The effective treatment of adolescents with substance abuse and behavioral disorders requires an approach that includes attention to every aspect of a young person’s life. We see every individual as a whole being. In addition to fully understanding the emotional, developmental, physical, psychological, familial, social and cultural factors, there must be appropriate resources in place to address these issues. Need help? Contact Us Today! (866) 889-3665
Last night in Santa Monica I helped a friend of mine celebrate a year clean at an AA meeting. After leaving adolescent Drug Treatment and acquiring more clean time, I’ve had the opportunity to work with new kids at Visions as a sponsor. It’s the most fulfilling part of my week. Since someone spent time coming out there to work with me when I was a resident, it feels really good to be able to do it for someone else. Sponsorship is awesome because unlike the staff, my sponsor wasn't paid to come work with me. They were there because they wanted to do it, and that made me feel really good. Building a relationship with my sponsor also eased my transition out of drug treatment and into the world. My sponsor was my first connection to real recovery outside of treatment. Working with Visions Adolescent Treatment Center residents now reminds me of where I came from and of all of the work it takes to power through early sobriety. Working with them keeps me grounded and grateful for the program.
When the girl I used to work with at Visions celebrated a year last night, I was thrilled. It is so amazing to watch someone grow and change in such a short amount of time. I am immensely proud of her. It reminds me that no matter how I feel and what’s going on in my own life, I can have a higher purpose in life: to help other people. When I was using, I never thought of anyone but myself, so having the chance to care about other people and show up for them is the best feeling in the world. Visions Santa Monica outpatient program gave me a lot of tools to stay clean outside of treatment, one of which was access to an AA or NA sponsor. My sponsor was my lifeline when I left treatment for teens. I felt so nervous leaving the safety of treatment but my sponsor helped me get plugged right into the recovery fellowship. I am grateful to my sponsor and to Visions for helping me, and now I have a chance to help others.
Nearly one in five kids admitted to adolescent Drug Treatment has abused inhalants by the time they reach seventh grade. There are more than 1,000 products that are dangerous when inhaled, such as paint thinner, spray paint, nitrous from whipped cream (think Redi-Whip), or correctional fluid, to name a few. The user can become high, dizzy, nauseous, less inhibited, unconscious…or they can die. Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome can kill a user even the first time they abuse inhalants.
According to the National Inhalants Prevention Coalition, signs of inhalant abuse include:
-Paint or stains on mouth, fingers and/or clothing
-Spots or sores around mouth
-Red or runny eyes and nose
-Chemical breath
-Drunk, dizzy, or disoriented behavior
-Nausea or vomiting
-Loss of appetite
-Anxiety, excitability, or irritability
Talk to your child about the extreme dangers of inhalant abuse, and keep potentially abused products away from all children and teens. Inhalant abuse is as serious and deadly as any other drug and deserves the same amount of attention.
If you think your teen is abusing inhalants, don’t hesitate to contact us today by clicking here adolescent drug treatment.
Last night I spoke at a 12-step meeting at Visions adolescent treatment center and it really reminded me of how grateful I am for my recovery and how far I’ve actually come. When it was first proposed to me that I go into drug treatment as a teenager, I was extremely angry and fearful. I tried to bargain with my parents and the rehab to either get out early or not go at all. I tried to downplay my using and accused my parents of overreacting to my drug use. The fact of the matter was that I was desperately out of control but was terrified of change. I felt like my parents had betrayed me and I was so mean to them. Thankfully my parents didn’t back down and I was left to figure it out in adolescent drug treatment. Being in treatment didn’t make all of my problems go away, but it did give me tools to help face my problems effectively, rather than let them destroy me. When I came back home after rehab, my parents were still suspicious of me. At first I was deeply offended that no one believed me or trusted me. I was clean! I talked about it with my sponsor and at outpatient treatment program. If I could really get honest with myself and take personal responsibility for the way my actions had affected my family, I had to give them a break. I would have to show them they could trust me. My word wasn’t very reliable after all that I’d put them through.
Even after having a few years clean, we still run into conflict occasionally, but who doesn’t? Sometimes when I am having a hard time, I feel like my parents still worry about me. I have to remember that only I know what is going on in my head, and their worrying about me is only because they care. Ultimately, the trust and open communication that has been reestablished between me and my parents is awesome. It all stemmed from that first gesture of me reluctantly attending treatment. I put in the work to get better, and my parents took advantage of family groups to help on their end. Every year my family and I celebrate my sobriety together. While I can’t take back what happened when I was younger, I can remain clean and give back to them. After all, by making me go into adolescent residential treatment, as hard as that decision was, they ultimately helped save my life, and that’s a reason to celebrate.
If you are from Marin or another northern California area and worried that your teen has a drug or alcohol problem, please don’t hesitate to contact us. As difficult as it is now, the future can be amazing. please click here my parents helped save my life.
Some signs of teen drug use may look exactly like a teen being a teen- mood swings, changes in sleep patterns, irritability- but multiple factors may indicate a drug problem. Here are some of the signs that eventually gave me away when I was using drugs and alcohol as an adolescent:
Secrecy. Most of my behaviors stemmed from a stronger and stronger need for secrecy. While most teens want privacy, teens who are using drugs seem to often take this to the extreme. My friends and I thought we were very clever, talking in code on the phone or online, and creating elaborate systems to hide drugs. Part of the fun of drug use for me was the ritual of secrecy: hiding the drugs/paraphernalia, doing the drugs without getting caught, and covering up the smells and effects. I became more secretive about who I was hanging out with too. I stopped hanging out with my long time friends and started hanging out with kids that used. I didn’t want my parents to meet them or have any part of my new life. I was fiercely protective of my new world.
The funny thing about teens with drug problems is that we often do things that give ourselves away, despite our claims of wanting privacy. It didn’t make sense that I thought I wanted to keep my drug use a secret, yet drew pot leaves on my shoes and backpack. The thing I’ve noticed with drug addicts is that if we think we are being clever about something, we often want someone to know about it. I am surprised at how long it took before anyone noticed I was using. My clothes began to reflect my lifestyle. I took less pride in my appearance. I wanted my peers to know I used. I left a lighter out. To cover up the smell of pot smoke, I kept dryer sheets stuffed in a toilet paper roll. I burned incense. I frequently burned my thumb or had black marks on my hands from a pipe. I kept Visine in my pocket. I blamed my behavior and appearance on being tired, having allergies, or having food poisoning. The more I used and the more I tried to keep my using a secret, the more apparent my drug use became. I couldn’t remember the series of lies I told each day. My parents caught me in a lie every day. I could rarely account for my whereabouts and when challenged, would get really angry and defensive. Finally, my parents convinced me to submit to a drug test. It was a very long and painful night for all of us. I was furious because I felt that my world had fallen apart, and they were so scared for me.
After adolescent Drug Treatment, my appearance calmed down quite a bit. I stopped being so secretive about my friends and my plans because I didn’t have anything to hide. My relationship with my family improved greatly because I wasn’t lying and sneaking around. It took a long time to regain my parents trust after treatment. I learned that I couldn’t tell them to trust me, I had to show them I could be trusted. I had to be patient. Again, just as when I was using, actions speak louder than words.
For more information about treatment just outside Irvine, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach or The greater Orange County area. please click here teen drug treatment.
At Visions Adolescent Treatment Center in Malibu we talk about trust between parents and teens being extremely important , and the question of whether or not to snoop in your teen’s room is a delicate one. In my experience as a teen addict, I feel that after a certain point, my parents had every right to snoop in my room- I had broken their trust and was engaging in behaviors that were dangerous to me and others. I feel that as soon as I demonstrated suspicious behaviors, like my dramatic mood change, not coming home at night, and a severe drop in my academic performance, their decision to snoop in my room may have saved my life. At the time, I was furious, and why wouldn’t I be? I threw tantrums about my right to privacy and became increasingly sneaky. I was trying to protect my private using world. The idea that it would be taken away terrified me. I did not believe that I could live or be happy without drugs. The problem was that I wasn’t happy with drugs either. My parents found paraphernalia in my room one day while I was out with my friends and later confronted me about it. At the time I was furious and told them I could never trust them again. Big deal. They had no reason to trust me anymore.
I know it must have been hard for my parents to act in a way that made me react so violently, and to take the abuse I was aiming at them. I know now that they made the decision to search my room because they were very afraid for me. Even after they sent me to treatment, I felt very angry at my parents. I felt like I’d been tricked into treatment and I let them know how angry I was at every possible opportunity. I was not nice about it. I tried every manipulative trick I had left to get them to let me leave treatment and come home. The truth is that I was terrified of the new life that lay ahead of me- a life without using, a life full of feelings and reality. My parents, thank goodness, let me throw my tantrums and left me in treatment. I know now that it was incredibly hard for them too.
Over time, I began to calm down and be honest with myself. My life using drugs was miserable, and I was afraid of being even more miserable without drugs. As time passed in treatment, I started to recognize the feelings and fears that led me to use, and learned new ways of dealing with my feelings. My parents got support too. Together, we began to mend our relationship. Once I was finally able to be honest with myself about my behavior and my using and drinking, I could see that my parents were helping me, not hurting me. I wasn’t a victim- I had gotten myself there and I was lucky to have parents that cared enough about me that they would endure my anger and find help for me. I wish that I hadn’t put my parents through all of that, but what I can do today is stay clean and never make them have to go through that mess again. It is my living amends to them. I feel like unwarranted snooping in a teen’s room can break down trust, but in my case, where I had already been showing warning signs of drug and alcohol abuse, my parents’ choice to search my room may have eventually saved my life.
Michael Jackson passed away this afternoon in LA after suffering a cardiac arrest. You have to wonder what led to this tragic end for the King of Pop. I know that his weight has dropped dramatically over the last few years and because of his enormous sense of privacy, one can only speculate what could have happened. Poor Michael Jackson. I know that many things can lead to cardiac arrest. It is one of the biggest risk factors of the two things that plagued my own young life: drug abuse and eating disorders.
Perhaps it’s unfair or too cynical to conclude that Jackson’s end may have been the final result of a lifestyle of damaging weight loss and/or drug abuse, but celebrity deaths can sometimes help to bring attention to the huge risks that lie in dangerous lifestyles. His repeated cosmetic surgeries make me wonder how unhappy he might have been with himself. I hope that Jackson’s death wasn’t the end result of an eating disorder or drug abuse. That would mean he had been miserable for years, and I pity anyone- celebrity or not- who has to endure that kind of pain. I hope that his kids will be okay, and that his family can have some peace. Rest in peace Michael.
A 20-year study has concluded that abstinence from alcohol rather than controlled drinking has proven to be the most beneficial method of recovery for alcoholics. It makes sense to me. When I first entered adolescent drug rehab, it made sense to me that I should probably stop using drugs, but alcohol? I wasn’t even old enough to drink legally. I wondered what I would do when I went to college, or turned 21, or got married. What would I drink on New Year’s Eve? How would I ever have a normal life? Some of my friends and family shared similar concerns. Not even a glass of wine at dinner? None of Nana's famous eggnog? The decision to remain completely abstinent from alcohol and drugs was made after I realized in adolescent drug treatment that it didn’t matter what the substance was. If everything was taken away from me, I got creative and abused over-the-counter medications and inhalants that I could find around the house. If left to my own devices, I found myself taking heroin and nearly dying.
Understanding the root of my addiction helps me to make the decision to remain abstinent one day at a time. I know that if I were to drink, all of the work I’ve done will go out the window, and let me tell you- that work was painful and difficult, so I’m not going to just toss my progress away! It is rare that I encounter a situation where I feel like I wish I was drinking. In my age group now, my peers in Manhattan Beach still like to binge drink, and that never looks good to me. I don’t want to puke on my shoes anymore, you know? In day to day life, I feel proud of my teen recovery. I don’t tell everyone I know about it. Many people think that maybe what I went through was just a phase and that I’m being dramatic. It doesn’t matter what they think. I learned in teen drug treatment to put my recovery first, no matter what. I have watched peers relapse and end up worse than when they started, and I don’t want to trade the life I have now for a life of shame, guilt, and puking on my shoes.
I don’t worry anymore about what my life will be like without alcohol. I worry about what it would be like with alcohol. I continue to take the steps to protect my sobriety that I learned in adolescent rehab. I stay connected with my support group. I attend 12-step meetings. I don’t spend an unnecessary amount of time around alcohol and I don’t hang out with people who are using drugs. Sometimes these decisions make me feel awkward, but I can deal with awkward. I will take awkward any day over the despair and hopelessness I felt when I was drinking and using. Teen drug and alcohol treatment gave me an opportunity to honestly look at the destructive force drugs and alcohol were in my life, and showed me a new way to live, one day at a time.
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