The month of October is National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month. Many studies indicate that the younger someone begins using drugs or alcohol, the greater the odds they will misuse or become addicted later in life. As the overdose rates increase, the need for prevention education grows. According to the 2020, National Survey on Drug Use and Health results by SAMHSA, 8.2% of adolescents ages twelve to seventeen drank alcohol in the past month, and 13.8% of adolescents ages twelve to seventeen used illicit drugs in the past year.
National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month is about raising awareness of substance use disorders and educating students and parents on the proper ways to prevent addiction. Prevention activities allow individuals and communities to become educated about addiction and provide support and addiction recovery resources to prevent the use and misuse of drugs to prevent addiction. National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month also aids in reducing the stigma surrounding addiction and offers recovery support for the devastation addiction brings to friends, families, and communities. It also helps to celebrate individuals who have completed addiction treatment and are in long-term recovery.
Addiction treatment allows people to recover from substance use disorders and alcohol use disorders so that they can lead healthy and prosperous lives.
10 REASONS TO FOCUS ON ADDICTION PREVENTION
1. Learn Why People Use and Teach Teens About Dangers:
Educate yourself and your loved ones. The key to drug prevention is knowledge. You can learn about why individuals choose to use drugs and alcohol and how the occasional use of alcohol and drugs can develop into an addiction. By learning this information, you can teach your children, friends, and family to help prevent them from falling into the grips of addiction.
2. Learn How Addiction Develops and Prevention of It:
Addiction can develop in several ways, and different drugs have different potentials for addiction. People can generally develop tolerance to drugs when they use them repeatedly. The repetitive use requires that they take more of that substance to feel the same desired effects, escalating their dependence on it. A vicious cycle can result when people repeatedly use substances. Some drugs have uncomfortable and life-threatening withdrawal symptoms if the person stops taking the drug. The individual is then compelled to use the drug to avoid these withdrawal symptoms. People don’t always realize that they have become addicted until the problem is beyond their control. A substance use disorder can consume a person’s life, making use of the substance the number one priority over all other factors. People wish they could stop wasting money on something destroying their health and happiness, but it’s a complex cycle to break without the assistance of a drug rehab or alcohol rehab.
3. Build Healthy Relationships and Avoid Peer Pressure:
For pre-teens and teenagers, peer pressure can be a significant reason for drug use or experimentation. Peer-pressured substance abuse can be prevented by developing healthy relationships and friendships with their peers. Individuals that pressure you to use substances should be avoided at all costs. You may have heard that “we are the company we keep” This statement is also true regarding drugs and alcohol, and hanging around people who regularly use substances is a risk factor for developing bad or addictive habits.
4. Seek Help For Mental Health Conditions:
It is not unusual for substance abuse and mental health conditions to co-occur in an individual. If you or your friend or a family member are dealing with a mental health disorder such as anxiety, depression, borderline personality, bipolar or PTSD, you must seek professional help.
Finding treatment for mental health issues means you can learn valuable and productive coping skills to deal with your stressors. Developing these skills makes people much less likely to rely on drugs and alcohol as a method of coping.
5. Examine the Risk Factors:
Anyone who struggles with drug and alcohol addiction has at some point hidden the expense of their addiction, the real reason they are not feeling well, engaged in sexual activity with someone they usually wouldn’t have if they weren’t drunk or high, or why they got fired from their job. If anyone uses drugs or alcohol repeatedly, they risk becoming addicted; however, some individuals are at a higher risk than others.
Knowing the risk factors can help you learn whether you or your family are predisposed to developing a substance use disorder.
6. Learn Healthy Coping Skills:
Addiction can be a lonely experience when you need to hide it or the negative consequences. Masking addiction takes a lot of energy to hide. Individuals with mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, and stress might find temporary relief from using substances as a way to cope. However, this is not a healthy pattern and can have several negative consequences that you shouldn’t ignore. Many healthy coping skills can be used as a healthier way of dealing with difficult times in life or mental health conditions. These include:
7. Embrace a Healthy Lifestyle
Substance misuse and addiction take a considerable toll on relationships, finances, careers, health, hopes, sense of self, emotional stability, and many crucial areas. Setting boundaries and avoiding people who can negatively influence you is crucial. It is always challenging to cut people out of your life when they are toxic, but it is essential to your mental health and well-being. Physical well-being is as important as mental well-being and essential to a healthy lifestyle. There is a long list of benefits from engaging in daily exercise, including:
8. Know The Signs Of Addiction
Being ashamed of our unhealthy coping patterns and addiction often continues the cycle of substance abuse. There’s only one way to stop the negative cycle: abstain and get help for your addiction. People addicted to drugs or alcohol won’t stop their behavior even if they understand it is causing negative consequences. They might also spiral out of control and use more significant amounts of drugs or alcohol, which could result in a potential overdose.
Some of the expected behaviors of addiction include:
9. What Are The Long-Term Consequences Of Drug Addiction
You will continue to lose things if you don’t refrain from using drugs and alcohol. No matter how much you scam yourself into thinking it doesn’t matter if you lose a relationship, job, home, health, sanity, money, or your life, it won’t change the fact that you’re lying to yourself. Your life matters, all those other things that make your life matter. Pursuing recovery will help you hang on to what’s essential. The negative impact of alcohol or drug addiction on your life will usually result in long-term consequences in the middle or later phases of addiction. Individuals with. They may ignore these warning signs for substance use disorder and continue with their habit. However, some of the possible long-term consequences of addiction will still include the following:
10. Risk Factors For Addiction
People of all body types, heights, weights, beliefs, values, cultures, and backgrounds can experience addiction. However, several factors can increase a person’s risk, including their environment, genetics, medical history, and age.
Are you or A Loved One That Suffering From Addiction?
Addiction prevention education is the best defense against stopping addiction before it can begin. However, sometimes prevention is too late, and addiction has already infiltrated someone you love. Locating the best rehab for yourself or your loved one can be challenging. If that is the case, there is help. At Avatar Residential Detox Center, we offer traditional treatments and holistic methods to help individuals detoxify, stabilize, and rebuild their lives. We are a dual-diagnosis addiction treatment center that provides comprehensive substance abuse services and helps get you on the path to long-term recovery.
Contact Avatar today at (973)-774-7222 if you or a loved one suffers from an addiction.
