized |
A video made by my Health class on Teenage drinking!
Duration : 0:6:13
Read more… »
31
Jul
Posted on 2009 under Uncategorized |
Here’s a message about teen drinking and how you can prevent these accidents from happening.
Duration : 0:8:14
Read more… »
31
Jul
Posted on 2009 under Uncategorized |
pain teens live @ Vortex san antonio, TX, 1991. this is an encore covering black flag and iggy
Duration : 0:5:53
Read more… »
31
Jul
Posted on 2009 under Teenage Alcoholism |
Sarah’s father arrives at her mother and step-father’s house to take her away but is unaware she is out on another drinking binge and seriously injures her ex-boyfriends’ horse.
Duration : 0:4:12
Read more… »
31
Jul
Posted on 2009 under Uncategorized |
I have a friend that is about 18 years older than I am. Her daughter is 15 and I am actually closer in age to her than her mother. She has always kinda confided in me about kissing boys and boys she likes. She recently has started calling me and asking me to purchase alchol for her and her friends. She is hanging out with a 18 year old varsity basketball player (she is really active with sports) and the girl isn’t near the good influence her parents think! My friend is so blind to her child doing anything wrong!! She is also the kind that would get made if you portrayed that her child was. I don’t know what to do? The daughter called me the other night at 1 am. Her parents were out of town and she had been drinking 9 shots of Vodka, and DRIVING!! She is only 15. She said if I didn’t get her the alchol she would have to drive around until she found some. I refused still….This is an upper class family, private school, respectable people!! What do I do?
Tell her Mum.
31
Jul
Posted on 2009 under Uncategorized |
what do you think about teenagers (ages 14-18) drinking and doing marijuana (pot or weed)
those two things seem very common around teenagers,
and from what i heard, neither of them can cause permanent damage if you are responsible..
and also, if you had to drink or smoke pot which would you do?
[ i would ask that mostly teens answer please! ]
The problem here is that teens are usually not responsible. Alcohol and marijuana are fine in moderation and when used responsibly, BUT most kids under 18 are not going to use these two substances in moderation or responsibly.
Believe it or not getting drunk and super high are not two things a very responsible person does.
Drinking or using marijuana in moderation does not include getting really trashed. Even if it is just once in a while.
If you get drunk every time you consume alcohol it is called ‘binging’ and is very irresponsible and is not something that goes with the term moderation.
IF you are responsible you can drink and get stoned with no permanent damage. That is a BIG if though. I am 21 years old. I’ve been drinking since the age of 14 and I used to smoke a good bit when I was 15/16/17. I can tell you right now I am still not a responsible drinker, although I am much more responsible and smarter with my choices now.
I can also tell you that at college parties there is copious amounts of alcohol. But you can always tell if there is someone who is a freshman in college, or a high school student there. They always act way more out of control and extremely irresponsible in comparison to the over 20 set.
I would personally rather drink. I get tested for drugs at work randomly and alcohol is not part of that test. MJ is though.
31
Jul
Posted on 2009 under Uncategorized |
Or if it is not ok at all. My little sister and her friends are 18 and they drink every weekend. I don’t know what to say to her but I feel like it is too young. She tells me most kids start at 15. I just want to know what you think?
It’s OK to start when it becomes legal to do so, which (despite some answerers here who think that everyone answering is American) may not be 21.
Having said that, there’s nothing wrong with a glass of wine with meals occasionally, or at Christmas etc.
Having said that I started drinking with meals, at Christmas, New Year etc when about 12, and started drinking in pubs well before it was allowed by law – and it’s done me no harm.
31
Jul
Posted on 2009 under Teenage Alcoholism |
Ok so i just got a call from a friend we will call him george…
george(17) told me that he was at his older sisters house.
His older sister is twenty one and her new husband is twenty.
george told me our friends bob(19) and jim(16) were coming over while he was there.
his older sister and her hubby were getting drunk.
Jim has never experimented with alcohol and neither has george… but everyone else has…
so george tells me that everyone except for himself was having a drink or two.(which i think is a pile of steaming bs cuz he is not in any way mr noble!)
so when jim and bob began to drink george said nothing… nothing at all about the fact that it was wrong for them to do that.
so my question is, because of the fact that i am overcome with guilt knowing about this but feeling helpless as to what i can and should do, what should i do… all three of them could jeopardize their lives.
And i am furious that george didnt say anything to jim about it… i know i should tell his parents. but should i actually?
i know its not really my business but if ten years down the road jim gets trashed and crashes into a car and kills a whole family or dies from liver failure due to alcoholism then ill feel responsible….
and i know that you will tell me i cant control what he does because he will do what he wants and this is just classic teenage rebellion
but its against the law and im tired of just sitting back and watching people flush their lives down the f**ck toilet….
so i feel like telling his mom… and i dont care if i lose him as a friend as long as he benefits from it cuz i truly believe he’ll thank me one day… or at least i hope so….
but if i do tell then george’s sister and hubby will get in big trouble…
george will lose the friendship of his sister, brother in-law, jim and bob
all because he went and ran his mouth to me about it and they will blame him for telling me
instead of actually blaming me for telling so what should i do?
what would you do?
would you want to know if it was your teenage son experimenting with alcohol?
do you think im overreacting?
do you think i should just let him ruin his life and kill a family of five while driving drunk?
should i sit back and just let him get away with this and let him kill one of your loved ones one day?
let me know!!! 
and just so you know alcoholism hits home for me so thats why im so concerned….
Are they going to drive?If theyre being responsible then they are only putting themselves in danger.Lots of teens drink and there isnt much that can be done.I do think youre overreacting a little;.I dont think that there is much you can do to improve the situation.If you want to tell their parents,you can but a lot of friendships will be at risk.
thats what I think
28
Jul
Posted on 2009 under Uncategorized |
I give a lot of credit to the 12-step programs for helping those with addictions of various kinds. But what we really need is prevention, not simply cure, and for that, kids need two basic things: (1) facts, not emotional pleas but facts, about drugs and alcohol, and (2) other things to do to occupy their time and engage their interest.
Much of it has to do with certain cliques that treat getting drunk or stoned as "cool," and poison whole schools with their attitude. The sober ones tend to be religious, which is fine for those who are religious, but leaves everyone else out in the cold.
So activities and clubs and people to hang out with that do not revolve around either the drunk and/or stoned crowd or the holier-than-thou crowd are clearly necessary. I enjoyed meeting a group of interesting young people at the opening of a new game store recently; kids who like to think, and don’t like to mess up their thinking with booze or drugs. There are people who get hooked on history reenactments, or have sports as a focus, or music or art, and they need to be encouraged and sponsored.
Fact is, a kid can avoid the downhill slope if he or she wants to, and having members of the opposite sex involved in something more wholesome is probably still the most enticing magnet for most teens. Hormones are hormones, after all!