What I Learned About Drug Abuse and Alcoholism in High School
When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I took a drug abuse class. At that time, I did not realize that alcohol abuse in point of fact 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 different alcohol rehab clinics that are normally available to individuals who engage in excessive drinking.
Detrimental Outcomes That are Related to Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
Some of the damaging end results linked to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class without a doubt frightened me. The ruined lives and frequent serious issues experienced by most alcohol dependent people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. That is, I did not want to face the disaster and devastation that alcohol dependent people 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 consuming alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What young person wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related difficulties before he or she becomes twenty-one?
What young person wants to experience alcohol withdrawals when he or she tries to quit 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 teenager want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that revolves around irresponsible drinking?
These issues were so important that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was completely incredible to me was the number of students who essentially didn’t care about the damaging outcomes of hazardous drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t be bothered with reality and how these results can demolish their lives. For the first time in my life I started to grasp something that my grandfather used to tell me all through my youth: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
It’s Important, Beneficial, and Enlivening to Remove Yourself From the Debilitating and Unhealthy Outcomes of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
And even at my young age, I also began to understand how beneficial, important, and energizing it is in life to keep yourself from the debilitating and unhealthy results of alcohol and drug abuse.