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
The University of Southern California has released a study showing that people who drink to improve one’s mood are more likely to become dependent on alcohol and are more prone to depression. Using alcohol as a coping mechanism causes one to ignore what’s really going on emotionally and negative feelings can ferment, leading to depression, which usually leads to more drinking. This is especially alarming because of another recent study showing that adolescents that drink when depressed are at a higher risk of suicidal behavior.
When the alcohol and drugs are taken away from an addict or alcoholic, the negative feelings can remain. This is why I am glad I got clean in treatment because it gave me a safe place to address my depression and other issues. As I detoxed, doctors were finally able to get a better diagnosis for me, since there weren’t any drugs in me altering my mood. I learned more positive ways to deal with my depression. As I addressed the underlying issue in residential treatment, I began to find ways to deal with my feelings that didn’t involve cutting, using drugs, drinking, or my eating disorder. I learned that I couldn't always control my brain and my feelings but that I could change how I reacted to those feelings. I had to learn to take responsibility for my life and my recovery. This comprehensive approach to my situation let me leave treatment a whole person, the person I was meant to be.
The United Kingdom recently reported that the number of people admitted to treatment for cannabis addiction doubled since marijuana was downgraded from a “C status” drug to a “B status” drug. Most doctors, anti-drug campaigners, and law enforcement officials believe that this was due to the fact that people began to see the drug as less harmful since it was legal. As the legality of marijuana is beginning to be questioned again in states across the US, I believe that it is imperative that we continue to take this drug seriously. Many teens don’t think of marijuana as a big deal, but the effects of this drug can have devastating effects on a teenager’s life. When I was in my addiction, I sometimes rationalized my drug use by saying, “It’s just weed,” or, “It’s just alcohol.” Since the prevailing attitude in society is that marijuana and alcohol are socially acceptable, I didn’t think that my addiction was “bad enough” to ask for help. When you hear about addicts in school, they often highlight the heroin addict living on the street, or the PCP user who jumps out of a window because they think they can fly. They don’t talk about the teenage marijuana addict, who scrapes together enough lunch money for marijuana. They don’t talk about the feelings of desperation, isolation, and loneliness that every addict at some point feels. They don’t talk about what an oppressive force drugs- any drug- can be in your life.
Because of the attitude I had about marijuana when I was an adolescent, it took me a long time to feel like I deserved help. I made increasingly worse choices and got myself into more and more pain, and into more and more trouble. I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously because I was a teenager and I couldn’t stop smoking pot. In treatment, I learned that it doesn’t matter what kind of drugs we did. Addiction isn’t as much about the substance as it is about the feelings that drive us to use. It didn't matter what substance I used or how long I used it. The issue was that I was using an ineffective tool to help me cope with the world and I needed help learning new tools. I think that if society had taken marijuana abuse more seriously, I might have too, and I might have asked for help sooner. Today I know that no matter what substance someone abuses, they’re right to help and treatment is equal. The pain of addiction doesn’t discriminate between drugs. I am so glad that I finally reached out for help.
Jack Osbourne takes Access Hollywood on a tour of Visions Adolescent Treatment Center.
Only seven years ago, Jack Osbourne was a party animal, now a grown up Jack Osbourne cleans up his act and gives Access Hollywood a rare look at his life in drug and alcohol rehab.
Watch this clip and see how we helped Jack with his problems with alcohol, oxycontin, marijuana and vicodin, and we can help you too.
If you need treatment for yourself, or you know someone who does and need immediate answers to your questions, please call 866 889-3665.
Can partying be more damaging to girls rather than boys?
Obviously "partying" can be detrimental to both males and females but there have been studies lately that suggest that females that party have more and higher risks than males. The apparent thing that I thought of when I heard this is that females are put at risk of rape or unwanted pregnancy, but as I have learned the risks go a lot further than this. Not only do females risk the possibility of rape or unwanted pregnancy, but they also have many physiological aspects that come into play. Research done at the Duke Medical Center suggests that females metabolize alcohol differently than males. The enzyme that breaks down alcohol works differently in males and females. This causes many different risk factors for females. They can get the same effects of alcohol with a smaller amount and in a shorter period of time than a male will get with a larger amount and a longer time period. Women also experience more impairment of cognitive function and judgment as well as experiencing more severe hangovers. "Body rot", a term that is used to describe the deterioration of the body due to using drugs or alcohol, occurs more rapidly in females. Women's brains, livers and other body parts become damaged quicker than a male's. A study showed that girls with shorter histories of drinking than their male counter parts experienced more memory loss and had more difficulty reading maps, solving puzzles and comprehending lectures or instructions. Brain function declines quicker in females due to the rapid loss of brain tissue and cells. As women experience more severe affects of alcohol than men, adolescent girls experience it worse than those that are over 21 years old, which is when the brain stops developing. Women can develop eating disorders, depression, stroke, cirrhosis of the liver and damage to the heart quicker from alcohol.
We’ve all heard about the epidemic of binge drinking on college campuses across the country and the effects it can have on individual health and academic success. But what about the secondhand effects of this behavior? Much like smoking, collegiate binge drinking causes a host of secondhand problems for those that are surrounded by it.
In my freshman year of college I was on the rowing team and lived in a frat-like “team house” with my fellow rowers. Much like in a fraternity or sorority, many of my housemates and neighbors drank large quantities of alcohol after a win or on the weekends because this was the perceived college cultural norm. As it often does, this behavior caused many problems for my team as a whole including getting written-up for noise violations and being hung-over and late for practices and even races.
Unfortunately, many times it is not just those that engage in this activity that are harmed. Quite often these are the conditions under which fights, verbal and emotional abuse, and humiliating events such as hazing occur. It is also quite common, as I experienced more than a few times, to have one’s sleep disturbed by intoxicated roommates and neighbors or having to “babysit” a friend who could no longer take care of themselves.
The occurrence of ritual binge drinking has dramatic and widespread secondhand effects on both non-binge drinking individuals and college communities in general. Will this trend of binge drinking on college and university campuses continue? Unfortunately, it seems that a combination of stress, peer pressure and a cultural idea of drinking as part of the collegiate experience lead to this unhealthy and destructive phenomenon.
The DSM-IV is the diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This is a handbook, published by the American Psychiatric Association, which is used by mental health care professionals that lists different categories of mental disorders and the criteria for diagnosing them. The DSM-IV is used all around the world by clinicians, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, researchers, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and policy makers. Some criteria from the DSM-IV that may qualify someone for the disease of addiction are as follows: - You reduce or completely blow off your social, school of recreational activities. - You increase your time and energy spent on using or getting substances to use. - You have tolerance; it takes more than it used to in order to feel an effect. - You have symptoms of withdrawal (i.e. hangovers, irritability, sleeping after binges, “crashing”) - You have unsuccessful or persistent efforts to cut down or control your using, or you have consequences of using. - You use longer than you intended to of you use for a longer period of time than you intended to. - You continue to use even though you know it causes physical of psychological problems or despite knowing that it aggravates a physical of psychological problem. - You continue to use despite legal consequences. - You continue to use despite poor performance/consequences at school or work. You can have the disease of addiction with or without physiological (physical/body) dependence. This means that even if your body isn’t addicted to drugs or alcohol, you may still have the psychological dependence.
Teen addiction is generally used to make up for something that is missing or not visible in a teen’s life. It generally meets the needs of an addicted teenager who knows no other options. This could result in depression, general unhappiness, or a simple inability to deal with everyday situations that occur in real life.
Cocaine is a quite common weapon of choice for troubled/addicted teens. No matter how cocaine is taken, whether it is snorted or smoked, it is highly dangerous and in some instances has killed some users when it (cocaine) has been mixed with alcohol. Serious health problems can evolve from using cocaine such as: major heart conditions, including heart attacks, respiratory conditions, nervous system breakdowns, including strokes, as well as extreme digestive complications.
According to www.wrongdiagnosis.com 91% of hospital consultant episodes for mental and behavioral disorders due to use of cocaine required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03).
1 out of 4 Americans between the age of 26 and 34 have used cocaine in their lifetime
According to the Minnesota Institute for Public Health and Drug Resource Center, 5,000 adults in the United States try cocaine for the first time each day. (1985)-
Today it is estimated that 22 to 25 million people have tried cocaine at least once. Conservative estimates indicate that there are over two million cocaine addicts in the United States today.
Contrary to earlier belief, high dose use of cocaine can be detected as long as 10 to 22 days after last use.
Near half of all drug related emergency room visits are due to cocaine abuse.
Hopefully, if more information about cocaine addiction is voiced more extensively, it will educate the population and possibly prevent future rising statistics.
To teach at an adolescent treatment center has been such a gift to me. I have recognized my own weaknesses and strengths. The residents’ struggles remind me of my own when I was their age. Their strengths remind me to strive higher than I ever thought possible for myself and others. The adolescent years are very crucial in forming their perception towards who they are and who they choose to be. It is the time that they can recognize that they have a choice. It is their crossroad.
The lists of drugs that are available today are much more extensive than when I was in high school. During my time, it was marijuana and alcohol. Now, the kids have been introduced to a variety of pain killers, more harmful drugs such as heroin, meth, cocaine and more. I feel for these kids. They have a difficult battle to fight. I have to say, they surprise me more often than I thought with their progression towards recovery than their regression towards using.
Drug addiction and Alcoholism is a family disease. Teens that have parents who are drug addicts or alcoholics need to be particularly careful because they have a greater risk of becoming chemically dependent. One in four children will be exposed to alcoholism or drug addiction before turning eighteen. Children of alcoholics are more likely to have behavioral problems, lower IQ’s, and to inherit the disease of alcoholism.
Teens with alcoholic parents are genetically prone to alcoholism. That means that if a teen knows they are predisposed to alcoholism they need to stay away from alcohol and drugs at all costs. But these teens are in a catch 22. They have most likely witnessed their parents consume alcohol or do drugs many times making it seem normal. This makes teens with alcoholic or drug addicted parent more likely to drink and suffer the cost if they are an addict/alcoholic. All teens need to try to avoid drugs and alcohol but teens with chemically dependent parents need to be particularly aware of the risks involved in drinking and using drugs.
Zippers are a new trend in the teen drinking world. They are individual gelatin shots that have the same appearance as the Jell-O snacks that teens often bring to school. Although zippers are 24-proof (12% alcohol by volume) they come in packaging that seems as if it is marketed to teens or younger children. This makes it very easy for teens to sneak zippers into school with them.
Zippers are manufactured by Zippers Co. of the Netherlands. The idea is to capitalize on the homemade Jell-O shots that have become so popular in recent years. Zippers come packaged in the same way as common children’s snacks like Jell-O and pudding. The lid has a warning label that alcohol is in the product, but when the lid is removed it is impossible to tell the difference between Zippers and their non-alcoholic twin Jell-O if you are just looking at them. When the lid is removed the only way to differentiate a Zipper from Jell-O is to eat it.
Many teens today are using these unsuspecting drinks to consume alcohol right under the noses of their parents and teachers. Because teachers can not tell the difference between Zippers and Jell-O, teens are bringing them into school lunchrooms. Parents and schools need to be aware of these new alcoholic beverages because they are easy to miss.
VISIONS ADOLESCENT TREATMENT CENTERS Personalized programs dedicated to helping youth and their families recover from the destructive effects of substance and other behavior related problems. (866) 889-3665
