© Copyright 2024 Red River Healthcare. All rights reserved.
Addiction is a difficult topic to bring up, especially in the family environment. Unfortunately, this leaves a lot of teens without a support system to talk about their struggle with addiction.
The lack of a support system that they feel safe expressing themselves in can lead them to seek out drugs because they are looking for a way to escape or fit in with a peer group. It may also be the result of underlying mental health ailments that have gone untreated or undiagnosed.
You don’t want this for your teen. In this article, learn how to find addiction services for youths; from rehabilitation to counseling, youth services exist separately from adult services to provide more specialized care and attention to their needs.
Are you concerned that your teen may be abusing drugs? Often, drug use happens in the privacy of their own room, at school, or during social outings after school. A lot of the symptoms that parents often say are drug-related, however, can also be signs of typical teenage behavior as they go through mental and emotional changes.
Mood swings, avoiding eye contact, changes in behavior or grade, or damaging relationships with family members can all be a part of a moody teenager who might not be on drugs, but may be suffering from some emotional distress or change in attitude.
If you see these signs and think that your teen may need help, whether for emotional and mental distress or for drugs, it is time to talk to them one-on-one without the use of blame language or threat of repercussions.
It is critical that your teen learns that talking to you about these subjects is safe. Even if they admit to using drugs, or discuss activities where they use drugs, banning them from those activities or individuals, or limiting their time out of the house will only teach them that they should not talk to you about the problem, which can make the addiction worse.
Instead, allowing them to continue expressing their feelings around the substance and motivations behind trying it will provide them with a safe and supportive place from which they can begin seeking help. They may even agree to seek professional help, at which point you can help them find a rehabilitation center that is right for their needs.
The Red River Treatment Center is located in Pineville, LA and is the number one choice for both teen and adult substance abuse rehabilitation. We offer both inpatient and outpatient treatment programs that help you establish a care plan that works for your teen’s needs.
No one wants to admit that their teen might be using drugs, but when you begin seeing the signs it can make you wonder about teen drug use statistics and just how prevalent the issue is among youth. (1)
While the statistics vary by state, the average teen drug use has increased over the previous decade. Between 2016 and 2020, drug use among 8th graders worsened by 61%. In 2019 along, there were nearly 5,000 overdose deaths among youth ages 15 to 24.
There are not many realities more tragic than the devastating effects that drug addiction can have on people, families, and communities.
– Huffpost
The statistics are heartbreaking, but the availability of drugs is only becoming more common. By providing a safe place for teens to talk about drugs and by getting professional help sooner rather than later, however, parents and guardians can combat drug use and overdose-related deaths.
There are many signs of addiction that teens exhibit that may also be examples of moodiness, emotional imbalances, or mental health disorders. For teens struggling with drugs and alcohol, however, they may become secretive and possessive over the substance.
Staying out late, neglecting friendships, and dropping grades are some of the main signs that your teen needs help.
It’s never too early to begin talking to your teen about drugs and the effects that it can have on the body and mind. If they are already addicted, then seeking help from a rehab facility or licensed drug and alcohol counselor is the best way to begin treatment.
In many cases, teens wind up for a dual diagnosis. Not only are they addicted, but they may be secretly struggling with a mental illness that has only recently begun to come to light or is exacerbated by the challenges and stressors that come into a teenagers’ life.
Furthermore, drugs and alcohol can worsen these mental illnesses, causing an insidious cycle of abuse that can worsen quickly. For teens with a dual diagnosis with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or another mental health problem, it’s important to treat both issues with the help of a medical professional.
While there is no way to prevent addiction entirely, as some are more susceptible to it than others, and situational circumstances may always change, the risk of addiction can be decreased with the right actions.
First, take care to strengthen the support system around the individual. As a parent or guardian that may mean building a safe space where they feel comfortable discussing anything with you without fear of rejection or punishment.
Additionally, education about drug use and how it negatively impacts the body and social circles can greatly decrease risk of addiction as the teen is less likely to experiment with drugs for recreational purposes.
Lastly, ensuring that any mental health issues are properly addressed and ensuring that the teen has access to find healthy and positive passions are essential in lessening the risk of them turning to drugs out of boredom or as a way to self-medicate.
For teens, the right addiction treatment program is crucial as they are more likely to get impatient with their progress before they discover the right program for their needs.
Additional care and attention should be paid to the progress to ensure that they are responding well to different treatment methods, and that they are truly engaged, rather than going through the motions.
Teens who are not convinced that their addiction is a problem, or who may not be in the right treatment program often believe that the key to success is making their friends or family happy and go through the process without truly engaging or believing in their recovery. Finding the right treatment for the individual is essential, and should directly address their motivations for sobriety, not their loved ones’.
At Red River Treatment Center, our caring staff go above and beyond to ensure that every patient, whether enrolled in an outpatient or inpatient program, can successfully overcome their addiction by providing the support and supervision necessary.
Through a variety of treatment methods such as group activities, counseling sessions, medicated treatment, and creative expression, individuals learn how good life can be without their drug of choice, and that they have the power within themselves to overcome their addiction.
Located in Pineville, LA, our facility is one of the top destinations for drug and alcohol rehab in the state. Give us a call today to learn more about our patient process and current availability.
Getting a teenager into a rehab facility is difficult, especially if you are in the role of the parent. Teens might not want to listen because they don’t think you’d understand what they are going through, or that their struggle isn’t something they can share with you.
The first step to getting a teenager into rehab is reframing your approach in your own mind. You cannot ban people or places, as this will just cause them to get sneakier with their habits and teach them that you are not a safe person to discuss their drug use with, causing them to get defensive and irritable with you.
They have turned to drugs for a reason, whether it’s experimentation, not feeling listened to or supported, or to fit in with a peer group. Instead of accusing them or reprimanding their behavior, ask them about their experience and how they feel about the drug use or the situations they are getting into.
This might take a little bit of time to ease into, but slowly your teen will learn whether you are a safe person to talk to or not. If so, they will open up to you and begin talking about their feelings.
It is also important to understand that their feelings are valid; saying things like “you don’t have any reason to feel that way” or “no you don’t feel that way, you have all these resources” are quick ways to cause a teen to shut down the discussion and undo the progress made in the relationship.
Instead, being empathetic, trying to understand the world from their perspective, and being supportive without directly encouraging the habit is the best way to get them to become receptive about receiving help for the addiction.
Once they understand the damage that the drugs are doing to their body and social relationships, and have expressed their emotions and motivations clearly, you can ease them into getting professional help. This might be an intake session with a licensed drug and alcohol counselor, or to give group therapy a try.
Not only will this help them understand that they are not alone, but that their addiction is understandable and that it is possible to get better.
For teens, the decision to choose outpatient or inpatient treatment greatly depends on their level of addiction and the type of support they can get at home or school. If their addiction is beginning to affect their work or school life, whether it’s missing classes or receiving lowered grades, a more intense outpatient treatment may be advisable.
If the addiction has become debilitating, such as dropping out of school, failing a class, or getting fired from their job, then an inpatient treatment program may be necessary to completely remove them from access to their addicted drug. This is often most beneficial if they have become so addicted that they are afraid of the withdrawals and are beginning to develop a tolerance to the drug.
For teens who consume more of the drug than they intend and feel the craving to continue taking it, or for drugs that are especially harmful to health and cause them to engage in risk behavior, a mild outpatient treatment program may be right for them. In this treatment program, they visit a counselor and participate in group activities a few times a week, and begin treatment with the guidance of the rehab center but do much of the work from home.
Depending on the treatment program and rehab center, an individual’s day at the facility may be structured differently. For more intense outpatient rehab programs, their day looks similar to an inpatient’s day except they leave the facility at the end of the day to go home.
A patient’s day during a mild intensity outpatient program looks very different; they may show up for scheduled appointments a few times a week, participating in counseling and activities, as well as follow-ups for any additional treatment.
For an individual going through inpatient treatment, they will reside at the facility for a certain amount of time, sleeping in designated quarters with limited or no time outside of the center. These programs help your teen acclimatize to a new chapter in their lives, providing them with all the supervision and care necessary to detoxify and take steps towards sobriety.
Depending on the rehab facility and program that your teen enrolls in, the day-to-day schedule may look different. Typically, the day is scheduled out in half-hour blocks, with everything scheduled out from breakfast to therapy sessions, group activities, personal time and bedtime.
This rigid schedule can be daunting for some who are concerned about losing autonomy, but the routine is in place to provide stability to their lives and reduce anxiety as much as possible throughout the process.
Patients have plenty of personal time scheduled into the day between meals and activities that allows them to indulge in board games, watch television, read books, or spend the time however they’d like. Electronics are generally discouraged or disallowed at these facilities, so teens will also learn recreational activities that don’t involve them sitting in front of the screen all day.
A rehabilitation facility like the Red River Treatment Center is beneficial for teens and adults alike, providing different treatment programs based on their individual needs. Teens often need different types of support and therapy than adults, so they are matched with the counselor who is the best fit for them.
The resources and approaches utilized for the members that want to re-establish their bonds with their family and friends are going to be considerably different than those who want to get their career back on track.
– Forbes
Even if a teen doesn’t have a career to focus on, their addiction can put a strain on their school grades, peer support, and socialization with family members.
Teenagers notoriously need room to breathe where they don’t feel smothered by parental figures. At a rehab facility, they are treated as a person in need of help and recovery regardless of age. For many teens, this makes a world of difference.
Adults have a tendency to take over a teen’s autonomy and make decisions for them, and talk down to them. While this often comes from a place of concern or fear, it can make your teen feel defensive and bottle up any feelings that they might have, making the substance abuse worse.
Rehab facilities provide teens with room to breathe where they can feel safe and like they are autonomous, learning how to recover with their own motivations for sobriety in mind rather than motivations that are imposed upon them.
During treatment, teens are exposed to a new environment that allows them to forget about work, home, or school life where there may be triggers for their substance abuse. A change of environment can be a wonderful thing for a teen struggling with substance abuse, allowing them to shed any doubts or stressors that come from their typical environment.
Once they are able to focus on their addiction and the path to recovery without thinking about the stressors and triggers that might drive them to their substance in the first place, they can begin the detox process and begin learning how to overcome their addiction through their own willpower, new coping mechanisms, and the appropriate treatment program that suits their needs.
One of the main benefits to a rehab facility is the supervised care that it provides teens. This way, your teen can safely detox and begin on the path to recovery. This kind of care is essential for teens trying to re-establish themselves in sobriety.
With the Red River Treatment Center, your teen will be supervised by the appropriate medical staff around the clock during inpatient treatment programs, or by their appointed counselor while they are in the facility during outpatient treatment programs.
It’s no secret that teenagers need a varied and positive support system to help them through this stage in life, but addiction often throws a wrench in this plan.
Teens often feel like they are not listened to at home or that loved ones wouldn’t understand what they are going through. The support system that a rehabilitation facility provides is an excellent resource, allowing teens to talk with other individuals and medical staff who will listen to them and do have some level of understanding of their experiences.
The rehab facility provides a space where they don’t feel like they will be punished or reprimanded for discussing their actions and expressing their needs, so that they can begin on the path to recovery with a sound mind.
If you think your teen might be addicted to drugs or alcohol, there’s no time to waste. Waiting for them to come around, tell you upfront, or stop on their own can be dangerous. They may already be addicted or experimenting with different types of drugs.
If your teen is addicted, it can begin to affect their grades, social life, and mental health, which is why prompt action is important.
Don’t wait to act; give us a call today to learn more about our safe and effective addiction services and find the right treatment path for them based on their age and stage of addiction.
© Copyright 2024 Red River Healthcare. All rights reserved.