A Family Disease

Drug addiction and Alcoholism is a family disease. Teens that have parents who are drug addicts or alcoholics need to be particularly careful because they have a greater risk of becoming chemically dependent. One in four children will be exposed to alcoholism or drug addiction before turning eighteen. Children of alcoholics are more likely to have behavioral problems, lower IQ’s, and to inherit the disease of alcoholism.

Teens with alcoholic parents are genetically prone to alcoholism. That means that if a teen knows they are predisposed to alcoholism they need to stay away from alcohol and drugs at all costs. But these teens are in a catch 22. They have most likely witnessed their parents consume alcohol or do drugs many times making it seem normal. This makes teens with alcoholic or drug addicted parent more likely to drink and suffer the cost if they are an addict/alcoholic. All teens need to try to avoid drugs and alcohol but teens with chemically dependent parents need to be particularly aware of the risks involved in drinking and using drugs.

My Life Today is Amazing

I never thought it would happen to me. I never thought that I’d become a teen addict. In fact, I never saw myself even touching drugs or alcohol. I’d watch my parents drinking and be disgusted by their behavior. I was a straight ‘A’ student, I was on the cross-country team, I played soccer, and I played the piano. In other words, I was your typical sweet and innocent “goody-two-shoes” kind of girl.
But, I grew up with the feeling that I never fit in. I always felt as if I was on the outside looking in. So, when I got to high school, I decided that I was going to become “popular” and do whatever I had to do to fit in. At the age of fifteen I was introduced to drugs for the first time. The first time I got high, I felt an utter sense of relief. I finally felt like I fit in; I felt like I was finally ‘a part of’. The drugs made me who I thought I always wanted to be. I could be loud and outgoing, I could dance, and I could be the life of the party. But, things went downhill, and they went downhill fast. By the age of sixteen I was dating a drug dealer and was in lost in this world of drugs. Soon, my life revolved around using. Everything else came second. By senior year, I was missing so much school, that I almost didn’t graduate high school.
Two months before graduation, I had gone into a drug-induced psychosis. Not knowing what was wrong with me, my parents took me to the emergency room. The next day, I began an outpatient program. It was at that treatment center where I learned about the disease of addiction, and I was able to admit that I was definitely an addict. But, at that age (I was seventeen at the time), I did not think I was ready to get clean. I had to go back out and use for another couple years before I came back and got sober. But, I am very grateful for what I learned in that teen treatment center, for had I not gone there, I don’t know if I ever would have realized the true extent of my problem.
I am twenty-two now and I’ve been sober for almost two years. Since then, my life has changed dramatically. I am able to handle my feelings without having to numb myself with drugs or alcohol. I am able to experience life the way it was meant to be experienced. I feel better about myself than I have ever felt in my entire life. Through being in recovery, I have been able to look at where my negative sense of self originated and have been able to heal from that and begin a new life. Today, I am back to being a good student. I got back into running and am working towards running a marathon. Not only have I picked up my old passions again, but I have also found new hobbies, such as painting, meditation, or hiking.
My life today is amazing, and it gets better as each day passes.