For parents, learning how to talk about substance abuse to teens is a critical way to ensure your teen understands the dangers of drug and alcohol use. If your teen struggles with substance abuse, it is critical to seek out an adolescent treatment center. To learn more about addiction treatment at Foothills at Red Oak Recovery, contact us today.
How to Talk About Substance Abuse to Teens
Finding out how to talk about substance abuse to teens requires understanding the risks that psychoactive substances pose.
Statistics about teen drug use show that:
- 36% of high schoolers have used marijuana
- 2% of teens have an untreated substance abuse disorder
- 4% of teens have abuse prescription pain medication
- 13% of teens binge drink at least once a month
- 9% of teens smoke cigarettes at least once a month
Drugs and alcohol are neurotransmitter inhibitors that force your brain to release more neurotransmitters than it should. The rush of pleasurable neurotransmitters creates the positive effects of intoxication and causes your mind to associate the substance with pleasure. Your brain’s pleasure and reward center then rewards your substance use and punishes abstinence by controlling the release of neurotransmitters.
Substances like alcohol and opiates can cause physical dependency, which occurs when your body becomes dependent on your substance of choice to function. Physical addictions can cause severe withdrawal symptoms that make it difficult to quit using without help. The stages of addiction can develop quickly, making it essential to know how to talk about substance abuse to teens. Doing so can save a life and make sure that your teen can be more successful later in life.
How Addiction is Treated
Knowing how to talk about substance abuse to teens means understanding how experts treat addiction. Addiction causes you to compulsively abuse your substance of choice despite increasingly negative consequences and a strong desire to quit using. Because your brain associates people, places, and things that remind you of your substance of choice with pleasure, exposure to triggers can magnify cravings.
Recovering from a substance abuse disorder can take time, as your brain and body both need to heal. Your mind becomes dependent on your substance of choice to release neurotransmitters. During recovery, your brain has to adjust and re-learn how to properly release neurotransmitters, which can lead to negative emotions like anxiety and depression.
Residential inpatient programs offer the highest level of care for addiction. The increased structure and support ensures that you have 24/7 access to treatment professionals, which improves recovery outcomes. Many inpatient programs also offer medically supervised detox services, which is a necessity if you have a physical dependency.
Treatment teaches you about triggers and cravings and how to cope with them positively and healthily. Another core part of treatment is to learn how to identify negative thinking patterns and emotions. Then you can understand how their connection with your behaviors. Navigating recovery is difficult because some triggers are unavoidable, and release is always a risk. Relapse prevention education, which helps you develop tools to cope with adversity and cravings, is an essential part of substance abuse treatment.
Finding Help Today
At Foothills at Red Oak, we are committed to ensuring that your teen can overcome his substance abuse issue. As a result, we offer a wide range of addiction treatment programs, including:
- Alcohol addiction treatment
- Heroin addiction treatment
- Cocaine addiction treatment
- Prescription pill addiction treatment
- Opioid addiction treatment
Teens who struggle with a substance abuse problem may feel isolated, frustrated, and alone. Although addiction can damage your social and academic life, recovery is always possible. If you would like to learn more about how to talk about substance abuse to teens or our teen treatment programs, contact us today at 866.300.5275.
