Importance Of Testing Your Teen For Alcohol or Substance Abuse
Parents generally don’t suspect alcohol or substance abuse in their teens until they find something suspicious about their behavior or until their kid is involved in some issue like getting arrested, accident, an overdose, or some trouble in school/college. This kind of delayed realization of their teens’ bad habits is not wise on part of the parents.
Continuous monitoring and timely intervention to detect alcohol or substance abuse in kids using drug or alcohol tests is very important to save them from future negative consequences. This article provides you with reasons for testing your teen for alcohol or substance abuse.
Teens are more prone to risk-taking: Every person goes through the crucial period of adolescence. It is a transition period where teens experience emotional and mental conflicts. Physical and mental changes occur during this age and make them feel insecure. Many teens get addicted to these harmful substances because of the peer pressure. To match with their drug or alcohol abusing friends, they take up drugs or alcohol.
They are influenced by many other things like ads, films and other media which showcase this behavior of abusing drugs as glamorous and relaxing. This raises the desire in them to experiment and experience new things which can lead to dangerous consequences.
Alcohol or drugs are generally introduced in this period: Many studies have shown that significant number of people first try alcohol or other substances like marijuana during their teenage. Reasons include peer pressure, child abuse, lack of parental supervision, family problems, and so on. Teens are not matured enough to visualize the consequences they are going to face in the future due to these habits and hence they tend to experiment with dangerous substances for the sake of temporary pleasures.
Initiation of substance abuse in teenage develops dependence: Substance abuse during teenage leads to dependence, which continues in their later stages of life. Substance or alcohol abuse during teenage encourages them to move on to more dangerous drugs in future, which can cause significant harm. As the body is still in the developing stage, the toxins present in the drugs effect their growth and also cause severe health problems in the later stages.
Impacts their health, career and social respect: Drinking alcohol or abusing drugs during teenage results in both health and behavioral complications. Depending on the amount of substance they abuse, they become inactive and fall ill quite often. They perform poorly in academics too. Moreover, today many employers are conducting drug tests on the job applicants and employees – drug abusing teens have high chances of losing the job and destroying their career. They also fail to get respect both from their family and the society due to their violent and aggressive behavior.
Involvement in crime and accidents: Besides health complications, drug and alcohol users have an increased tendency towards risky and violent behaviors because of impaired judgment. In situations when they don’t have money to finance their drugs they don’t hesitate to do thefts, shoplifting and commit crimes. This may land them in legal troubles. Moreover, driving under the drug influence is proved to be the major reason in teen motor vehicle crashes and deaths due to accidents.
It is the duty of the parents to protect their child from any kind of mishaps. It is necessary for them to be aware of the drug testing methods or kits, which can be used for early detection of these unhealthy habits.
New Strategies For Recovering Addicts
Recovery from an addiction is a journey, and as such, it must be treated as one. Just because you stop using does not mean you have “recovered.” True recovery is a life long process that requires consistent attention to your inner workings and constant care for your heart and soul. All too often, people that are in recovery think that, because they have stopped using, they are in the clear, only to find out that recovery doesn’t happen overnight.
Of course, not using is one of the first steps in recovery, but ultimately, someone that is addicted needs to start making healthier choices. Situations that lead to loneliness can be prime targets for addicts to use, as using helps to fill that void. As well, situations that increase negative emotions, such as anger, can also lead a recovering addict to use. For this reason, it is important to have someone that you can contact, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if you find yourself tempted to use. Many recovery programs recommend having a sponsor that you can contact to discuss your recovery efforts, and most recommend having a sponsor that is in recovery as well. A sponsor that is further along in recovery is more likely to understand where an addict is coming from, and they can offer advice on how to handle situations that tempt you to use.
As well, those in recovery need to relearn honesty. Lying often accompanies addiction, and over time, it becomes second nature. You may have lied to get your drug, or you may have lied to hide your addiction. Being honest, and staying honest, is a key component to recovery. If you have relapsed, be honest about it. If you are tempted to use, be honest about it. Reach out to those around you and let them know how you are feeling in the most honest way possible. By telling the truth, you are able to remove a lot of unneeded stress from your life while allowing others to play a role in your recovery.
Finally, begin to change your thinking about yourself and your addiction. It is important to always remember that you control your life, and no substance can force you to do anything. If you are tempted to use, you might tell yourself, “I can choose to use, or I can choose not to use. I am in control and I choose not to continue using.” By changing the way you view your addiction, and by taking responsibility for your actions and choices, you can then begin to develop healthier patterns of living and thinking, which will ultimately help you to cope when you feel tempted.
Benefits of Staying Healthy During Pregnancy by Avoiding Unhealthy Habits
Unhealthy lifestyle during pregnancy is very dangerous to the development of baby before and after birth. It also destroys the health of the mother. It is therefore, essential to understand the benefits of staying healthy by avoiding certain unhealthy habits during pregnancy.
Things to be avoided
Apart from including proper nutritious diet, regular exercises and essential medications or vitamin supplements, a healthy lifestyle demands quitting of various unhealthy habits such as junk foods, smoking, drinking and substance abuse.
Junk foods: Junk foods including pies, cakes and burgers with excessive fats may affect the heart of the pregnant lady. Some studies also state that junk food raises the chances of miscarriage and obese children. It’s, therefore, better to prevent taking such foods during pregnancy.
Smoking and staying around people who do: Toxic compounds associated with smoking damage the health of the unborn child and the mother. Even exposure to second-hand smoke effects the health badly. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid smoking and stay away from smokers during pregnancy.
Drinking alcohol: Drinking alcohol during pregnancy causes liver damage and many other serious health complications in the mother. Further, alcohol from bloodstream passes quickly to the fetus affecting its growth and development. Hence, encourage yourself to forgo parties and bars to escape from harmful consequences of alcohol.
Illicit or prescription drugs (without doctor’s advice): Illicit drugs deteriorate the health of the mother and the unborn child. Many serious and fatal complications are developed during and after pregnancy if these hazardous substances are abused at this critical stage of life. Usage of the prescription drugs without doctor’s prescription may be harmful to the developing fetus and so, should be refrained.
Benefits of staying healthy
Staying away from the above mentioned practices assures a better health. It even promotes significant benefits to the mother as well as the child.
Saves mother and baby from infection causing microbes: Unhealthy habits like illicit drug use while pregnancy impairs immunity and rises the chances of anemia, blood and heart infections, skin infections, hepatitis and other infectious diseases. The onset of infections in the mother will be transferred to the fetus affecting its development. Being healthy by staying away from such dreadful habits and maintaining hygiene saves the mother and baby from infection causing microbes.
Avoids miscarriage and premature birth: Slowdown in the growth and development of the fetus due to smoking, drinking and substance abuse reduces the length of pregnancy leading to premature birth. However, miscarriage, premature birth and still birth associated with such habits can be prevented by staying healthy during pregnancy.
Lowers the risk of birth defects in new born: A pregnant woman habituated to drinking is more likely to give birth to a baby with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a condition that includes serious defects like facial deformities, heart problems, mental retardation, low birth weight and low birth rate. Inculcating a healthy lifestyle by preventing the exposure to smoking, recreational drugs and alcohol also reduces the risk of these birth defects.
Lowers the risk of drug addiction later in child’s life: Drug addiction during pregnancy may genetically transfer the same habit to the child. Hence, avoiding drug addiction bypasses the risk of inherited drug addiction and associated physical and mental health issues such as learning disabilities, vision, speech or hearing defects, sleeping concerns, attention problems, behavioral issues like hyperactivity and so on in the child.
Now that you know the benefits of staying away from unhealthy habits during pregnancy, make sure that you lead a healthy lifestyle to protect your baby and yourself.