Unfortunately, teen drug and alcohol abuse is now one of the most concerning health issues of the 21st. century by far. This is effectively a very, very major concern and it really has been for quite some time now. This is why it is so important to address teen drug and alcohol abuse in order for it to not get out of hand by referring your teen to a drug rehab Arlington Heights program, as soon as possible. Here’s why:
- Among the children who admitted that they had abused prescription medications of one kind or another, one in five (20 percent) has done so before the age of age 14. This means that kids are getting their hands on these types of drugs at a very, very early age. Studies further go to show that the vast majority of kids who abuse these drugs get them either from their parents’ medicine cabinet or from a friend, and not from a dealer.
- Among young adults between the age ranges of 18 to 25, monthly prescription drug abuse during 2012 was 7.3 percent, similar to the rates in 2010 and 2011 too, but growing a bit from those rates. Overall, the rate of prescription drug abuse amongst young adults aged 18 to 25 has gone up and up and up from its high rates during the years from 2003 to 2007 (ranging from 5.9 to 6.5 percent), and on up to over seven percent in 2012, and then again up to almost ten percent in 2014.
How Arlington Heights Parents Can Identify Problem Drinking in Teens and How to Deal with It
It is pretty easy to tell if a teen is drinking. There are signs of alcohol abuse, and if these signs are seen then it is likely for a parent that he or she has a family member or love one who is abusing alcohol. If young teens are abusing drugs, this is extremely bad for their growth and especially their brain. They are still developing at that age therefore need to immediately be referred to a drug rehabilitation referral in order to gain information on what drugs truly do to your body and what programs to pursue. Things that could show that alcohol was consumed would be things like:
- smelling like alcohol
- acting weird
- stumbling around
- obviously having a hangover
- disappearing a lot
- not coming home of extended periods of time
Once parents see signs like these it is important to act as quickly as is possible to do something about them. This is where serious attention and intention must be placed on the addict. One can’t be afraid or nervous to really put the effort in to take the addict to various group meetings and discussions and seek improvement from them. But before that can happen, the addict must first be confronted. There are other options for the addict such as a drug rehab Arlington Heights recovery program. This can be really, really scary and hard to do. This is a life or death matter though, so once one known that one of one’s adult friends or parents is willing to help and that one’s life literally hangs in the balance, that young addict is a lot more likely to listen to reason in the future.