Substance abuse are two words parents and caregivers never want to hear together about a teen in their charge; but it happens. If it does happen to your teen, it needs to be stopped as soon as possible. Teens who indulge in substance abuse are unknowingly setting themselves up for a future of addiction on into adulthood. In addition, because the teenaged mind is still developing, substance abuse at this age will affect their cognitive and behavioral development and prevent them from reaching the full personal capacity that they might have otherwise had.
Experimentation
Adolescents don’t understand and/or realize that cigarettes, alcohol, and prescription and non-prescription drugs will have future repercussions, because teenagers live in the present. Future problems are just that – future. Though some teens can experiment with drugs and not become addicted, too many end up turning experimentation into substance abuse. Teens have a ‘that can’t happen to me’ mentality, which makes them feel freer to try things that will hurt them eventually. The teen brain is primed to build up repeated patterns of behavior; substance abuse shouldn’t become one of them if they want to grow into healthy, functioning adults.
What Guardians Should Look For
Teens will hide the illegal substance abuse they are doing from their parents or guardians because they know on some level that they will be stopped, even if they don’t completely understand why. Searching their possessions will not always out a problem, so looking closely at your teen may yield better results. Here are some of the things that parents and guardians can be on the lookout for in their teens: changes in types of friends, unusual mood swings, changes in appearance, a shift in sleeping patterns, and differences in eating habits. These are just some of the subtle warning signs that may indicate substance abuse.
Treatment
Once a teen is hooked into substance abuse, it is a matter of treatment to get them free, not willpower. A teen’s still developing mind builds up patterns of drug use that mimic brain disease, because the drugs lead to changes in the structure and functioning of the brain. With effective treatment it’s possible to break the hold that the illegal drugs created and help rewire the adolescent brain back to its proper path.
So if you have discovered that your teen is abusing drugs, turn to Adolescent Growth here in Los Angeles. We in turn can help them grow into the adult they were meant to become.
Substance abuse has become an epidemic, especially for young adults in the Los Angeles area; Adolescent Growth is here to help!
