What I Learned About Drug Abuse and Alcohol Dependency in High School
When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I took a substance abuse class. At that age, I did not realize that alcohol abuse in point of fact was a sub category of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and especially 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 people throughout the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol rehab and the various alcohol rehab clinics that are frequently available to people who engage in hazardous drinking.
Damaging End Results That are Associated With Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse
Some of the detrimental effects correlated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class without a doubt scared me. The ruined lives and abundant serious issues experienced by most alcohol addicted individuals made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. In short, I did not want to face the damage and devastation that alcohol dependent people almost always experience.
Let this sink in 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 consuming alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What young person wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related difficulties before he or she becomes twenty-one?
What teenager wants to encounter alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to quit drinking? Why would a person engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause serious issues 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 a young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that revolves around abusive drinking?
These issues were so meaningful that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was totally unbelievable to me was the number of students who essentially didn’t care about the damaging outcomes of irresponsible drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t be troubled with the truth and how these consequences can demolish their lives. For the first time in my life I started to grasp something that my grandfather used to tell me throughout my adolesence: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
It’s Liberating, Important, and Beneficial to Stay Away From the Damaging and Unhealthy End Results of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
And even at my young age, I also started to understand how beneficial, enlivening, and important it is in life to stay away from the debilitating and unhealthy end results of alcohol and drug abuse.
