Dante was a eighteen year old high school senior who was displaying a number of alcohol-related difficulties at school. Consequently, the principal told him that he had to see Miss Johnson, the school therapist, before he would be allowed to come back to school.
Later that afternoon when Dante went home after school, he had to explain his school discharge to his Mother and Father. His Mother and Father were “relatively old fashioned” and explained to Dante that getting suspended from school was not a tolerable educational game plan. They told Dante that failing to graduate from high school would most probably be like a lead weight around his legs that could probably mar his educational aspirations for the rest of his life. Furthermore, Dante’s parents were extremely distraught that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his peers in the second.
His Mother and Father told Dante that although he may be a teenager, he has to understand fairly swiftly that drinking is the pathway to financial problems, failure, ill health, and pain.
It was plain to see that his Mother and Father were 100% in agreement with Dante’s principal and informed Dante that he had better come to the realization that he needs to see Miss Johnson, the school psychologist. After his talk with his Mother and Father, Dante in the end agreed to see Miss Johnson the next day. So Dante phoned the school and made an appointment to see Miss Johnson the next morning.
The Counselor Asks Dante if He Knows Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Behavior Caused Quite a Bit of Anxiety By the School Administrators
When Dante got to his scheduled appointment with Miss Johnson, she instantaneously analyzed all of the alcohol-related problems Dante had gotten into and asked him if he knew why his recent alcohol-related actions signaled such alarm.
Quite frankly, Dante wondered why the principal told him he had to see a school counselor. As he stated to Miss Johnson, why should he see a professional therapist about his drinking circumstances? Due to the fact that virtually all of his classmates drink about as much as he does, fundamentally, drinking shouldn’t be such a big issue. Stated more forcefully, if just about everybody is drinking, why is this such a big thing?
Miss Johnson asked Dante when he started to drink. He said that some of his older pals introduced him to drinking wine coolers when he was twelve or thirteen years old and getting ready to enter the seventh grade.
Miss Johnson explained to Dante that while his pals may in fact drink more than he does and that they may be a bad influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting removed from school due to alcohol-related fighting, delinquency, and absenteeism, not his buddies. Not only this but Miss Johnson also emphasized the fact that Dante, and not his friends, is the one who is failing and who is missing at least one day of school every week due to his alcohol related difficulties. Finally, Miss Johnson stressed the fact that due to his drinking circumstances, Dante is getting into a negative cycle of hazardous drinking that can in the end ruin his hopes, dreams and aspirations.
In short, Dante’s involvement with teenage alcohol abuse was beginning to foil his ability to function as an accountable young man. As stated by Miss Johnson, “Just because most of your classmates drink wine coolers, hard liquor, wine, or beer does not mean that it is the best thing to do for you.”
Dante Learns That Ultimately He Must Claim Responsibility For Himself In Order to Stay Away From Dangerous, Damaging, Destructive, and Unhealthy Circumstances Down the Road
Miss Johnson told Dante that other people can unquestionably influence an individual in an unhealthy manner, but that the person himself or herself has to at the end of the day be responsible for herself or himself in order to keep away from dangerous, unhealthy, destructive, and damaging circumstances in the future.
Fortunately, Miss Johnson was very organized for her scheduled time with Dante. She showed him reports and research studies she had underlined that outlined different drinking statistics and facts that targeted most people in general. Then she showed Dante quite a lot of information that applied chiefly to teens.
For example, Miss Johnson highlighted the difference between alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse and informed Dante that individuals who continue to drink excessively frequently become dependent on alcohol.
Miss Johnson also discussed the concept of binge drinking which she defined as follows: ingesting four or more drinks in one sitting for females and drinking four or more drinks in one sitting for females.
The Therapist Verbalizes A Number Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse Facts and Statistics
Then Miss Johnson stated various alcohol facts and the following eight alcohol abuse statistics:
1. As demonstrated in one study, just about 11% of 8th-graders, 22% of 10th-graders, and 27% of 12th-graders reported that they involved themselves in hazardous drinking.
2. Between 48% and 64% of the people who perish in fires have blood alcohol levels demonstrating inebriation.
3. Pre-teens who are drinking alcohol by 7th grade are more probable to manifest substance abuse, delinquent behavior, and academic problems in both high school and middle school.
4. In the United States, 25% of all emergency room admissions, 33% of all suicides, and more than 50% of all homicides and incidents of domestic violence are alcohol-related.
5. In the United States among drivers between the ages of 15 and 20, fatal crashes involving a single vehicle at night are three times more likely to be alcohol-related than to other deadly crashes.
6. In the U.S., more than 40 percent of the people who begin drinking before the age of 13 will develop alcoholism or alcohol abuse at some point in their lives.
7. In the United States, by the time they are high school seniors, 80% of high school students have used alcohol and 62% have been drunk.
8. Treatment for alcoholism has been shown to reduce criminal activity up to 80% among long-term offenders, has increased their rate of employment, decreased their homelessness, and reduced their health care costs.
Dante Gets A Relevant Jolt of Reality Concerning the Long Term and the Short Term Outcomes of Underage Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Dependency
After Miss Johnson articulated the aforementioned alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency statistics and facts, it was apparent that what Miss Johnson disclosed to Dante was a real eye opener for him. Why? Because for the first time in his young life, someone not only made the effort to explain the short term and the long term outcomes of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, but she also took the time to authenticate what she was saying with alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency facts and statistics that related to everyone in general, and especially to young people.
Definitely, it was almost as if a light went on and Dante promptly grasped why he should not be engaging in excessive and abusive drinking with or without his buddies anymore. Dante thanked Miss Johnson for her concern and for the material she reviewed.
Miss Johnson then asked Dante how he felt about getting a physical examination and an alcohol assessment for the alcohol rehab he would probably need.
Dante thought about this for a minute and then agreed to get a complete physical exam and to go through an extensive appraisal of his drinking circumstances so that he could start an alcohol abuse or alcohol addiction treatment program promptly.
Tags: alcohol abuse, alcohol abuse statistics, alcohol statistics, alcohol treatment, alcoholism, alcoholism facts, alcoholism statistics, long term effects of alcohol, short term effects of alcohol, teen alcohol abuse, teen alcohol abuse statistics, teenage alcohol abuse
Comments on this entry are closed.