What I Learned About Substance Abuse in High School and the Conflict I Felt in My Relationships and Friendships
When I was a sophomore in high school, I registered for a substance abuse class. At that time period, I did not comprehend that alcohol abuse in point of fact 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 often available to people who engage in abusive drinking.
Harmful Effects That are Linked to Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse
Some of the injurious results related to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class without a doubt frightened me. The ruined lives and countless difficulties experienced by most alcohol dependent people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. Stated briefly, 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 person 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 ingesting alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What teen wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related problems before he or she becomes an adult?
What young person wants to encounter 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 difficulties 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 an adolescent want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that centers on hazardous drinking?
These issues were so significant that I talked about some of them in class during the school year. What was downright amazing 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 care less about reality and how these outcomes can shatter their lives. For the first time in my life I started to grasp something that my grandfather used to say to me all through my youth: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
It’s Important, Beneficial, and Enlivening to Stay Away From the Destructive and Unhealthy Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
And even at my young age, I also started to comprehend how liberating, beneficial, and important it is in life to keep away from the unhealthy and damaging end results of alcohol and drug abuse. And realizing this also led to some conflict in the relationships and friendships I had in high school because of my perspective on drinking.
