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What I Learned About Alcohol Dependency and Drug Addiction in High School

13 July 2009 No Comment

When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I took a substance abuse class. At that time period, I did not comprehend that alcohol abuse in point of fact was a sub division 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 throughout the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol rehab and the various alcohol rehab clinics that are typically available to abusive drinkers.

Some of the negative consequences related to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class without a doubt scared me. The ruined lives and countless serious issues experienced by most alcohol addicted individuals made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. More to the point, I did not want to face the disaster and ruination that alcohol addicted individuals almost always experience.

Think about this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old individual wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What teenager wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that drinking 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 an adult?

What young person wants to go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to stop drinking? Why would a person engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause difficulties 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 significant that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was completely astounding to me was the number of students who simply didn’t care about the negative consequences of hazardous drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t be bothered with the truth and how these consequences can destroy their lives. For the first time in my life I started to appreciate something that my grandfather used to emphasize throughout my younger years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.

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