Art Therapy For Teenagers

While in recovery, I've learned how to talk about how I am feeling. I've learned all the tools, how to talk, and what to do. Sometimes even when I talk about how I feel, there is still something in me that needs to physically get out. When I was using I wouldn’t talk about anything. I would stuff down all my emotion with negative coping mechanisms. I would either use, cause chaos, or literally run away from problems. I didn’t know how to let go of the physical strain I was going through. Recovery has taught me healthy ways to physically let go of emotion. One of these ways is art therapy.
When I am in a depressing mood I will play my guitar and write a song. When I’m angry I’ll draw. When I’m bored or feeling sorry for myself I’ll make a collage or a card for someone. Art is the most expressive thing I know. It feels so good to be able to let everything just slide off me and into this creative emotion filled entity. I can just sit in my room for hours, expressing myself with art, getting lost in it all. By the time I finish, I realize that I hadn’t once thought about using drugs or alcohol. It gives me a sense of fulfillment. I had been able to work through the issue without feeling the need to resort to havoc.
Sometimes my best friend will come to my house and we will express ourselves with art together. It creates and environment where we can focus and talk about what is on our minds. It has helped me in recovery when just talking about what’s on my mind wouldn’t completely help. Today I make it a habit to do art. Everyday I make sure I am physically expressing myself with creativity. Whether it be poetry, music, sculpture, etc. I do it. Art has been a huge outlet for me and for others to help keep clean and sober.

Finding Recovery In a Safe Place

Learning that your teen has a drug problem can be a very scary experience. Many parents in Dallas wonder what to do. An adolescent drug treatment program may be the solution. Treatment offers a safe and supportive environment for your Child to get off of drugs and to learn tools and gain the faith to stay off of drugs. Our staff- many of them recovering addicts themselves- work with your son or daughter to provide a compassionate and therapeutic environment conducive to recovery.

Many parents worry about sending their children away. One of the most important advantages of residential treatment for families from Dallas is that teens are put in a situation free of distraction- where recovery is their number one priority. Teens begin the difficult healing process in a safe place. Since everything we do is geared towards recovery, they will be offered opportunities for growth around every corner. Our clinical staff works with both teens and families to repair and strengthen relationships damaged by drug use, co-occuring behaviors and to help craft an exit plan for your child that will aid in continued sobriety. Deciding to send your teen treatment can be one of the most difficult decisions you have to make. You don’t have to do it alone.

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Finding Balance in recovery

Sometimes I feel lonely being the only person at my work or from my school friends who doesn’t drink or do drugs. Last night a bunch of kids from my school had a party and I wasn’t invited because I don’t drink. I guess some of my “normal” friends are afraid to drink around me because they think I’m going to go crazy and just grab the alcohol away from them and start chugging away. I know my limits these days, about what kind of situations I can put myself into, for how long, and how often. Being around alcohol now doesn’t really bother me because I have made a decision in my life to not drink or use. Over time in my recovery, it has become second nature. It’s just not something I do. This isn’t to say I spend all of my free time at raging keggers or raves- I have a deep involvement with a 12-step program and spend most of my time with my recovery friends mostly because we just get each other. I guess I just had a little flash of that loneliness I used to feel in early recovery when I really did have to cut myself off from people who drank or did drugs. It was a necessary precaution. As time has gone on, I feel more and more solid in my recovery identity and the occasional party where alcohol is being served doesn’t trigger me to use.
Finding a balance between my recovery life and my school or work life has been a challenge. If I spend too much time immersed in my recovery world, I miss out on other relationships and experiences. I don’t want to become a recovery zombie. On the other hand, I can’t devote all of my time to school and work. If I do that, I can easily lose focus on what is important, like my sobriety. I learned early on in adolescent treatment that if I don’t put my recovery first, I will lose it. Sometimes it has been hard to put it first when I see my peer group at school in Los Angeles going out drinking together. Sometimes I feel left out, but when I really think about it, nothing is as important as my recovery. When I feel left out or like someone my age should be out drinking and having fun, I have to remember where drinking took me, and all of the painful work I had to do to get where I am today. I may not have been invited to the party, but I have grown more in my early adult years than any of my work and school friends. I wouldn’t trade who I am or what I’ve been through for the world. I have very good friends in recovery and from my treatment center that love me and support me in my growth, and who will be there for me though all of life’s ups and downs. When I made the decision to go ahead and give rehab and recovery a shot, I lost my old life, but gained a new one that is better than I could have ever hoped for. So even though I felt kind of bummed out this weekend about not being invited to the stupid party, I ultimately feel grateful for the life that treatment helped me find.

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Denial Acronym For Don’t Even Notice I Am Lying

Denial

I do not think that one addict can honestly say that they have not dealt with denial in some way, shape or form. For that matter I think that every human being has probably found themselves in some form of denial at some point in time. However, addicts take denial to an extreme where it endangers their and their families and friends mental health and stability. For the addict it may even result in death.

Denial can be defined as a refusal to acknowledge or accept reality or what is true. Addicts use denial as a defense mechanism and in many cases denial runs so deep that the addict is unaware that they are using it. I have heard that denial is the acronym for “don’t even notice I am lying”. In addictions people will use denial because they do not want to feel helpless or out of control. They will also use denial for fear of losing the drink or drug which is usually their best solution to life’s problems. Step 1 of the twelve steps states that “We admit we are powerless over our addiction and our lives had become unmanageable”. As you can see step one directly deals with breaking through denial. Step 1 calls for addicts to admit that they have a problem with substances and because of that problem their lives have become chaotic and unpleasant. Denial includes such behaviors as projection, rationalization, intellectualization, minimization, suppression, withdrawing, and using geographic escapes. Denial shows up as the primary psychological symptom of addiction, they go hand in hand with one another. This makes sense considering that someone would use no defense if there were in fact nothing to defend. There are two types of denial that we see in addicts, the first appears as a way to not address the problem while using, the second comes when we deny or ignore things that we know are true while in recovery. This commonly includes examples such as “I can hang out with my using friends, I just won’t use.”, or “I can drink alcohol, drugs were my problem.” Or even “It takes more self control to have one glass of wine rather than abstain from everything all the time.”. We can bust the voice of denial by telling others our thoughts and listening to their reaction, if more than a couple people do not think that it is a good idea, it probably isn’t. They say that sharing our thoughts out loud takes the power out of them. We can also call our sponsor, go to a meeting or pray for clarity and guidance.

Need Some Guidance?

I was a teenager in Jesus America

I grew up in Jesus, America. It was perfect if you wanted to drink beer and watch football, but as for great live music, my friends and I suffered. Don’t get me wrong, The Flaming Lips are fantastic, but they didn’t count. They lived downtown. We needed someone, anyone to bring it on down home and rarely, if ever did it happen. I made a promise to myself during those years that if I ever had the opportunity to see my heroes on a regular basis that I would let nothing stand in my way. When I moved to Los Angeles in 2001, I was ecstatic. Every Thursday the Weekly would have pages and pages of new show announcements. What a world I would create!

Fast-forward 3 years and I was bottoming out in the big ‘ol city barely hanging on to my sanity and sleeping mostly in my car. The party was over. Thankfully, I was able to admit that it was over and through the 12 steps I got sober. One of the many uncountable gifts of my recovery is that after all these years I am able to finally see those musicians I used to play air-guitar to in my bedroom. I know it seems small, but its my favorite thing. Some people knit afghans. I love live music. Thanks Bill W.

Crystal Meth Popular Among Teens

Crystal Meth has become one of the most popular street drugs among teens today. It is inexpensive and easy to make. Made with over the counter products, crystal Meth is manufactured in street laboratories. Because it is so easy to make and inexpensive, it has the potential for widespread teen abuse. Crystal Meth is extremely dangerous to make. Manufacturing the drug can result in fires and explosions. According to the DEA, in 2004 27 people died in Meth lab accidents. Three of which were children. Crystal Meth has also been referred to as Ice,Meth "glass" and just Crystal. It is an odorless crystalline powder that is bitter-tasting and dissolves in water and alcohol. Side effects for teenagers on Meth can include but are not limited to loss of appetite and increase in activity. The effects can last anywhere from 6 to 8 hours. After the initial "high" or "rush" coming down from Meth can bring a state of high agitation and in some cases violent behavior. Long term side effects of use cam also include insomnia, seizures, brain damage, uncontrollable anxiety or rage, stroke, twitching, impaired speech, malnutrition and eventually possible death. Research into teen Meth addiction and the process of recovery from Crystal Meth has proved to have many components. Not only does the teen addict need to recover physically, but emotionally, mentally and physically as well. Twelve step recovery programs prove to be key elements in recovering from addiction to teen Crystal Meth addiction.

Teenagers Recovering from Addiction

Adolescents entering early recovery (0-9 months) should attend regular young peoples alcoholics anonymous and young peoples narcotics anonymous 12 step support groups. Young people support groups meet the needs for adolescents struggling to find acceptance, direction and understanding during the early stages of recovery. Adolescents should always be monitored by responsible adults while attending 12 step related recovery groups.