What I Learned About Alcohol and Drug Abuse in High School

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What I Learned About Alcohol and Drug Abuse in High School

Friday, April 17th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I took a substance abuse class. At that age, I did not comprehend 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, 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 all over the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol treatment and the different alcohol rehab that are habitually available to abusive drinkers.

Some of the damaging consequences related to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class undeniably alarmed 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.

Let this sink in for a moment. What fifteen-year-old person 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 drinking 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 problems before he or she becomes an adult?

What teenager wants to go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to quit drinking? Why would a person 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 centers on abusive drinking?

These issues were so important that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was totally unbelievable to me was the number of students who openly didn’t care about the negative consequences of irresponsible drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t care less about the truth and how these consequences can ruin their lives. For the first time in my life I started to figure out a saying 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.

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