My High School Alcohol and Drug Abuse Class

When I was a sophomore in high school, I registered for a substance abuse class. At that time period, I did not realize that alcohol abuse in truth was a sub category 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 people all over the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol rehabilitation and the various alcohol rehab clinics that are often available to individuals who engage in excessive drinking.

Injurious Results That are Associated With Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse

Some of the dangerous outcomes associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class certainly frightened me. The ruined lives and countless difficulties experienced by most alcohol addicted people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. More to the point, I did not want to face the damage and ruination that alcohol addicted individuals almost always encounter.

Ponder upon this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old individual wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What teenager wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that consuming alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What teenager 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 teenager wants to go through alcohol withdrawals 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 an individual has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would a young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that focuses on abusive drinking?

These issues were so noteworthy that I talked about some of them in class during the school year. What was absolutely unbelievable to me was the number of students who openly didn’t care about the detrimental outcomes of hazardous drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t be troubled with the facts and how these consequences can wreck their lives. For the first time in my life I started to grasp something that my grandfather used to say to me throughout my younger years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

It’s Beneficial, Liberating, and Important to Remove Yourself From the Destructive and Unhealthy Effects of Drug and Alcohol Abuse

And even at my young age, I also began to comprehend how beneficial, important, and energizing it is in life to keep away from the damaging and unhealthy outcomes of drug and alcohol abuse.