What I learned About Alcoholism and Drug Abuse in High School
When I was a sophomore in high school, I took a drug abuse class. At that time period, I did not grasp the fact 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 individuals throughout the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol rehab and the various alcohol rehab facilities that are usually available to individuals who engage in heavy drinking.
Injurious Consequences That are Related to Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
Some of the injurious end results linked to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class certainly frightened me. The ruined lives and abundant serious issues experienced by most alcohol addicted 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 ruination that alcohol dependent people almost always encounter.
Reflect on this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old individual wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What adolescent wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that consuming 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 issues before he or she becomes twenty-one?
What adolescent wants to experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to stop 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 a young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that revolves around irresponsible drinking?
These issues were so noteworthy that I talked about some of them in class throughout the school year. What was totally astonishing to me was the number of students who openly didn’t care about the injurious consequences of excessive drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t be troubled with the truth and how these effects can destroy their lives. For the first time in my life I started to understand something that my grandfather used to emphasize all through my youth: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
It’s Beneficial, Important, and Liberating to Keep Away From the Debilitating and Unhealthy Outcomes of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
And even at my young age, I also started to realize how liberating, beneficial, and important it is in life to remove yourself from the unhealthy and debilitating consequences of drug and alcohol abuse.