Child Substance Abuse
If you are reading this because you are concerned your child may have a substance abuse problem, then congratulations, you have taken a huge step – overcoming denial. This is a critically important step as adolescents rarely come to Mom or Dad and say “I’m an addict and I need help.” There may be alternative reasons to why you are seeing changes in your child but the chances are if these changes are drastic enough for you to be reading this then your child probably has a problem and intervention is needed.
An adolescents’ first encounter with intoxicating substances will come from a desire to experiment, peer pressure or self medication. Most will save the experience as a one off or occasional indulgence. Unfortunately, there will be some who choose to up the ante and look forward to the weekend when they can revisit their drug of choice for a couple of days. From here they move to more frequent use and through the week they begin to find opportune moments to get high; this is where addiction takes hold and you will begin to see changes. Before long the addicts’ life will be consumed by one goal: to find drugs and get high. This process typically happens quite rapidly so as a parent you cannot bury your head in the sand and hope the problem is not what you think it is or hope it’s just a phase and it will go away by itself. This is a dangerous situation and your child needs help. The earlier you seek intervention in this process, the greater the likelihood for successful treatment.
Do not be deterred by stigmas or what the neighbors may think, this is a time to be proactive and you will need to abandon any fears you have about how your own social or peer group look at you. The children of your social group will already know about your child’s problem. A Life Coach will help you find the correct care for your child and work on immediate goals which will be considerate of the situation.
Therapeutic intervention is critical. I will work with your child, your child’s siblings, with parents and with the family to guide you through the intervention/recovery process and to prepare everyone for the potential of relapse. I will also educate you on how to keep your child safe.
DO NOT GIVE UP THE SEARCH FOR AN APPROPRIATE INTERVENTION. YOUR CHILD HAS AN ILLNESS AND MUST RECEIVE THE APPROPRIATE
THERAPEUTIC CARE FOR THAT ILLNESS. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TREAT YOUR CHILD’S ADDICTION ALONE.
Exposure to intoxicants is commonplace among today’s youth and despite statistics telling us the severity of this exposure the fact is we live in a society where alcohol is legal, where legalization and acceptance of marijuana is spreading, where we can find K2/Spice/Bath Salts at the corner store, household inhalants throughout your home and where opiates are prescribed by a medical professional.
This has led to a serious disparity in some adolescents’ perception of drug use and its dangers. Do not express liberal attitudes toward drug use to your child as you are validating the use of that substance. They may not have an issue today while they are under your roof but you will instill in them an attitude that may lead to a substance abuse issue at some point in their lives. Talk openly to your teen or pre-teen about drug use, but do your homework first or you will find their knowledge is beyond your own.