Teen Drug Rehab
Teen Drug Rehab: The Company You KeepThe old adage that “you’re known by the company you keep” is one of those statements that we cast off as being just another saying, but in truth it is a cautionary word of wisdom for addicts. After all, we are creatures of habit and when we don’t know what else to do, we will go to what feels familiar.People will move away from their families, their friends and their professional contacts, all in the name of feeding their addiction. It’s like the folks who love and care about them are going to get in the way. Maybe deep down in side there is a sense of shame, and they are hiding in the shadows of life to avoid detection. They lose themselves. The addiction has taken over and so all activities must be centered on satisfying the craving. They seek others who use, or who can provide the substance. Nobody else understands and the addict does not want the annoyance of being told there is a problem. Even if they get into treatment, there is no guarantee that they will stay in treatment. So often people leave early and go right back to the environment they came from, back to drug houses or the streets. Treatment has only prevented them from using. They are still addicted. They will go back to what is familiar, because they have neither the will nor the spiritual resources to do otherwise. They can’t be forced. I hear criticism about Alcoholics Anonymous’ stand on abstinence, but there are too many cases out there of people who do not stay away from using, who keep associating with the same people, who go in and out of treatment as if it were like visiting a church. They may feel good about themselves, but the message hasn’t sunk in and they have no real belief. People want a fast solution, a pill, and then they want to go back to doing what they want to do. Sometimes, even if someone wants to turn their life around, the pressures are too great. They determine that they can’t make it and go back to their old haunts. There they find “understanding” and nobody “judges” them. There is no hassle.Contributing to this “disconnect” are a couple of factors. A mother of an addict told me recently that she was concerned about her son’s habits, was trying to encourage him, but she didn’t want to pry into his personal affairs. She was worried that if she provided too much pressure he would move out, hang out with his friends and get worse. One of her other concerns was that the father had already given up on his son after the young man attempted suicide and dropped out of college. She was trying to balance what she perceived as his need with his agenda, and she was finding out that it didn’t work. Appeasement is not the answer. She needs support herself. Thankfully she knows that and is seeking help.By nature we are wired for relationship. If a person hides from the world and avoids social contact at all cost, there is likely some kind of behavioral disorder that is causing the isolation. We seek others for love and support. If those others are addicts, the kind of love and support we receive is potentially deadly. Going back to the old crowd and to an old way of life after treatment is not recovery it’s relapse. The Company You Keep will determine your success. People who leave treatment facilities only to return to the same environment they came from are not going to recover because there is nothing there that would support any other kind of behavior. More likely is their chance of overdose. No, there must be a clean break and a willful turning away from old patterns of behavior. Moms and dads should pry, friends should encourage and collectively, those who care need to remove obstacles that would hinder a successful recovery.You are known for The Company You Keep. The Company You Keep in the grips of addiction is not the company that is going to contribute to fulfillment and happiness. It will only contribute to death.Drugs and Teens: What can parents do?It’s every parent’s nightmare facing teen drug addiction. As children enter their teenage years they begin to separate from their parents, explore the adult world and fashion an image of their place in it. Even the most conscientious parents may not be able to protect their teens from the predatory lure of drugs, readily available in or around all schools.Borrowing a sports analogy, the best defense against teenage drug use is a good offense. Parents need to equip themselves with solid information about teen drug addiction , a realistic view of their child and access to professional help if there are any early warning signs of drug use and find a good drug rehab. Warning Signs of Teen Drug Addiction:School: Is your child keeping up with his/her school work? Have they lost interest in going to school and look for excuses to stay home? Call the school and keep track of your child’s attendance in class. I coach football and basketball for middle school and high school. I get attendance records and if a teen has missed class, they don’t play in the games. But do you know your child skipped second period math class? Are there days when you think your child has gone to school, but the attendance records do not match up? Children who are in trouble with drugs will often begin failing classes, not turning in homework assignments or in general just fall behind. “I can’t believe Johnny is failing math, it was always his favorite subject.” A new pattern has emerged and it isn’t pretty. Schools have open campuses, allowing kids to come and go. They can easily slip into the community and get into trouble.Health: As a person slips into teen drug addiction a variety of physical signs point to drug abuse. Are they listless all of the time? Kids don’t want to get up in the morning anyway, but they don’t always refuse to get moving. Weight loss and weight gain are signs. Are there changes in eating habits? The eyes are an indicator. Has the life gone out of their eyes, or is there a major change? Appearance: This can be a difficult area to discern, as fashions change and often times what adults feel is acceptable dress may not have anything to do with current trends. Watch for changes in dress. Does a child lose interest in how they look? Kids want to fit in and there is peer pressure influence on the way they dress. Girls, especially, are bombarded with images on appearance. Has there been an attitude shift? Have grooming habits changed? Attitude and Behavior: As children enter their teen years it is natural for them to want to break away from the family. When kids go to extremes to make sure you don’t know who they’re with or what they are doing, the red flag should go up. When they become secretive and guarded, when their privacy at home prevents your open access to them, look for something beyond mere adolescent rebellion. Money can be a sign. If their only interaction with the parents is to ask for money, and when asked why they need money they refuse to answer, or become indignant, that is an indicator of possible drug abuse. Worse yet, they may steal items from home to buy drugs. Communication is EssentialCommunicating with teens can be a challenge, especially because they are beginning to spread their wings and desire independence from mom and dad. Stay calm. The most common mistake parents can make is trying to force ideas and values on the defiant teen mind.I was that way. There’s a leadership responsibility that always needs to be in evidence, and parents need to be parents. Trying to be “best buddies” is not a good strategy. However, parents need to meet their children where they are at. That means trying to understand the situation from your child’s perspective. Teenagers will probably come up with some very wrong reasoning, seriously flawed ideas and their whole world view will likely be counter to that of their parents. But they have a NEED to be heard and respected. It’s one thing to accept an opinion counter to your own, and it’s quite another to approve of it. Try working with your teen’s ideas and concepts, and have an open and non-threatening discussion about them. You can establish rules of engagement with your teen and agree that both of you are allowed to express ideas and opinions without fear of retribution. The key is to remember that the parent needs to be the one in control. As a chaplain, I do a lot of counseling work and my approach is entirely patient-centered. They establish the themes of the conversation, but even though I am not deciding the topic, or necessarily directing the conversation, I am still in control. Remember that your teenager, like a patient in a hospital, is probably going to be very myopic. He/she will see things only from their perspective.Take a step back and see the entire situation. Go with their feelings, their concerns and walk down their path. Share the experience. Parents are the front line of the fight against teen drug addiction. Don’t push that responsibility off to the schools. Rather, partner with the school counselors, teachers and administrators, never forgetting that you are the one responsible for your teen. If drug abuse or addiction enters your home, seek professional help and form another partnership in the effort.Be in control. Be honest. Be alert. Be proactive. Have ou ever wondered WHY your teens are more susceptible to drug abuse and addiction? Teen Drug Rehab: Teenage drug abuse is common; read why…
Teen Challenge can help Treat Teen Drug Addiction and is a great Teen Drug Rehab.
Many parents have enrolled their teens into a program called Teen Challenge to help those with a teen drug addiction. This program is extremely successful and transforming the lives of Teens who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Click here to find out more about this excellent program to help overcome drug addiction teens!Click here to find out more about this excellent program Teen Challenge!
For more on signs of teen drug addiction click here.For more about Teen Drug Rehab go to our home page
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This site contains five MAIN pages that EVERYONE should read:
ABOUT…
Read these five pages and learn what you need to know to spot Addiction to Drugs in:
Yourself… Your Family… Your Friends… Your Community…
The rest of the pages are there for your reference to explain important topics in more detail.
Finally don’t miss the Spiritual and 12-step sections to fully explore how understanding THE SPIRIT can lead to recovery!
