A Few Common Reasons for Teenage Drug Use
In thinking about ways to help teenage drug users beat the addiction, it's important to understand why they abuse drugs in the first place. A lot of times, teenagers become victims of overdose because the reason they take drugs is emotional in nature. They deal with emotional pain through drugs. What are the usual reasons teens use drugs? There are several.
Factors inside the home
The home and the family is the first society children get acquainted with. This is why children who grow up without parental love or attachment, are exposed to or become a victim of domestic violence, grow up in a chaotic environment are more likely to abuse drugs than teens who grew up in relatively quiet and loving homes. Teens who were raised by parents who use drugs or alcohol are also more likely to experiment with substances early in life.
Factors outside the home
There are also factors that come from outside the home, which is especially apparent among teens who grew up in good homes but still end up abusing drugs. Here are a few possible reasons why this happens:
1. They seek the acceptance of the wrong crowd - When teens are socially awkward or have trouble making friends, they often long for acceptance from the crowd that they think are "popular". In many cases, this is the dominant crowd, which isn't always the best company to keep. At times, the feeling of wanting to belong to a group, even if it means trying substances when hanging out with them, can be overwhelming and hard to resist for teens.
2. Coping mechanism - Teens who think that they're not good at anything experiment with drugs because they say that they can "stop any time" that they want. It's their means of exerting some kind of control when other factors in their life are uncontrollable. They want to be successful in managing the habit because they feel they are unsuccessful in everything else. It's often too late before they realize that they're addicted and need help.
3. Wrong perception about drug use - Being in a very impressionable stage, teens quickly rationalize to themselves that using drugs is alright if majority of their friends use it and look like they're having fun while using it.
4. Pleasure - Many teens use drugs for the pleasure of enjoying the high that it brings. It's a euphoric feeling that is difficult to achieve naturally. They chase after this feeling and as the addiction grows, it becomes much more elusive and takes much more drugs to achieve.
5. Pain Management - Some teens use drugs to deal with a pain that they are feeling, whether it's physical or emotional pain. As mentioned earlier, using drugs to address emotional pain is dangerous because it puts teens at risk of drug overdose. The same goes with managing physical pain. As your body gets used to the drugs, it takes more drugs to deal with the pain.
If you suspect that your teen has a drug habit, it's never too early or too late to step in and make an intervention. Sometimes it's healthy to admit when you aren't able to help your teen effectively and you need the help of professionals to get rid of the addiction.
Factors inside the home
The home and the family is the first society children get acquainted with. This is why children who grow up without parental love or attachment, are exposed to or become a victim of domestic violence, grow up in a chaotic environment are more likely to abuse drugs than teens who grew up in relatively quiet and loving homes. Teens who were raised by parents who use drugs or alcohol are also more likely to experiment with substances early in life.
Factors outside the home
There are also factors that come from outside the home, which is especially apparent among teens who grew up in good homes but still end up abusing drugs. Here are a few possible reasons why this happens:
1. They seek the acceptance of the wrong crowd - When teens are socially awkward or have trouble making friends, they often long for acceptance from the crowd that they think are "popular". In many cases, this is the dominant crowd, which isn't always the best company to keep. At times, the feeling of wanting to belong to a group, even if it means trying substances when hanging out with them, can be overwhelming and hard to resist for teens.
2. Coping mechanism - Teens who think that they're not good at anything experiment with drugs because they say that they can "stop any time" that they want. It's their means of exerting some kind of control when other factors in their life are uncontrollable. They want to be successful in managing the habit because they feel they are unsuccessful in everything else. It's often too late before they realize that they're addicted and need help.
3. Wrong perception about drug use - Being in a very impressionable stage, teens quickly rationalize to themselves that using drugs is alright if majority of their friends use it and look like they're having fun while using it.
4. Pleasure - Many teens use drugs for the pleasure of enjoying the high that it brings. It's a euphoric feeling that is difficult to achieve naturally. They chase after this feeling and as the addiction grows, it becomes much more elusive and takes much more drugs to achieve.
5. Pain Management - Some teens use drugs to deal with a pain that they are feeling, whether it's physical or emotional pain. As mentioned earlier, using drugs to address emotional pain is dangerous because it puts teens at risk of drug overdose. The same goes with managing physical pain. As your body gets used to the drugs, it takes more drugs to deal with the pain.
If you suspect that your teen has a drug habit, it's never too early or too late to step in and make an intervention. Sometimes it's healthy to admit when you aren't able to help your teen effectively and you need the help of professionals to get rid of the addiction.
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