Month: June 2010

Penn State researchers in Harrisburg Pennsylvania have concluded that young recovering addicts who dealt with stress well were more likely to stay in recovery, and those overwhelmed with stress were more likely to experience cravings for drugs and alcohol. Teens experience stressors on many levels, including academic pressures, social stress, and family responsibilities. A good rehab recognizes the multiple stress factors present in teens’ lives before and after entering treatment and provide them with the tools to effectively deal with stress and stay on the road to recovery.
Adolescent treatment centers are an effective way to help teens dealing with mental health issues and drug and alcohol abuse, but a “soft landing” aftercare approach is important in helping teens maintain sobriety upon transitioning back to the “real” world. Soft-landing approaches include an intensive outpatient program with continued group and individual counseling, 12-step support groups, sober high school, and sometimes sober-living transition housing. The life of a teenager is stressful for many reasons, and adding addiction into the mix doesn’t make it any easier. An assisted transition from teen residential treatment back to the world is intensely helpful in continued sobriety.

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Ecstasy abuse has rose 75% from 2004 to 2008, says the Center for Disease Control and overdoses of the drug cluster around raves- all night dance parties where abuse of the drug is common, and often encouraged. Teen rave attendance and ecstasy abuse rose from 2008 to 2009 and teen perception of the drug’s risks fell during that time period.
Ecstasy overdoses usually cause overheating of the body, muscle breakdown, and kidney failure. The drug is often cut with other substances unknown to the user, such as cocaine, methamphetamine, or heroin, which can contribute to overdoses. Alcohol consumption can increase the toxicity of ecstasy. Many users overdose because they are impatient for the drug to take effect and take more. Also, raves are often very hot, which can contribute to hyperthermia. Ecstasy abuse in teens is a very big problem and teen drug rehab addresses all facets of teen ecstasy abuse through intensive inpatient and outpatient treatment. Proper intervention and drug treatment for teens can mean a completely different future for those struggling with ecstasy abuse.

The anonymous author for the Daily Mail’s “Confessions of a Fashionista” article has found that her criticisms of her colleagues’ bizarre behavior surrounding food have shown up on a pro-ana website (a site supporting and encouraging eating disorders) as tips. The author was horrified to find that her words had been used as advice for teens wishing to eat less rather than their intended purpose, to point out the insanity of the fashion industry’s relationship to food.
Teen eating disorders are a major problem and attitudes from pro-ana websites are leaking into everyday society. Both Perez Hilton and Urban Outfitters have received flack regarding their pro-ana shirts. Urban Outfitters recently released a shirt that simply said, “Eat Less”. Is your teen showing signs of an eating disorder? Adolescent treatment centers are finding that many teens are using drugs and alcohol as a way to manage their weight. In most cases, treatment is essential for recovery. Eating disorders and drug abuse can go hand in hand, as they often spring from similar root issues. A good California rehabilitation center works to heal the whole teen, offering them a life of freedom from the pain of drugs, alcohol, and eating disorders.

The New York Times recently documented a group of men and women who have participated in sober time shares on New York’s notoriously booze-filled Fire Island. The trend demonstrates a growing interest in pursuing exciting lifestyles without the pain and dangers of alcoholism and drug addiction. The sober folk interviewed in the article were all recovering alcoholics who still wanted to enjoy dancing and partying without the consequences of their former alcoholic lifestyle. They said that by surrounding themselves with other recovering people, they didn’t feel inclined to use or drink.
I found this piece to be especially encouraging to young recovering teens trying to have fun. In teen drug rehab, the major fear among my peers was that we would never have a good time again- that we had essentially been sentenced to lives of boredom and monotony. How wrong we were! Rehab showed us that having a good time is a huge part of having fun in recovery, and that recovering from drug and alcohol addiction was actually a gateway to a new and exciting life and that the lives we had been living were desperate, painful, and dead-ends. Since I’ve been clean and sober I’ve participated in sober campouts, ski trips, and fishing trips, traveled in sober packs to clubs to go dancing, and tons of other sober functions. Participating in these activities with other recovering teens has proven to be a really great way to have fun while celebrating life and recovery. In treatment, we learned the power of surrounding ourselves with like-minded, supportive friends– real friends. Sober activities for teens reminds those of us coming out of rehab that life doesn’t end when you get clean– it’s just beginning.

Summer teen drug and alcohol rehab in Malibu maybe wasn’t the first thing I had on my agenda for the summer before my senior year, but it ended up being the best thing I ever did for myself. I thought that getting sent away from my friends to spend the summer in rehab was the worst thing my parents could have done to me. I knew that my drinking and using was out of control and that I definitely used and drank more than a lot of my friends but I wasn’t sure if I needed to go to rehab. I thought that my parents were being dramatic by sending me to treatment and that somehow I was being punished and banished by my family. At the end of the program however, all of my perceptions had changed.
I realized that my family loved me a lot and was really worried about what I was doing to my life by drinking and using drugs. I realized that my problem was a lot bigger than I initially admitted, and that I really needed help. I learned that I couldn’t figure this out on my own and that I was tired of paying the consequences for my behavior. I was tired of lying and stealing and not being myself. In treatment I met other teens who were like me. I got help with my eating disorder issues and inclination towards self injury. Counselors helped me pinpoint the roots of my problems and find tools to move beyond my sticking points. My self esteem skyrocketed as I stayed in a place where I felt safe enough to really let my walls down. After my summer in rehab, I had some really great tools and support to turn my life around. I made some new friends and started hanging out with other recovering teens. I got my grades back up and will be going to college in the fall. I never thought that my time in rehab would amount to anything. Fortunately, I gave it a chance regardless of how I initially felt about it. It might not be every teen’s dream summer vacation, but it might be the one that saves a teen’s life.

“When a Drag Becomes a Habit”

Teen smoking has been a thorn in the side of parents and teachers alike for eons, despite the knowledge that positive role models make a difference and our behavior as parents has a potentially viable impact. So why do kids still indulge? One hears the adage time and time again, “Oh, I just take a drag once in a while,” or “I only smoke when I’m with my friends,” or “I only smoke on the weekends,” but studies show even “a drag on a friend’s cigarette may be the beginning of something that will be hard to shake.” Recently, the Pediatrics journal did a study, tracking the course of addiction to nicotine amongst a group of 6th graders, and the results are astonishing: after studying 1246 adolescents for a period of four years, they found that the pattern of occasional smoking–one cigarette a month–will lead to an addiction to tobacco.
Nicotine is a quietly seductive drug, weaving its way into our habits and behaviors one drag at a time; and it’s not just cigarettes we have to worry about. In recent years, the insurgence of Hookah lounges has become a “novel and chic way to socialize.” Regardless of social circle, the irregular use of tobacco in any form ultimately leads to nicotine addiction which will lead to a myriad of health issues. Here are just a few of the many statistics posted by The World Health Organization (WHO) via the CDC:
• Among young people, the short-term health consequences of smoking include respiratory and non respiratory effects, addiction to nicotine, and the associated risk of other drug use. Long-term health consequences of youth smoking are reinforced by the fact that most young people who smoke regularly continue to smoke throughout adulthood. Cigarette smokers have a lower level of lung function than those persons who have never smoked. Smoking reduces the rate of lung growth.
• The resting heart rate of a young adult smokers are two to three beats per minute faster than nonsmokers
• Teens who smoke are three times more likely than nonsmokers to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine. Smoking is associated with a host of other risky behaviors, such as fighting and engaging in unprotected sex.

Teens who smoke are more likely to end up in adolescent drug treatment.

1 NPR Story
2 Hookah Lounge
3 Surgeon General Report – Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People

Perez Hilton has pulled his incredibly offensive tee-shirts emblazoned with the phrase, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!” after learning that the saying is a Pro-Ana term, not just something Kate Moss said. Pro-Ana websites claim to be “pro-anorexia” and offer girls “thinspiration” to help them maintain their eating disorders. Often, these sites allow members to post pictures of their emaciated selves, show pictures of skinny models and celebrities, and offer forums to discuss tips for staying deep in their disorder. Pro-Ana and Pro-Mia (bulimia) sites see eating disorders as a way of life and not for what they are: deadly disorders that create a deeply warped sense of reality.
When Perez Hilton first put up the shirts, the site received massive amounts of criticism. It was a prime example of how flippant the celebrity culture within the media has become. Anorexia and bulimia are extremely destructive to the lives of teens and adults and recovery demands that these disorders be taken seriously, not mocked by gossip columnists who make a living making fun of women. People die from eating disorders. Eating disorders in teens are often seen as a symptom of deeper psychological issues. Teen dual diagnosis treatment treats the whole teen. In teen eating disorder treatment, it is believed that by treating the issues that fuel the disorder, the disorder will no longer have a function. Teen eating disorder and dual diagnosis treatment is a necessary part of recovery from an eating disorder. With anorexia and bulimia, the teen’s perspective has been so warped it is necessary for an intensive intervention. Inpatient teen rehab is the best start on the road to long term recovery.