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Teenage drugs and alcohol abuse
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September, 2009. Yet another school year begins. They say it’s the best one. The strongest one. The most important. The monumental senior year. It’s given too much hype.
The first few weeks of school were normal. Nothing had changed from junior year. Still had the few friends that I wanted. Still had the grades I wanted and they were getting stronger. Still had the respect I had regained from my mom, and had kept the respect with my friends from the previous year. Had actually acquired a few more friends towards the end of the year and I actually got to reconnect with grace. Sadly all my senior friends which made up about half of my group last year had graduated and moved on and now it was a special treat when I got to talk to them. Things were going pretty well. I had everything you could expect for senior year. For the first month everything remained the same. Just as I had expected and wanted it to. And then for the last time. It all changed.
A month before thanksgiving break. At the Highland Lake Inn. Kathleen’s birthday party.
I wasn’t great friends with everyone who had attended that party but for the most part we all got along. It was myself, Amanda, Kathleen, Sam, Greydon, Dayton, and a new girl Krystal. Kathleen had told me before that I needed to become friends with Krystal. So at the party we kind of talked but it was on the way home from the party in the car when we really started to connect. Later in the dorm as we talked on and on about things that had happened in the past I began to realize that she was more like me than anyone I had ever met. She didn’t get along with her mother. She was an unexpected baby just like me. She was bisexual like me. Naming thing after thing we both realized that we could relate in ...
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...mbered all of it. Krystal remembered nothing. She woke up the next day in the ER and was told she had almost died. She was the one punished for something she only played a small role in when it was my decision to let us drink. It was my decision to not pay attention to how much we were having. It was my decision to not take care of her. And it was my decision to let it get out of hand. None of these decisions were ones I had subconsciously made at various points that night but they were still mine. These were things that would never happen again. I never intended for any of it to happen. I didn’t think we had had too much. I k new I hadn’t but I didn’t think she had either. . Vodka and Redbull. And Vodka and Orange Juice. Never again would I have a drink. I made that promise to myself the second I heard the word Hospital come out of the Wenham police officers mouth.
As young girl with big dreams I imagined my senior year of high school to be one of the best years of my life. I imagined going to homecoming with all of my friends, being the captain of the varsity soccer and cheerleading teams, going to Friday night football games, going to Prom with my perfect date, and going on a senior trip with all of my best friends. I never imagined my senior year to be the way that it is. I am the new kid.
Almost everyone can say that they have had an experience with drugs, either it be with just witnessing it or using it. Throughout my life, I have had many bad experiences with drugs and it has taught me to stay away from them. Our society now somewhat looks up to the use of drug, with it being in the music industry or being in movies, it is in our culture and this could hurt us as a country down the road. Now, I’m not saying it is not okay to party once and awhile, but if a person is to party on a regular basis this could turn into an addiction to alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, and even caffeine. In all, there needs to be more facts and ads telling kids about these problems because they are our future and we have to set them up for success.
8th grade, 8th grade from the opening day to the signing of the yearbooks. This is the year of memories, goodbyes, and regrets. 8th grade and I’m still realizing that there are people in the world that would die to go to a school like this. A school where every body knows everyone’s name, respects everyone, and where violence and fighting are about as common as the Yankees missing the playoffs. When I’m done with my homework and go to bed, as the days of 8th grade wind down, summer will come and go, and I will find myself in one of those giant, scary places called high school.
Substance abuse is the habitual use of mind altering substances (Substances). Addicts have a false or altered look on reality; they need help seeing what is wrong with the life style they are living. Nikki Sixx once said,” Addiction- When you can give something up at any time, as long as it’s next Tuesday!” Recovery is teaching a person to break old habits. Substance abuse counselors are very important, not only in the mental health field, but in society as well.
From the individual perspective, the client was a victim of child abuse, which led to feelings of fear and sadness and a desire to avoid these emotions. Socially, she came from a family of alcoholics giving her easy availability. There was also the pressure of keeping up appearances due to her mother’s status in society. The initial individual consequences of the client’s alcohol use were reinforcing. She felt invincible, warm, and it helped her avoid the thoughts in her head. Everything was right with the world as long as she was intoxicated.
Drug Addiction as a Psychobiological Process The emphasis is on biological mechanisms underlying addiction, although some other factors influencing drug addiction will also be discussed. The presentation is limited primarily to psychomotor stimulants (e.g., amphetamine, cocaine) and opiates (e.g., heroin, morphine) for two reasons. First, considerable knowledge has been gained during the past 15 years regarding the neurobiological mechanisms mediating their addictive properties. Second, these two pharmacological classes represent the best examples of potent addictive drugs, and the elucidation of their addiction potential can provide a framework for understanding abuse and addiction to other psychotropic agents. Some psychologists and sociologists assert that animal studies do not model the important psychological variables governing drug addiction.
Starting high school is tough for some people. Moving to a new city is also tough for some people. Or me I had to deal with both. I can remember my very first day of high school, I was so nervous. I didn’t make any friends over the summer so I didn’t talk to anyone. I was pushed out of my comfort zone to talk to people and make new friends. A few months into school I received my first interim. It wasn't the greatest but , I blamed it on my transition to high school and promised that
Drug abuse and addiction are issues that affect people everywhere. However, these issues are usually treated as criminal activity rather than issues of public health. There is a conflict over whether addiction related to drug abuse is a disease or a choice. Addiction as a choice suggests that drug abusers are completely responsible for their actions, while addiction as a disease suggests that drug abusers need help in order to break their cycle of addiction. There is a lot of evidence that suggests that addiction is a disease, and should be treated rather than punished. Drug addiction is a disease because: some people are more likely to suffer from addiction due to their genes, drug abuse brought on by addictive behavior changes the brain and worsens the addiction, and the environment a person lives in can cause the person to relapse because addiction can so strongly affect a person.
Drug abuse is defined as the excessive use of medication or substances which are either legal or illegal without the prescription of a physician. While some drugs are legal, overdosing is considered as drug abuse as the medicine is only healthy and helpful when taken in the required amount with the permission of a doctor. Other forms of drug abuse entail the use of substance that is either discouraged by healthcare association or illegalized by authorities. The users may use the drugs in order to feel a rush of energy or appear calm than normal. Drug abuse is a problem that affects the users, their close relatives and the society they live in (Barnard, 2007). There are different types of drugs that are abused ranging from extremely
Illegal drug use is one of the most common problems that affect Americans every day. Joyce B. Shannon (2010) found that, “More than 35 million individuals used illicit drugs or abused prescription drugs in 2007” (p. 11). The impact can be seen in communities of all types, and people with low and high income levels. Drug use is at the root of many problems with our society. Joyce B. Shannon (2010) referenced a survey from 2004 that states, “32% of state prisoners and 26% of federal prisoners” admitted that they were currently serving jail time for offences committed while they were, “under the influence of drugs” (p. 102). The reasoning behind this issue will be explained from a psychological, sociological, and an anthropological perspective including the benefit of an interdisciplinary perspective to grasp the cause of drug use and it’s affect on society.
Going into freshman year of high school was something that hit me unexpectedly. I couldn’t believe that 4 years from then I would be graduating. To me it seemed like an eternity of course, as if I had all the time in the galaxy to relax before things would become more profound such as grades, time management skills, and independence.
The first semester of college is hard. My half sister, an occupational therapist in training, likes to point out that given the mental development of most eighteen year olds, going to college is one of the most intense transitions of someone’s life. Throughout all of high school I knew I wanted to leave the west coast and move as far as possible. Fortunately I love the east coast even when my cravings for savory Mexican food and dry heat still leave me with pangs of homesickness. In addition to being immersed in a new culture and weather, I was starting over and had to hold my own for the first time. I had to make new friends, create my own schedule, and take care of myself. My first semester had all of these challenges and more. I fell for modern love and got dumped, realized I did not want to pursue my ‘dream major,’ and my grandpa died; all testing my newly reconstructed mentally healthy state of mind. In hindsight I am proud of myself for getting by and even consider my time here the best months of my life
The school year has started with me with a very frustrating experience. Junior High school was not exactly that way I imagined. First lesson was my explicit and direct exposure to what a junior high school is. From the first lesson I already understood that I have
My senior year of high school…I want to enjoy people’s company, appreciate my family’s presence, and keep a permanent Polaroid of my “home town” etched in my memory. I have a purpose for the year, I know what I want to accomplish for the future, but I have to remember to make the most out of today because there may not always be a tomorrow.
I can honestly say that I thought my first semester of college had went better than I thought it would’ve gone. Academically, my grades are really good and I know that I have above a 3.0 GPA so that’s cool. Also, I thought that the professors were going to be jerks and not really care if we understood the material or not. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The professors were so helpful and kind every step of the way. However, I developed quicker socially than I had anticipated I would. At the beginning of the semester I was mostly in my room and lonely, but now I know a lot of people that I can honestly call my friends.