What I Learned About Drug Addiction and Alcoholism in High School

When I was a sophomore in high school, I enrolled into a drug abuse class. At that time, I did not realize that alcohol abuse in truth was a sub division of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and particularly 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 through the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol treatment and the different alcohol rehab facilities that are normally available to people who engage in abusive drinking.

Damaging End Results That are Associated With Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse

Some of the harmful consequences linked to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class without a doubt scared me. The ruined lives and many serious issues experienced by most alcohol dependent people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. In short, I did not want to face the damage and destruction that alcohol dependent people almost always go through.

Think about this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old teenager 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 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 an adult?

What adolescent wants to encounter alcohol withdrawals 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 a person has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would an adolescent want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that centers on abusive drinking?

These issues were so noteworthy that I talked about some of them in class throughout the school year. What was absolutely amazing to me was the number of students who essentially didn’t care about the detrimental results of hazardous drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t care less about the truth and how these results can destroy their lives. For the first time in my life I started to grasp something that my grandfather used to say to me throughout my youth: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

It’s Liberating, Beneficial, and Important to Stay Away From the Unhealthy and Damaging End Results of Alcohol and Drug Abuse

And even at my young age, I also started to realize how invigorating, important, and beneficial it is in life to stay away from the debilitating and unhealthy outcomes of alcohol and drug abuse.