What I Learned About Alcohol Dependency and Drug Addiction in High School
When I was a sophomore in high school, I registered for a drug abuse class. At that time period, I did not realize that alcohol abuse in point of fact was a sub division of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and particularly 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 individuals all through the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol treatment and the diverse alcohol rehab clinics that are repeatedly available to problem drinkers.
Dangerous End Results That are Correlated With Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse
Some of the detrimental end results linked to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class certainly frightened me. The ruined lives and frequent difficulties experienced by most alcohol dependent individuals made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. More to the point, I did not want to face the damage and devastation that alcohol dependent people almost always experience.
Reflect on this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old teenager wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What adolescent 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 experience alcohol withdrawals when he or she tries to quit drinking? Why would a person engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause problems in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after a person 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 focuses on abusive drinking?
These issues were so significant that I discussed some of them in class during the school year. What was absolutely astounding to me was the number of students who essentially didn’t care about the damaging outcomes of excessive drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t care less about reality and how these results can ruin their lives. For the first time in my life I started to appreciate something that my grandfather used to articulate all through my teen and pre-teen years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.
It’s Important, Energizing, and Beneficial to Stay Away From the Destructive and Unhealthy End Results of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
And even at my young age, I also began to realize how important, liberating, and beneficial it is in life to keep away from the unhealthy and debilitating effects of drug and alcohol abuse.
