What I Learned About Alcohol and Drug Abuse in High School
When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I took a substance abuse class. At that time, I did not grasp the fact that alcohol abuse in reality was a sub division of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and especially 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 rehab and the various alcohol rehab facilities that are typically available to people who engage in heavy drinking.
Harmful Consequences That are Linked to Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
Some of the harmful end results correlated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class absolutely worried me. The ruined lives and countless serious issues experienced by most alcohol dependent individuals made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. That is, 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 young person wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that ingesting alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What teen 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 adolescent wants to encounter alcohol withdrawals when he or she tries to quit drinking? Why would an individual 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 an individual has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would an adolescent want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that revolves around abusive drinking?
These issues were so meaningful that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was utterly amazing to me was the number of students who simply didn’t care about the harmful effects of irresponsible drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t be troubled with reality and how these effects can destroy their lives. For the first time in my life I started to understand a saying that my grandfather used to emphasize throughout my teen and pre-teen years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.
It’s Important, Liberating, and Beneficial to Remove Yourself From the Unhealthy and Destructive Effects of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
And even at my young age, I also began to comprehend how beneficial, enlivening, and important it is in life to keep yourself from the destructive and unhealthy outcomes of alcohol and drug abuse.