What I Learned About Drug Addiction and Alcoholism in High School

When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I registered for a drug abuse class. At that time period, I did not understand that alcohol abuse actually was a sub classification of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and above all 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 individuals all through the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol rehab and the different alcohol rehab clinics that are often available to individuals who engage in excessive drinking.

Damaging Results That are Linked to Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse

Some of the injurious consequences related to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class definitely startled me. The ruined lives and frequent problems experienced by most alcoholics made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. That is, I did not want to face the damage and devastation that alcohol dependent individuals almost always go through.

Let this sink in for a moment. What fifteen-year-old person wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What adolescent wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that ingesting alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What teenager wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related difficulties before he or she becomes an adult?

What young person wants to deal with 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 serious issues 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 a teenager want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that focuses on hazardous drinking?

These issues were so noteworthy that I talked about some of them in class during the school year. What was utterly astounding to me was the number of students who openly didn’t care about the harmful results of excessive drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t be troubled with the facts and how these outcomes can demolish their lives. For the first time in my life I started to understand 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.

It’s Important, Beneficial, and Enlivening to Keep Yourself From the Unhealthy and Debilitating End Results of Drug and Alcohol Abuse

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