How to Tell if Your Teenager is Abusing Alcohol and in Need of an Adolescent Treatment Center

Dr. Purushothaman
November 29, 2013

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Alcohol addiction according to a leading teen treatment center is a negative habit of alcohol use that leads to a variety of problems which affected one's health, society, interpersonal interactions, professions, and even one's life. Teen alcohol addiction is something that cannot be brushed aside given the fact that there are rising incidences of alcohol abuse among adolescents. Cases of drunken driving and killing people are high among teenagers and people in their 20s and so are the health issues that a teenager faces like lack of zest for life, depression, teenage suicides etc.

The teenager usually falls into the temptation of drinking alcohol by watching others doing it. Subsequent rounds of drinking leads to a variety of problems like taking more alcohol to feel intoxicated, difficulties that happen due to alcohol withdrawal, the menace to the society, the violent behavior and the fact that most people shun off the company of an alcoholic are other effects that manifest from drinking too much alcohol.

Like drugs, there are phases in which a teenager takes to alcohol. They are described here in a simple manner:

Access to alcohol: This is the phase where a person may not actually consume it, but still he or she comes in contact with a place where drinks flow freely. This can be in the form of a pub, a club, a friend's place where people meet together for a round of drinks etc.
Experimentation with alcohol: This phase is marked by the teenager trying to get into the habit of drinking alcohol. He tastes liquor and begins to like it. He then decides to frequent parties or join get-togethers where he has an opportunity to celebrate with rounds of booze.
Increase in the frequency of alcohol: He starts to gel with other alcoholics and whenever they meet up, which is more often than not, there is alcohol flowing liberally. The teenager finds it a lot of fun and thrilling to be party to alcohol and guzzle it with these ‘friends' rather than be with sober friends. It is at this phase where he even mixes drinks with smoke or even drugs. At this stage, the teenager who does not have access to money may just steal money or ask some other friend to lend him money so that he could blow it on alcohol.
The fourth stage of alcohol addiction according to a teen rehab facility, is characterized by teens getting heavily intoxicated and developing health problems, educational problems, social problems and family problems. The teen begins to fall sick and may even suffer from a weak immune system. The educational problem is in the form of falling grades and even suspension from the school. Social problems happen when the society begins to not only shun the child but even the parents for fostering a drunken teenager that can be a bad influence to other kids. Family problems is even worse when the parents reprimand, abuse or even slap their kids for drinking, something that the child may revolt by leaving the home and drinking even more.
The fifth stage is when the teenager actually feels normal and better by drinking. The sober state of life actually makes him feel uneasy and breathless, so much that he finds his sanity only by drinking. This can be a life-threatening state where the teen can take play with his life and even entertain suicidal thoughts.

It is better to take cognizance of the situation, act promptly and take your teenage son or daughter to the best adolescent treatment program and get treated in the best manner possible.

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