It is never easy to hear that your teenager is abusing drugs, but it can be even more difficult to try and figure out what you can do to survive this difficult ordeal as a family. Every member of the family is affected in one way or another by this drug abuse and it can truly take a toll on everyone. If you found out that your teenager is abusing drugs, check out the following ideas on how survive through this struggle:
Start Setting Expectations A teenager that feels a lack of expectations are more likely to abuse drugs than a teenager that is expected to do chores, perform well in school, and keep their noses clean. If you are guilty of letting your children have just a bit too much freedom, then start setting reasonable expectations and enforcing them.
Address Mental Health And Possible Issues Mental health problems and complex mental issues are just a handful of the reasons why a teenager may choose to abuse drugs. A teenager looking for an outlet from whatever they are suffering from will look to anything that is nearby and easy to take. A drug that makes them feel better will be a drug that they return to and abuse.
Lay All Past Experiences Out On The Table There are times when a teenager abuses drugs or acts out because they are looking for attention or a pathway to connect with people in their lives like parents and siblings. If you have experimented with drugs or suffered from drug abuse and recovered, then share this information with your teenager. Your teen could really connect with this story.
Start Becoming A United Front Are you and your family members always arguing? This could be one of the reasons that your teen has looked to abusing drugs. Parents that are fighting constantly or parents that fight with their children constantly are big motivators to abusing drugs. The mental stress that all of this arguing builds can be suffocating. Stop fighting and form a united front if you truly want to help your teenager. Let Judgements Go There are times when a teenager is under so much stress to perform well or be perfect that they feel like they need an outlet when they do not meet those expectations. Like having few or no expectations listed above having too many expectations can be harmful. Try pointing out all of the positive things that your teenager does and let your old, harsh, harmful judgements go.
Lock The Medicine Cabinets
Your teenager may be abusing drugs simply because they are easy to access. Not all drug abuse comes from purchasing illicit drugs off of the streets. A great portion of drug abuse cases in teenagers comes from abusing the prescription medications that they can find in their own home. If this is your case, then take simple precautions and lock up the medications in your home. If your teenager cannot get the drugs, then they cannot continue to abuse them in your home. This may not solve the problem entirely but it will certainly make it much harder to abuse those types of drugs.
Dive Into Family History And Genetics Teenagers, like all people, have certain tendencies that are learned and certain tendencies that have an underlying genetic component. If your teenager is the type of person that has an addictive personality, then you should watch out for certain addictive behaviors that could be harmful. If your teenager was once addicted to a certain video game and no longer has that outlet, they may look to a replacement such as drugs, smoking, or aggressive acts of bullying. If you have noticed a drug addiction in your teenager, then try encouraging them to latch onto something healthy such as exercise or playing a musical instrument.
Seek Professional Assistance Seeking professional help is the number one pathway to success when trying to get your teenager to separate themselves from whatever it is inside of them that drives them to abuse drugs. Professionals at drug abuse treatment centers like Diamond Ranch Academy work diligently to help abusing teens and their families learn to heal and survive through this difficult time in life. You do not have to do this on your own. For common mistakes that families make when addressing teen drug abuse and ideas on how to tackle them click HERE.
Take Home Advice There is never a better time to address teen drug addiction than right now. There is never shame attached to getting the appropriate help from anyone. Every person on Earth struggles every once in awhile and patience, love, and support truly go a long way in helping families survive their struggles.
