When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I enrolled into a substance abuse class. At that time, I did not grasp the fact that alcohol abuse in point of fact was a sub division of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse, 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 all through the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol treatment and the diverse alcohol rehab centers that are habitually available to individuals who engage in excessive drinking.
Some of the dangerous outcomes associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class definitely frightened me. The ruined lives and numerous serious issues experienced by most alcohol dependent people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. More to the point, I did not want to face the wreckage and ruination that alcohol addicted people almost always experience.
Think about this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old individual wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What young person wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that drinking alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What adolescent 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 youth wants to experience alcohol withdrawals when he or she tries to quit drinking? Why would a person 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 important that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was entirely inconceivable to me was the number of students who openly didn’t care about the negative outcomes of abusive drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t be bothered with the facts and how these consequences can shatter their lives. For the first time in my life I started to grasp something that my grandfather used to tell me throughout my teen and pre-teen years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.
Tags: alcohol abuse, alcohol rehab, alcohol rehab clinics, alcohol treatment, alcohol withdrawal symptoms, alcoholic rehabilitation centers, alcoholism, drug abuse, mental health, self improvement, substance abuseRelated posts
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