A Teen’s Guide to Navigating Substance Abuse
- N. Farr, V. Kadulina, E. Morris, R. Murray, H. Rana
- Apr 12, 2024
- 8 min read
Do you ever see your favorite TV show characters drinking or doing drugs and think they look cool? Do you think to yourself “They’re not experiencing the negative side effects of drugs, so why would I?” While this is easy to believe, it is not the case. Substance use disorder is a very serious disorder that can severely affect your life. Around 4.5 million teenagers in the United States have a substance use disorder, and around 400,000 teenagers in Canada have a substance use disorder (Chealales, 2023). With numbers this large, it is important to learn about the dangers of drug addiction to possibly help prevent you or someone you love from being addicted to drugs in the future. While anyone can develop substance use disorder, teenagers (you guys!) are most likely to develop an addiction. Have no fear, we will discuss what substance use disorder is, how it can affect your life, the risk factors leading up to and during substance use, how the disorder looks in your brain, and how to treat this disorder all in this blog post!
What is Substance Use Disorder?
Substance use disorder is when a person develops an unhealthy and uncontrollable pattern of using drugs, such as smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol, even if they are aware of all of the negative consequences of the drug (Stigma Reduction, 2023). This can lead to a person to depend on the drug, which can then ruin their everyday lifestyle (What is a Substance Use Disorder?, 2010).
Why Should I Care About Substance Use Disorder?
Being addicted to drugs can affect your everyday lifestyle as a teenager. As a teenager, it is easy to believe that you will not experience the negative sides of using drugs. Remember- this is not the case! Here are just a few ways how drug usage can affect your life:
It will affect your school work: Having a substance use disorder can cause you to constantly think about the drug you are addicted to. If you are constantly thinking about this drug, it is hard to focus on anything, let alone your school work. Substance use disorder can negatively affect your school performance by creating unnecessary obstacles for you to overcome (Consequences of Youth Substance Abuse, 1998). How can you be the smartest in class if you can’t concentrate?
It can affect how you play sports: Being addicted to a drug can make you miss a winning shot in your soccer game, a winning field kick in your football game, and more! Drug usage weakens your lung capacity, weakens all the muscles you worked hard to strengthen, and makes you feel off balance. If you want to stay on your game, stay off drugs (Effects of Using Drugs, n.d.) !
Having a bad mental health day? Drugs will make you feel worse!: You may think hitting your vape or drinking alcohol can help you ease your stress about school or after-school activities. However, it actually does the opposite. Drinking and smoking can actually cause more anxiety, make you more moody, and increase those negative thoughts in your head. If you are having a bad mental health day, there are a million better ways to ease your paint that do not include drugs. (Miller, 2023).
It can affect your relationships: It feels so nice to find friends you truly bond with as a teenager. However, if you become addicted to drugs and develop a substance use disorder, these friendships will not last. Drug usage can make you feel paranoid, which means you believe your friends are constantly against you and are talking bad about you. Along with this, having a drug addiction/substance use disorder can make you feel angry, which can cause you to lash out on your friends for no reason (Social Consequences of Using Drugs, n.d.). Nobody likes to get in unnecessary fights!
Symptoms
The first step in discovering if you have this disorder is to recognize the symptoms:
Not being able to control your drug usage
Constantly feeling like you need more drugs to continue through the day
Spending a majority of your free time trying to get more drugs
Failing to carry out your roles as a teenager, like being a good student, a good worker, a good friend, or a good partner.
Using a drug despite it causing problems with your friends and family.
Giving up activities you enjoy doing (like sports or an after school activity) to make more time for using and obtaining drugs.
Continuing to use a drugs despite knowing how harmful the drug can be
Experiencing drug withdrawal (withdrawal is when your body starts to realize you're not doing the drug, so it begins to give you physical and mental symptoms that make it hard to stop doing a drug. For example, if you drink a lot and suddenly stop, you will begin to feel anxiety and not be able to sit still (The American Psychiatric Association, 2024).
Do I Have a High Chance of Developing Substance Use Disorder?
Any person across the world can become addicted to drugs, and there are multiple different reasons as to why people may turn toward drug usage (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2022). Drug usage can start as a little experimentation and develop into a serious substance abuse disorder much faster in teenagers than in adults (Miller, 2023). The risk factors that will be discussed in this blog will show just how dangerous substance abuse can be, especially for teenagers!
Here are some risk factors that make you more likely to develop a substance use disorder (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2022):
Family history of addiction. Addiction can be more common in some families and can involve an increased risk based on your genes (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2022). If someone in your family has an addiction of any sort to drugs or alcohol, you are at a higher risk of developing a substance abuse disorder if you are in blood relation to them (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2022).
Mental health disorder(s). Some mental health disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) can lead to substance abuse (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2022). This is due to the coping mechanisms people can develop when having one or more of these mental health disorders (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2022). People want to find a way to cope with their painful feelings and using drugs is the easiest way for most people.
Peer pressure. Peer pressure can also be a strong factor when getting into substance abuse (Stigma Reduction, 2022). Teenagers tend to want to fit in with their peers to be cool, which can lead to trying drugs and forming an abusive bond with drugs.
Parental substance use. Teenagers are very influenced by those around them, especially their parents. When teens see their parents abusing drugs, they are more likely to try drugs and then become addicted themselves (High-Risk Substance Use Among Youth, 2022).
How Does Substance Abuse Affect My Brain?
It is important as a teenager to understand how drug usage can affect your brain. As you use drugs, your brain worsens, which is why we have to pay attention to how the brain works and look at the biology of addiction. If your brain is not working properly, how are you supposed to keep up with your assignments, your sports, or your favorite video games?
When you become addicted to a drug, your brain starts working differently, especially as a teenager. The prefrontal cortex (which is responsible for your thoughts, emotions, memories, and decisions, and is located at the front of your brain) is not completely formed until the age of 25. Therefore, you, as a teenager, are especially vulnerable to drug addiction and substance abuse. Drug usage can cause more harm to the front part of the brain while it is still developing. If this part of your brain that manages decision making is not fully developed, it is hard to make the correct decision to stop doing drugs, even if you understand that it is very dangerous (El-Baba & Schury, 2023). Most drugs make your brain release dopamine, which is a chemical that makes us feel good. When your brain gets used to drugs, it might not produce as much dopamine on its own, and that makes us feel bad. This process can make it easier to continue using drugs, and harder for you to quit. (Dopamine, n.d.). Therefore, it is important to not begin using drugs in the first place!
Treatment Options
Substance use and abuse can have many negative effects on individuals, families, and friends. These negative effects can be harmful to your health. Luckily, addiction is treatable! With the right approach, individuals struggling with drug addiction can reclaim their lives.
Detoxing: Most often, the first step of substance use treatment is detoxing, which is ridding the body of drugs. While detox may work for some people, it may not work for others, so it all depends on what your body requires. The drugs you use, your medical history, your mental health disorders, and the severity of your addiction can all play a role in how detoxing works for you. This method helps you find an easier path to deal with withdrawal symptoms as well as prepares you for further treatment options (Hedden et. al., 2016).
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, also known as CBT, is a type of therapy that focuses on changing unhealthy thoughts and turning them into positive thoughts, or behaviors, relating to drug addiction. CBT helps people learn new coping strategies and more positive ways of handling their unhealthy cravings for drugs.
Medication-Assisted Treatment: Medication- Assisted Treatment, also known as MAT, is a treatment that combines medicine and therapy to treat substance use and abuse disorders. Medication used to treat substance abuse can help reduce withdrawal symptoms, cravings, and can help structure long term recovery (Overdose Prevention, 2021).
Closing
In conclusion, substance use disorders can start as early as adolescence. Substance use disorder can impair your everyday lifestyle, mental health, physical health, and your relationships with others. Once you develop this disorder or become addicted to different substances, it becomes very hard to part ways with it, no matter the age. Catching it early can be super helpful in the long run, and luckily you are still a teenager! Therefore, it is important to inform yourself of this disorder now to lower your chance of developing this disorder. While you may not be able to see the immediate consequences of substance usage, it will inevitably catch up to you in the future. It is never too late to take action to improve your health!
Call-to-Action
We recommend checking out our fellow classmates' blogs regarding different disorders. There is no such thing as too much information! Additionally, we recommend checking out all of the resources below to learn more about this disorder, how to prevent/treat it, and how to get help if you or a loved one needs it.
References
Chealales, J. (2023). 92 Teenage Drug Abuse Statistics, Facts & Prevalence. Recovery Center of Niagra. https://www.niagararecovery.com/blog/teenage-drug-abuse-statistics
Consequences of Youth Substance Abuse. (1998). Drug Identification in the Juvenile System. https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh176/files/pubs/drugid/ration-03.html
Dopamine. (n.d.). Health Direct. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/amp/article/dopamine
Effects of Using Drugs. (n.d.) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh176/files/pubs/coachesplaybook/effects ofusing.html#:~:text=A%20basketball%20player%20using%20drugs,can%20drop% 20with%20marijuana%20use
El-Baba, R. M., & Schury, M. P. (2023). Neuroanatomy, Frontal Cortex. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554483/#:~:text=%5B2%5D%20 Particular%20regions%20of%20thecreativity%2C%20and%20maintaining %20social%20appropriateness
Hedden, S. L., Hughes, A., & Lipari, R. N. (2016). Substance Use and Mental Health Estimates from the 2013 National Survey on Drugs Use and Health: Overview of Findings. Europe PMC. https://europepmc.org/article/NBK/nbk385055#impact
High-risk substance use among youth (2022). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/substance-use/index.htm
Mayo Clinic Staff (2022). Drug addiction (substance use disorder). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/drug-addiction/symptoms-causes/syc-20365112
Miller, C. (2023) Mental health disorders and teen substance use. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/mental-health-disorders-and-substance-use/
Overdose Prevention. (2021). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/opioids/overdoseprevention/index.html
Social Consequences of Using Drugs. (n.d.) Drug Enforcement Administration. https://www.justthinktwice.gov/social-consequences-using-drugs#:~:text=Drugs %20can%20 also%20cause%20 users,more%2C%20 drugs% 20can%20 destroy%20 friendships.
Stigma Reduction. (2023). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/stigma/index.html
Buddy. (2024). Understanding Withdrawal and Its Effects. Very Well Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-withdrawal-how-long-does-it-last-63036#:~:text=Withdrawal%20 symptoms%20 are%20 often%20the,such%20as%20 anxiety%20 or%20 restlessness.
The American Psychiatric Association. (n.d.). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental health disorders: Substance-related and addictive disorders, 5, https://dsm-psychiatryonline-org.libaccess.senecapolytechnic.ca/doi/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787.x16_Substance_Related_Disorders
What is a Substance Use Disorder? (2010). American Psychiatric Association. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction-substance-use-disorders/what -is-a-substance-use-disorder
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