Is Your Teen Drinking? Why You Could Be Responsible in the Event of an Injury or Accident

Despite extensive media coverage of excessive drinking and substance abuse by college students, high school students may be at an even higher risk of developing patterns of substance and alcohol abuse. More than half of all high school sophomores has reported having at least a single drink in the previous month. Even more disturbingly, private rehab facilities report that more than nine out of every ten adults with addiction issues began their patterns of substance abuse before they turned 18 years old.

How are minors obtaining alcohol and drugs? More than half of children who drink regularly report that they steal it from their parents, with the rest reporting that adult family members or friends buy beer and liquor for them. Adults should be aware that providing alcohol to minors can be accompanied by fines or imprisonment, and that in the event of a fatal accident they could be held responsible and face legal consequences for negligence.

Alcohol abuse rehab facilities can help addicts of any age examine the consequences of their behavior and develop coping mechanisms to help prevent relapses. Professional drug rehab staff understand that while there are more than 20 million people grappling with alcohol addiction at any given time, only about 10% wind up taking part in alcohol abuse rehab programs, and they are trained to help patients make major life changes.

Studies also show that people with a long history of alcohol abuse should not attempt to “detox” on their own. While the impetus to stop abusing alcohol is a positive one, the sudden removal of alcohol from the bloodstream may cause hallucinations, uncontrollable shaking, and even heart attacks. A professional drug rehab facility, on the other hand, can take alcohol abuse rehab patients through the process of withdrawal at a much slower pace.

In addition to physical concerns, drug and alcohol rehab centres can help addicts understand the psychology of sobriety. Undertaking to live a sober lifestyle may require a person in rehab to rethink their social circle: peer pressure to binge drink can be detrimental at any age. Time spent in group therapy and in one-on-one counseling sessions can provide rehab patients with a sense of clarity and, often, coping mechanisms needed to maintain their sobriety.

While experts report that alcoholism has roots in both genetics and in learned behavior, and see substance and alcohol abuse as a combination of both factors. Children born to parents who grapple with alcohol or drug addiction have a severely increased risk of becoming addicted as they grow older, and also a higher risk of developing emotional, mental, and behavioral issues. Having the option to detox safely at substance abuse treatment centers, however, should help addicts work to end a pattern that may have begun well before they reached adulthood.