Getting their children admitted into an adolescent treatment center for mental health issues or drug and alcohol abuse is ideal for many parents. It is difficult to provide this level of care on an outpatient basis or in an in-home setting.
Drug and alcohol experimentation is often highest during the critical formative period of an adolescent’s teenage years. However, teens are more likely to focus on the social benefits of substance use, such as increased sociability or acceptance among peers. As a result, they may fail to evaluate the harmful effects of it.
Teens may not even know that they’re developing and maintaining a substance use disorder, which is why it’s often up to parents and other close family members to step in and point teens towards recovery. If you know a teen that’s showing signs of being addicted to drugs or alcohol, you can help them by calling an adolescent treatment center. Contact Foothills at Red Oak Recovery to begin your child’s treatment. Call 866.300.5275 or reach out to our team online.
What Are the Dangers of Teen Drug and Alcohol Abuse?
During the period of adolescence, biological and psychological changes take place. Physical changes are often the visual markers of growing up, but a teen’s brain is also developing ways to function more effectively in adulthood. The brain can eliminate unnecessary synapses and connections between its different parts during a person’s teenage years.
What happens during this period is vital to healthy cognitive function as an adult, so it is essential that teens maintain certain healthy behaviors during these years. Substance use can impact the brain’s ability to function in the short term and prevent proper growth and development in the long term.
In addition to the effects of teen drinking and drug use on the brain’s development, many other consequences could haunt teens well into adulthood. Because substance use disorders can impair reasoning and encourage rash decisions, many side effects of substance abuse go far beyond the physical, mental, and behavioral aspects. Some of the dangers of teen drug and alcohol abuse include the following:
- Assaults
- Car accidents
- Criminal records that cannot be expunged
- Damaged relationships with friends and family
- Delayed or deferred career opportunities
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Unplanned pregnancies
- Wasted academic opportunities
What Is the Best Way To Deal with Teen Substance Use?
If you suspect that someone you care about is struggling with teen drug and alcohol abuse, you should take action and help them as soon as possible. Certain drug addictions can lead to fatal overdoses or withdrawal symptoms if left unsupervised or untreated.
Talk to the teen’s guardians or parents, especially if you’re not one of them, and make sure you’re on the same page when it comes to handling teen addiction. Decide how to address the issue and how to bring it up with the teen. Approach your teenager out of a place of love and concern rather than being angry or accusatory.
Talking to a teenager about this sensitive subject may result in an argument. If you need to find real evidence of addiction before you approach your teen about drinking or using drugs, do some investigating first. Remember that teens are not adults yet and that they’re still living in someone else’s home, so don’t hesitate to go through their belongings.
Seek Treatment for Your Teen at Foothills at Red Oak Recovery
Foothills at Red Oak Recovery offers a wide range of evidence-based and holistic treatment services. For example, individual talk therapy is the most common form of care that’s part of programs like this. Teens can work with licensed clinicians to learn coping skills and techniques. We offer a range of services, including:
- Dual diagnosis treatment
- Academic services
- Psychological testing
- Holistic healing services
If you’re looking for an adolescent treatment center in North Carolina, contact Foothills at Red Oak Recovery. Call 866.300.5275 or reach out to our team online.
