Author: VISIONS

Drug addicts are famous for there poor financial decisions. Clouded by the insatiable need to use drugs, addicts tend do things, that to the normal person, would seem insane. Addicts do things like spend their rent money on drugs, thinking they will worry about rent later. They go to casinos and gamble with their entire life savings, in an attempt to make money to by drugs with. Addicts are even known for selling there cars among all their other prized possessions. Drug addicts are good at liquidating all their assets. For alot of addicts, they do not get sober until they have financially demoralized themselves.
Once they have gone to drug rehab or just gotten sober, these addicts learn a new views surrounding money. They learn how to hold get and hold a job. Addicts then learn how to properly budget there money to live. They begin to have money left over and put it into savings and begin to plan for the future. Now with the US economy and the dollar plummeting down the tubes. Foreign governments and the worlds elites are liquidating their billions in US assests and investing in a more stable market, gold. This trend is expecting to drive gold from the record breaking 900 dollars a troy ounce to an unbelievable amount of $2000 dollars a troy ounce, within the next few years. Some of the same addicts whom before, poorly invested everything they own into crack, are now making better investments, such as investing large sums of money in gold.

Warning Signs: School

There are many obvious signs that a teen is using drugs. For example, you may smell marijuana or alcohol on their breath or clothes. They may seem withdrawn from their usual activities, or may come home late and have numerous excuses for where they have been. These signs should be taken seriously, but there are other signs that need that are far less obvious, unless you know what to look for. School is a good place to start if you have an inkling that a problem is emerging with you teen.

School is a large part of an adolescent’s life and can be a significant indicator that there is a drug problem. When looking for warning signs, things related to school can be a revealing. The first place to look is the backpack, even though you may assume that this would be the last place a teen would hide drugs, paraphernalia, or other clues to drug use. A close search into the hidden recesses of a backpack may reveal random phone numbers (dealers), creative drawings of their drug of choice, or remnants such as seeds or baggies form prior use.

Check with the attendance office and check in with teacher if you are suspicious. Many students that are using are truant or may be inattentive in class. In fact, if they do go to class, the may be defiant, irritable, or may just sleep the day away if given the opportunity. Of course, grades and work performance will decline with prolonged and even short term teen drug use. Make sure that you talk to your teen about their homework. Demand to see their homework, graded assignments, and make sure that you receive a copy of their report card on a regular basis.

Drugs and Pregnancy
When a woman becomes pregnant it is extremely important for her to take some proper precautions such as eating healthy foods, taking a muti- vitamin, and most importantly staying away from drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. It is extremely important for an expectant mother to stay away from alcohol in the early weeks of her pregnancy. In the mothers body alcohol chemically breaks down to a cell-damaging compound that the fetus readily absorbes. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a birth defect that is cause by heavy drinking during early pregnancy. Several characteristics of this disease include a small skull, abnormal facial features, heart defects, impeded growth and mental retardation.
Women who smoke during pregnancy run the risk of miscarriage and early labor. The most crucial danger is delayed fetal growth. Nicotine supresses the appetite of the mother at a time where she should be steadily gaining weight. Smoking also reduces the ability of the lungs to absorb oxygen, and if the fetus us deprived of oxygen and nourishment it may not grow as much or as fast as it should.

So I just celebrated two years of sobriety two days ago and it feels amazing. I can’t even put into words how grateful I am for my life today. Two years ago, my life revolved around getting that next high. To be quite honest, life was miserable. Today, I can honestly say that I am excited about my life.

Today, instead of being a slave to my addiction, I get to devote my life to helping other people find the happiness that I have found in recovery. I get to come to workat a teen treatment center and be a role model to teens struggling with drug and alcohol problems that are just like I was. I get to show them that it is possible to get clean at a young age and have an awesome life.

I look at life in a totally new perspective than ever before. I try to view everything as an opportunity for change rather than an obstacle or a tedious task. I get to appreciate everything in my life, even the simple things like the trees and clean water. I never even thought about those things. I took everything in life for granted. I always wanted everything handed to me on a silver platter. And, no matter what was handed to me, I was never happy. Nothing was ever enough. I now realize that everything in my life is a gift. And, without my sobriety I probably would have lost everything that I have.

Anyway, I am just so grateful for all the gifts that I have received through recovery. I am excited about life today. I have never been excited about life. I never knew a happiness like I have today. Life is truly beautiful.

Elizabeth M

I read an article today about teens that smoke cigarettes are more likely to develop drinking and/or drug problems. The article suggested that because smoking at such a young age messes with the chemistry and brain function, that makes them almost twice as likely to drink and almost three times as likely to smoke marijuana.

Now I can relate to this because I first started smoking around 15, then quit for a year or two, then picked it up once more. The second time I started smoking, my drinking had picked up about double what it was the year before. This information, in my opinion makes sense. The other thing is, it makes me ask the question what really is the number 1 gateway drug?

Dennis

I’m a recovering addict and I’ve been clean for five years now. I’ve had the honor and privilege of working with the Visions family for three years. On most days, being able to work in teen drug treatment is one of the blessings of my recovery. However, working with adolescent addicts, alcoholics and drug abusers can be as challenging as it is rewarding.
A friend of mine recently passed on. His name was Bobby and he died with 34 years clean in Narcotics Anonymous. He shared with me that he’d been working in drug treatment since he had one year clean and he had loved it just as much in the end as he had in the beginning. His enthusiasm for helping people never died. He ended up touching many lives because of this.
Rarely, after a really long, trying day of work, I sometimes wonder why I’m not in an office job wearing heels and pearls. It’s then that I think of dear Bobby, and how every time I saw him, he’d wink at me and tell me I’m doing God’s work. I’m reminded that the important jobs take actual “work;” that’s why we call it that. I then remember who I am and what I stand for and I know that I’d never want it any other way.
I may not believe in “God” (don’t worry, I have a higher power), but I want more than anything else to do his work. Thanks for the reality check, Bobby. Rest in peace.

-Laurel
-Visions Adolescent Treatment Center

Celebrity rehab isnt only the first tv series to expose famous people and their drug abuse habits… it’s the first show to exhibit a real rehab experience period. In some ways, this is a good thing that VH1 is doing. It shows that celebrities are getting sober, and it shows how real and hard this program is. Unlike Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan who have been to treatment time and time again and keep relapsing and faling into old behavior, these ceebrities seem like they have a real passion for geting sober and staying sober. The seem to want sobriety and seem to be doing for themselves, rather than for their image. Of course the process is difficult, and at times they seem as though they want to give up, but as a sober alcoholic and drug addict I remember those times too. We work through the pain, and come out victorious. Dr. Drew Pinksy (aka Dr. Drew from Loveline) has placed these celebrities at his facility in Pasadena and all clients have agreed to tape their recovery process for the world to see. This may serve as a inspiration to other addicts and alcoholics out there. If these celebrities can do it, in Hollywood no less, then for sure they can too!

Lindsey-
Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification

Image by © Natalia Balcerska Photography via Flickr

Attending a concert, or “show” is an important part of many teenagers’ lives. Music can represent the center of teen culture, and concerts are often the only acceptable or available social activity. They can represent new found freedom for a teen, and an opportunity for them to express their individuality. However, the thought of allowing one’s child to attend a concert gives many parents serious anxiety. The thought of dropping their son or daughter off in a strange location, and leaving them surrounded by crowds of weird-looking strangers may seem dangerous. There are other fears too: about drugs, crowds out of control, exposure to sinister influences of other young adults. But almost all parents these days probably have fond memories of their first concerts and wouldn’t want to deprive their kids of the same experience, so when the day comes that the bird needs to leave the nest for an outing into the counterculture, here are some tips to consider:

1. Have your teen go with one of their friends that you trust, or with a “cooler” family friend that they wouldn’t mind going to the show with. Having a friend with you at a concert is a must, especially one you can count on! Concerts can be overwhelming experiences for a new concert-goer, especially a large festival or arena show. It’s good to have a friend to rely on when things get intense.

2. If you are driving your son or daughter to the concert, make sure that you have an agreed upon and easy-to-find meeting place after the show. Make sure you have an agreed-upon time as well, but know in advance that it will probably be late. Most concerts are not early-bird affairs, and your teen is not going to want to leave early. Don’t count on being able to reach them on their cell phones, in the bustle of crowds it’s easy to loose items from pockets. It’s also hard to hear a phone ring! You may also want to insist on driving them if you are concerned that they or their friends may be drinking or using drugs at the concert. It’s always better to have a drunk teenager in the backseat than behind the wheel.

3. Make sure that your teen is dressed appropriately. Many concerts are outdoors and expose concerts goers to sun all day and cool temperatures at night. Also “general admission” shows tend to generate a great deal of contact with strangers, and often have “pits” where the dancing can get boisterous. Good shoes are a must. Clothing that may seem “cute” at home may bring unwanted attention, or simply be uncomfortable while standing for long periods of time in a large group. Remind your teen that it’s a concert, not a dance or club.

4. Make sure that they eat and drink water before they go. Food and even water can be expensive at a concert, and often you won’t be able to leave your “spot” once you’ve secured it. It can get hot and sweaty at a good show, and it’s a good idea to have a full stomach and be well hydrated. Additionally, if your teen might need any prescription medication during the concert, such as an asthma inhaler, make sure they take it with them.

5. Check out the band and venue before you agree to let your child go to the concert. It may be a fairly mellow affair that you can gladly agree to, but you might not want your child to experience the “wall of death” at the Lamb of God show just yet. Check out live videos of your child’s favorite band or festival on YouTube to get an idea of what to expect and take a look at the band’s website as well before you say yes.

6. Use common sense. If your gut tells you the risks are too great, then put your foot down. The 3-day “world’s largest” rave, whose adverts are surrounded by little dancing mushrooms probably isn’t the best place to drop off your child for the weekend. You will probably have to let go of some your judgments, because, yes, that probably is a tattoo on the lead singer’s neck and, no, I really can’t tell you why they dress like that. If you “got it,” then it probably wouldn’t be cool anyway.

Check out these links for more concert tips and discussions by parents of their experiences with concerts:

https://www.rockmed.org/Show-Tips/tips.htm


https://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/teens/concerts.html

How Drugs Effect Teenagers

A drug is any chemical that produces a therapeutic or non-therapeutic effect within a body. Teenagers may be involved with legal or illegal drugs in various ways. Sometimes, experimentation with drugs during adolescence can be common. However, teenagers generally do not see links between their actions of the present and their consequences of the future. Teens also tend to feel invincible and immune to the problems that others around them experience.

Using alcohol, marijuana and tobacco at young ages will increase the potential of using other drugs like heroin, cocaine or speed later down the road. Some teens might experiment and stop, or continue to use occasionally, without significant problems. Others develop a dependency, moving on to more dangerous drugs and causing significant harm to themselves and possibly others.

When teenagers use drugs, they will tend to have symptoms or signs of something being wrong. For example, as far as physical appearance goes, the teen might have a sense of fatigue, red and glazed eyes and/or a lasting cough. On an emotional level, the teenagers might have general mood swings, or irresponsible behavior, possible low self-esteem, general lack of interest in anything or could be generally depressed. In a family environment, a teen drug abuser can often be argumentative, or they become very secretive in movements. In school, a teenager could decline participation, drop in grades, skip certain classes, or generally accumulate a myriad amount of tardiness. These are some of the reasons why it is important to keep kids safe and pay more attention to all that they need. They (teenagers) are always in need of something one way or another.

• Teen addiction is generally used to make up for something that is missing or not visible in a teen’s life. It generally meets the needs of an addicted teenager who knows no other options. This could result in depression, general unhappiness, or a simple inability to deal with everyday situations that occur in real life.

  Cocaine is a quite common weapon of choice for troubled/addicted teens. No matter how cocaine is taken, whether it is snorted or smoked, it is highly dangerous and in some instances has killed some users when it (cocaine) has been mixed with alcohol. Serious health problems can evolve from using cocaine such as: major heart conditions, including heart attacks, respiratory conditions, nervous system breakdowns, including strokes, as well as extreme digestive complications.

  According to www.wrongdiagnosis.com 91% of hospital consultant episodes for mental and behavioral disorders due to use of cocaine required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03).

  Additional stats that are highly startling are as follows from www.drug-statistics.com
• 1 out of 4 Americans between the age of 26 and 34 have used cocaine in their lifetime
• According to the Minnesota Institute for Public Health and Drug Resource Center, 5,000 adults in the United States try cocaine for the first time each day. (1985)-
• Today it is estimated that 22 to 25 million people have tried cocaine at least once. Conservative estimates indicate that there are over two million cocaine addicts in the United States today.
• Contrary to earlier belief, high dose use of cocaine can be detected as long as 10 to 22 days after last use.
• Near half of all drug related emergency room visits are due to cocaine abuse.

  Hopefully, if more information about cocaine addiction is voiced more extensively, it will educate the population and possibly prevent future rising statistics.

  Andrew C