Drug abuse is a serious and growing problem that affects many people worldwide. Understanding the signs and symptoms of drug abuse will help you protect yourself and your family. Sadly, even well-behaved children can be caught up in social pressure and influence. If you suspect that your teen is abusing drugs, here are some ideas you can try right away.
When You Suspect Your Teen Is Abusing Drugs: What Next?
Don’t Confront Them
Remember that if it’s just a suspicion, you don’t have any tangible evidence. As much as you feel you should ask or confront the teen, calm down and observe their behavior more closely. Behaviors that suggest drug use are:
- Withdrawing and spending more time in their room
- Disinterest in family and school activities
- Always looking tired
- They seem depressed
- Decreased appetite
- They sleep a lot or not at all
- Poor health
- The friends they spend time together are questionable
- They use slang terms to refer to certain drugs
- Increased mood swings and temper
- Increased complaints from teachers, other children, and adults
Look around their room and watch their movement more. Has the teenager missed classes, seemed more lethargic than usual, or ignored their personal hygiene? Do you find any substances or paraphernalia in their room that suggest drug use?
You might want to talk to your teenager about the issue if you discover anything. Arm yourself with at home drug screening kits to test for substance abuse, in case you need them.
Have a Conversation
Choose a calm and quiet place where you can talk freely, without interruptions. Make sure there are no other people present, then let them know your fears, what you’ve found out, and why you’re concerned. Let them understand although you’re hurt, you still love them very much and want to help them.
When calm, the teenager might volunteer some information such as the type of drugs they use, how long they’ve been at it, and why. Sometimes, they won’t be outrightly honest. It’s up to you to find out the truth. Try as many times as it takes to reach out to them until they trust you enough to open up.
The more you establish trust, rather than use threats to punish them, the more they’ll open up to you or come to you for help. It’s possible your teen started experimenting with drugs for fun but is now trapped in the habit. They don’t know how to break free.
As you talk, let them know they need professional help, and assure them you’ll walk with them through the journey. Don’t forget to ask if there’s anything else you can do for them. At this point, you can suggest using the at-home drug screening kit to get an idea of the extent of substance abuse.
Talk to Professionals
Treat drug use or addiction the same way you would any other illness. Talk to experts about your concerns, findings and be willing to follow the recommendations. Seek the help of trained counselors and rehab centers for support. Experts understand the mixture of medical, psychological, and social factors that contribute to dependency.
Understandably, drug abuse is not something you’re proud to talk about, even to close friends. However, silence doesn’t help. Find support groups of parents dealing with the same and check help centers in your area.
Work Hard To Avoid Relapse
Try to understand the reasons that led to the teenager abusing drugs. If it’s peer pressure, talk to them about being grounded in their beliefs, values, and priorities. If it stems from a soured relationship with parents, counseling can be helpful. Other common causes of drug abuse are:
- Not spending quality time together as a family
- Problems at school or at home
- To escape from abuse
- To meet performance expectations
Dealing with the issue gives them more power to make the right decisions. The best part is, this experience enables you to set better standards for the rest of the family.
Follow the Treatment Recommendations
Remember to follow up with the therapists, gauge progress, and encourage the teenager to make better decisions in the future. Also, use this experience to help other families dealing with teenage drug abuse.
Phot0 by Helena Lopes
