Parents Often Miss Signs of Teen Drug Abuse
It’s easy for parents to miss the signs when their teens start abusing drugs. The teen years are typically a time of increased independence. Teens spend more time with their peers than their families. Teens spend less time at home, their days filled with school, sports, lessons, club meetings, play practice and a host of other activities. When teens are home, they’re usually in their rooms, the door firmly shut, listening to music, texting friends, talking on their cells, surfing Facebook or (hopefully) doing homework.
Parents generally feel that teens have earned their extra independence. With younger children and job demands monopolizing their attention, parents are usually happy to provide teens that extra independence. Impressed by their children’s maturity in some areas, they may not tune in soon enough when lack of experience or a poor decision threatens to overwhelm their child. Teens often start abusing drugs at parties or when they’re out with friends. Teens are curious, they like to experiment, some enjoy the thrill of pushing the limits, others don’t want to look “uncool” in front of their friends and give in to peer pressure. However it happens, that first experimental “taste” can turn into regular drug use and eventually abuse and addiction.
Teens are often secretive and most don’t want to disappoint their parents. If they start using drugs, they often make the mistake of thinking they can handle it and fail to ask for help until it’s too late. Parents who feel their teen is entitled to some privacy, may not realize he is abusing drugs behind the locked door of his bedroom. Between the normal tension that plagues parent/teen relationships and modern American family dynamics, teen drug abuse often slips through the cracks until it reaches a crisis point.
Part of the problem is that teens do not respond to drugs the way adults do. Their bodies and brains are still developing and their body chemicals are in a constant state of turmoil. It makes teens more susceptible to drug addiction. Teens can become addicted to many drugs much faster and with less exposure than adults. Co-occurring problems like eating disorders, depression, anxiety, trauma and abuse are often present among teens who abuse drugs and can complicate diagnosis and treatment.
If you are concerned about your teen and are afraid that he may be abusing drugs, you can find excellent information about addictive drugs and symptoms of drug abuse on the Transitions Recovery Program website. Talk to one of our experienced addiction counselors about treatment programs. Transitions Recovery is among an elite group of treatment facilities dually licensed to treat drug abuse and co-occurring conditions. Call us today and get your teen started on the road to recovery.
