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What To Do If Your Teen Is On Drugs

September 1, 2019/0 Comments/in Teen Addiction, Teens /by Addiction Therapeutic Services

Addiction is an epidemic, not just in the United States of America, but across the entire world. What’s worse is that most addicts start their use in their teenage years. Teen addiction is a pretty serious problem and it’s something that parents should be actively concerned about. Because of external factors, such as peer pressure, even the absolute best parenting techniques aren’t a surefire way to prevent or stop teen drug use. If you’ve seen the signs and think your teen is on drugs, it is imperative that you act.

How to Tell if Your Son or Daughter Is On Drugs

Knowing and analyzing the signs of teen drug use is important because it will help you decide the best course of action. It could be that all your kid needs is a preventative talk, but it could also be that you need to nip their habit in the butt before it becomes a full-blown addiction. You must have acute situational awareness in this situation; putting various, seemingly harmless, events or signals together will be the difference between success and failure.

The two top outward signs to assess are changes in your teen’s habits and physical appearance. Changes in appetite, acting out, bloodshot eyes or dilated pupils, unexplained bruises or shaking can all be signs of teen drug use. For a detailed guide on how to know if your teenager is using drugs, please refer to our article.

Keep Calm and Collected

It’s necessary that you remain calm when approaching the issue of drug use with your offspring. Even if all the signs point to addiction, you don’t know for certain unless they confess or you find circumstantial evidence. That being said, if your teen is definitely using you should still approach the issue with a calm, calculated plan of attack.

No matter what, they’re still your child. You want to appropriately scare them, but doing it in an off-putting way will have the opposite effect of what you intend. It’s in the teenage nature to rebel, so you have to come at them from a place of understanding and comfort. Respond to them with love.

Talk to Them

Whether preventing future drug use or thwarting current addiction, the first step is communication. Don’t directly accuse them of drug use, but rather ask questions that will allow you to get a better sense of the situation. The subject is already delicate and using teens are already more fragile than they would be otherwise.

Don’t assume that you know what is happening or why it is happening because drug abuse, in general, is largely circumstantial. Avoid confrontation and cement the idea that it’s always okay for them to talk to you about anything without the worry of angering you.

One of the best tactics for conquering drug use is to ask your kid about their friends. Ask them if they know anyone who is using, if anyone at school has gotten in trouble for drugs and what they think about it. This has the potential to give you insight into their mindset. If they’re upfront with the information and seem opposed to the idea of drug use, there’s a higher chance that they aren’t using. If they seem apathetic or evasive about the subject then there may be cause to worry.

Whatever the result of the conversation, don’t act on emotion and whatever you do don’t judge them. Your child’s perception of your talk will significantly affect whichever step you choose to take next.

Don’t Be Afraid to Seek Help

Most teenagers have a uniform dislike for parental advice. That’s to be expected, so you should plan around it. On the slight chance that your teen does listen to you, you should still understand that handling this situation on your own is a bad idea. Any mistakes you make could have dire consequences and no amount of reading will make you a professional in the matter.

You should, therefore, reach out for help from familiar people and professionals. Close family or family friends can be beneficial because of the familiarity and proximity that they already have established with your teen. Teachers or school counselors can be good for advice for you, but for the same reasons that your teen won’t listen to you, they probably aren’t the best to reach out to your kid.

Professionals such as doctors or, more importantly, addiction specialists are typically the most effective option. Addiction counselors, rehabilitation coaches, and intervention specialists are all specifically trained to efficiently handle your teens habitual or addictive drug use. Some parents think that, by going to a qualified professional, they somehow make the situation seem more real and by extension worse. This is a detrimental way of thinking, you should do anything and everything possible to get control of your teenagers drug use.

Be Careful Not To Enable Your Teenager

Often unbeknownst to the parent, teens who use drugs are enabled to do so 90% of the time. Ostensibly innocent things such as giving them money or letting them stay out too late too often can have stained implications. That’s not to say that you should just flat out not do these things, but that you should add them to your list of factors to be aware of and connections to make.

You should also be careful of occurrences like ignoring signs of use, covering for your teen, misplacing blame and resentment. You might not even be aware that some of these are happening, but it will be good practice to start paying attention.

Consider Treatment

It’s not the end of the world if your teen is on drugs. It’s obviously not a good thing, but there are methods of treatment that will reverse and repair damages. Do your due diligence first, research the facility you find suitable and call them to speak with a professional for a run-down of the addiction healing process.

There’s no obligations, no fees, and all information is strictly confidential. They will help alleviate your fears and to get a game plan going. They’ve also got some pretty decent tactics for approaching your teen about treatment.

The teen years are perfect for mind molding. It’s never too late to help your teen to stop using drugs and even if they aren’t using it’s always positive to take preventative measures. Don’t worry too much, but don’t be complacent. Seek help, follow this guide and everything will turn out fine.

https://addictiontherapeuticservices.com//wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ats-300x293.png 0 0 Addiction Therapeutic Services https://addictiontherapeuticservices.com//wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ats-300x293.png Addiction Therapeutic Services2019-09-01 06:42:262019-09-04 04:04:57What To Do If Your Teen Is On Drugs

Addiction Treatment for Teens in Rancho Mirage

December 21, 2016/0 Comments/in Addiction Recovery, Adolescents, Community, Teens /by Addiction Therapeutic Services

Addiction Therapeutic Services Tailors Program for Addiction Treatment for Teens

As most of us can recall, we thought we were invincible back when we were teenagers.  Taking stupid risks while thinking we were immortal, we look back with relief that we survived our teen years.  Usually, parents had no idea the kinds of risk-seeking behaviors we might have been engaging in.

When an adolescent develops a substance use problem it may come as a complete shock to family and friends who didn’t see it coming.  Often a teen’s experimentation with drugs and alcohol is a passing phase that renders little lasting harm.  However, countless examples of a young person’s life becoming consumed and destroyed through the use of drugs are all too common.

When seeking help for an adolescent struggling with drug or alcohol abuse or addiction it is imperative to enlist treatment from a provider that specializes in teen substance disorders.  There are important differences in effective addiction treatment methods for teens versus adults.

Teen Brains are Different than Adult Brains

There are distinct differences in the brain of an adolescent compared with an adult brain.  Research from Yale University has shown that the brain releases chemicals, such as dopamine, in response to new experiences, resulting in a desire to repeat them.  Dr. R. Andrew Chambers of the Yale School of Medicine, headed up the study that showed how drugs become addictive as a result of stimulating parts of the brain that are still evolving during adolescence. ”You have a situation where the motivational brain areas are particularly active,” Dr. Chambers said, ”and the part of the brain that is supposed to inhibit impulses is not working well, because it is sort of under construction.”

So a teen who engages in recreational drug use may find his or her brain reinforcing that behavior, and that can culminate in a substance abuse problem.  This chemical response to trying novel experiences in the brain is more pronounced in teens than in adults, making them more prone to repeating dangerous behaviors.

In addition, the teen brain is still in the process of developing its executive functions.  The executive brain functions involve processing risks, planning, working memory, and impulse control.  Because the process of brain development is ongoing during the teen years, brain function hasn’t fully matured, which can lead to increased risk-taking and novelty-seeking behaviors.  Combine that with heightened emotions and impulsivity, it is clear why teens can wind up with a substance use disorder.

Addiction Treatment for Teens

With drugs and alcohol readily available to a teen motivated to experiment, it comes as no surprise that some will become addicted.  When drug or alcohol treatment is needed, a program that is tailored for young people is going to be more effective.  There are important differences that should be taken into account for treating a teen with a drug or alcohol addiction, such as:

  • Teens require more external controls and clearly delineated boundaries, so a teen recovery program should provide these constructs.
  • The teen brain will not process information like an adult brain, so recovery needs to connect emotionally for the teen, not just logically.
  • Engaging the family in the treatment process is critical, as the teen is dependent on them for financial support, transportation, and basic needs.
  • Understanding that the family dynamic may be a factor in a teen’s development of a drug or alcohol addiction if there has been abuse, trauma, family dysfunction, divorce, or neglect.
  • Peer pressure can be a factor, so helping the teen to understand the importance of distancing themselves from other teens with drug-seeking and using behaviors is crucial.

Providing a safe and supportive space to share life issues and emotional problems will enhance the addiction treatment program for teens.

Addiction Treatment for Teens in Rancho Mirage

Serving Coachella Valley, Addiction Therapeutic Services (ATS) offers adolescent treatment services specifically designed for teens with drug or alcohol use disorders.  Located at the foot of the San Jacinto Mountains in Rancho Mirage, California near Palm Desert, Indio, Cathedral City, Bermuda Dunes, and Palm Springs. ATS provides an intensive outpatient program (IOP) to help teens and their families heal in a serene and therapeutic setting.  An IOP allows for the teens to continue with their schooling while receiving the care and support needed for healing.  ATS teaches teens how to identify positive choices, how to take on life’s challenges, and how to build their self-esteem—all to aid in changing destructive patterns of behavior.  They will be counseled on how to discover meaning and purpose in their lives, how to deal with family issues such as divorce, and how to manage feelings of fear and anger.  For more information about our addiction treatment for teens, call (760) 349-7007 today.

Sources:

http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-neuroscience-of-why-teenagers-behave-the-way-they-d-1474948786

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/24/health/drug-addiction-as-a-developmental-disorder.html

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Addiction Therapeutic Services provides drug and alcohol addiction treatment to adult males and females. Most private insurance accepted.

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  • What To Do If Your Teen Is On DrugsSeptember 1, 2019 - 6:42 am
  • Parents – signs your son or daughter may need helpAugust 24, 2019 - 10:54 am
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  • Naltrexone TherapySelf MedicatingAugust 4, 2019 - 5:24 am

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