A Parent’s Guide to Surviving the Teen Years, written by David Delsey, Ph.D., DPT, is an excellent guide for parents of teenagers to help them deal with the transition from childhood to adulthood. The book provides extensive information about healthy eating and weight control. It also addresses emotional and social issues, as well as proper personal hygiene and the use of prescription drugs. While it does not offer medical advice, it does have some good advice regarding the risks involved in taking medications, teen medications, and other drugs.
When we were teenagers, there was nothing safer than hanging out with our friends. We would talk about anything and everything, drinking, smoking, doing drugs, and generally having a good time. Drugs seemed to be the solution to every single problem, even when there were no physical problems that needed to be dealt with. This made us easy prey to the pharmaceutical companies who made millions from addictive drugs. Our friends were our lifeline, and if we didn’t do what they said, they would go elsewhere to get what they needed.
After high school, most teens decide that they want to go out and get a job of some sort. This is usually a good thing, as that is money to help pay for college and a better lifestyle. But once you get a job and decide that you are going to use drugs to get money, it is too late. Most employers these days will not hire someone who is addicted to drugs. If you are caught, it could end up costing you your job, or at the very least your ability to pay your drug habit.
Once teens have got their jobs, the expense that they incur on drugs becomes an enormous expense. Even with a good salary, it is just not enough to buy those expensive drugs. In fact, most teenagers become so desperate for those “uppers” that they begin to steal from their parents. They start out with stealing food packages, then drugs – and worse, they begin to sell drugs. In the world of drug addiction, the only thing that counts is money. And in the world of teenage drug addiction, your money is very valuable.
When teens realize that they can get drugs even when they are at home, they become even more desperate. Drug dependency ruins all aspects of their lives, apart from getting high. It is very common for them to spend countless hours surfing the internet, playing computer games, and watching television. While they may look like harmless fun, this behavior is very harmful. By the time a teenager realizes that they need drugs, their social life and personal relationships have all been ruined.
Drugs make teenagers angry, anxious, and depressed. They become withdrawn and start to lose respect for everyone. Their grades suffer and they end up being suspended or expelled from school. If they do get away with it, they usually get a heavy amount of marijuana and cocaine in their system and become addicted to these drugs.
Teenagers who use drugs to get high quickly learn how to lie and cheat. They start to cut themselves and destroy their bodies with elaborate tattoos, fake injuries, and other ways to appear “popular”. The use of drugs causes an increase in their heart rate and blood pressure. In order to cope with their drug addiction, they become weak and susceptible to diseases and infections.
A parent’s guide to surviving the teen years does not have to be a depressing read. There is no need to feel that there is something wrong with your child because he or she has taken drugs. Help is available through drug rehabilitation programs that help you and your teenager get off drugs and live a successful life.