What I Learned About Drug Addiction and Alcohol Dependency in High School
When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I took a drug abuse class. At that time period, I did not comprehend that alcohol abuse in reality was a sub classification of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and above all 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 over the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol rehabilitation and the different alcohol rehab clinics that are frequently available to people who engage in hazardous drinking.
Detrimental Consequences That are Linked to Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse
Some of the injurious consequences associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class definitely scared me. The ruined lives and frequent difficulties experienced by most alcohol addicted individuals made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. Stated differently, I did not want to face the wreckage and devastation that alcohol dependent individuals almost always experience.
Reflect on this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old individual 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 drinking 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 an adult?
What young person wants to go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to stop drinking? Why would a person engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause difficulties in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after a person 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 centers on excessive drinking?
These issues were so significant that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was totally inconceivable to me was the number of students who openly didn’t care about the injurious effects of hazardous drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t be bothered with the truth and how these consequences can demolish their lives. For the first time in my life I started to understand something that my grandfather used to tell me throughout my adolesence: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.
It’s Invigorating, Important, and Beneficial to Stay Away From the Unhealthy and Damaging Results of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
And even at my young age, I also started to realize how liberating, beneficial, and important it is in life to keep yourself from the debilitating and unhealthy consequences of alcohol and drug abuse.