What I Learned About Alcohol Dependency and Drug Abuse in High School
When I was a sophomore in high school, I enrolled into a substance abuse class. At that time, I did not understand that alcohol abuse actually was a sub classification 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 throughout the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol rehab and the various alcohol rehab clinics that are repeatedly available to people who engage in heavy drinking.
Detrimental End Results That are Linked to Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse
Some of the dangerous outcomes related to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class absolutely worried me. The ruined lives and abundant problems experienced by most alcoholics made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. Stated differently, I did not want to face the disaster and ruination that alcohol addicted individuals almost always encounter.
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 adolescent wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related problems before he or she becomes twenty-one?
What youth wants to go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to stop drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause serious issues in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after an individual has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would a teenager want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that focuses on excessive drinking?
These issues were so meaningful that I discussed some of them in class during the school year. What was absolutely unbelievable to me was the number of students who essentially didn’t care about the injurious outcomes of irresponsible drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t be bothered with the facts and how these outcomes can wreck their lives. For the first time in my life I started to appreciate something that my grandfather used to say to me all through my youth: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.
It’s Liberating, Important, and Beneficial to Remove Yourself From the Unhealthy and Debilitating Results of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
And even at my young age, I also began to understand how important, energizing, and beneficial it is in life to remove yourself from the damaging and unhealthy consequences of alcohol and drug abuse.