With October being National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, our Southeast Addiction TN Center team would like to share the top 5 tips to prevent addiction in our youth with you.
While it isn’t likely that we will ever be able to prevent addiction in every single person, hopefully, by using these tips, it will make a huge difference in our younger generations.
If you have younger people in your life who are already abusing harmful substances, our Southeast Addiction TN Center team has addiction treatments to help them get their life back under control.
Handling Peer Pressure
Peer pressure is one of the biggest issues revolving around our youth. It has been that way for a long time. Unfortunately, there are some teenagers and kids who see their family members abusing drugs and then start doing the same.
Then, they pressure their friends to abuse alcohol and/or drugs. Then, the cycle continues with these other children.
If you have younger children or teenagers in your life, it is important that you teach them how to effectively deal with peer pressure. There are some great tips that can be used to help them with handling peer pressure such as:
- Finding healthy activities they like doing
- Going to substance-free events and having fun
- Finding friends who don’t abuse alcohol or drugs
- Learning to say no
- Having a good support network
It will take some time for your children to get used to doing these things. However, the more of these tips they can follow through with, the less likely they will be to say yes to using drugs and alcohol.
Treating Mental Health Disorders
Do your children have any mental health disorders? They may not have anything diagnosed right now, but they could be experiencing symptoms that should be checked such as:
- Anxiety
- High stress levels
- Depressive symptoms
- Psychosis
- Isolating themselves
- Post-traumatic stress
Studies show there is a huge connection between mental health conditions and addiction. In order to prevent addiction in our youth, we need to help them get the treatments they need for mental health issues.
There are many types of treatment that are available to the youth when handling mental health conditions. Some of these options include individual therapy, group therapy, art journaling, support groups and many others.
If your child is already struggling with addiction and dealing with mental health issues, too, our Southeast Addiction TN Center has multiple treatment options to help them overcome all of this.
Examining All Risk Factors During National Substance Abuse Prevention Month
When it comes to National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, it is crucial that we take a look into the risk factors for substance abuse.
As adults, we must look at the environmental, physical, biological and other risk factors that may impact our children. They likely don’t already have the coping skills needed to overcome all these issues on their own, especially if they are still younger children.
We must help them to look at these risk factors and find ways for them to work through them, so addiction can be prevented.
Biological Aspects of Addiction
When taking a look at the biological aspects of addiction, there isn’t anything a child can do about the family they are born into or what genetics they have.
However, knowing they have a family history of addiction can help them to avoid using alcohol and drugs in the first place. If they have already started using these substances, they may need some help to get clean and sober, even if they aren’t fully addicted yet.
Physical Aspects of Addiction
When looking into the physical aspects of addiction, we must look at the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse. We must also look at how much and how often a person is using the drug. Children shouldn’t be using drugs or drinking alcohol at all.
However, there are still some prescription medications that children may be taking that could be addictive. If your children have a prescription, be sure to talk to them about the dangers and risk for prescription drug abuse.
Let them know that if they experience cravings for the drug or have other issues while taking it to let you know right away. You and their doctors can work on a plan to help prevent addiction.
Environmental Aspects of Addiction
When talking about the environmental aspects of addiction, it is important to talk to our kids about their surroundings, family and friends. The people they spend time around could increase or reduce their risk of addiction.
For example, if they are spending a lot of time around family members who abuse alcohol, they are much more likely to drink than if they spend time with family members who don’t drink. The same goes for hanging out with friends who don’t abuse substances or who abuse alcohol and drugs.
If you are worried that your child is already abusing harmful substances, don’t hesitate to reach out to our Southeast Addiction TN Center for help today. We can talk to you about the best course of action in treatment and support for your child.
Life Balance Matters
Unfortunately, kids aren’t born with the knowledge to manage their life and all aspects of it. This is a tool and skill they will need to learn. Even as adults, we don’t always have our life balanced out the way it should be.
During National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, we should focus on helping our children to balance their life. Some of the key aspects of doing this include:
- Creating and sticking to schedules
- Having routines throughout the day
- Asking for help when needed (and sometimes, even when it isn’t needed)
- Knowing when to say no to requests from others
- Properly dealing with obstacles in life as they come
- Preparing ahead to time for certain difficulties such as exams in school
By doing these things, your children can learn to balance their life and all parts of it. Studies show that children who implement these tips into their life are much less likely to abuse alcohol and drugs than those who only do a few or none of these tips.
Prevent Addiction in Our Youth Starting Right Away
If you have children in your life, it is very important that you work to prevent addiction as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there are children who are abusing alcohol and drugs before they even reach 10 years of age.
With the tips noted above, you can greatly reduce the risk and chances that your children will abuse alcohol and drugs.
If your child is already dealing with substance abuse issues, it is crucial that you get them the treatment they need immediately. Contact us today, here at Southeast Addiction TN Center and we can help you get the treatment that is needed for your child today.
