When I was a sophomore in high school, I registered for a substance abuse class. At that age, 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 especially 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 commonly available to people who engage in excessive drinking.
Injurious Effects That are Related to Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse
Some of the detrimental end results linked to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class certainly worried me. The ruined lives and numerous serious issues experienced by most alcoholics made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. More to the point, I did not want to face the damage and devastation that alcohol dependent people almost always encounter.
Ponder upon 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 drinking alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What young person wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related issues before he or she becomes twenty-one?
What adolescent wants to go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to quit 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 a young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that revolves around abusive drinking?
These issues were so significant that I discussed some of them in class during the school year. What was totally incredible to me was the number of students who simply didn’t care about the harmful consequences of irresponsible drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t care less about the truth and how these effects can wreck their lives. For the first time in my life I started to understand something that my grandfather used to emphasize throughout my adolesence: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.
It’s Liberating, Beneficial, and Important to Keep Yourself From the Damaging and Unhealthy End Results of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
And even at my young age, I also started to understand how important, beneficial, and enlivening it is in life to keep yourself from the unhealthy and debilitating end results of alcohol and drug abuse. And comprehending this also led to some commitment issues, conflict, and communication problems in the friendships and relationships I established in high school.