: Adolescence is a period of risk-taking and boundary-pushing. A boy may first encounter substances like alcohol or marijuana in social settings, often fueled by a desire to fit in or avoid isolation.
Courage to Speak Stories. When Ginger Katz lost her son, Ian, to a drug overdose in 1996, she realized that being a parent doesn't... The Courage to Speak Foundation Irritability Signs of Teenage Substance Abuse Frequent flu-like symptoms Drug-induced psychosis Coming home visibly drunk or high Sudden declin... Irritability Social isolation It's not uncommon for people who are dealing with addiction to isolate themselves. There's a reason isolation is a well-known warn... Social isolation Substance dependence Drug or alcohol misuse can lead to dependence. When dependence occurs, the teen experiences intense cravings for the substance whe... Substance dependence Emotional dysregulation I'd think something to consider with any substance use/adolescent development research though is that a lot of teens who misuse su... Emotional dysregulation Anxiety The Effect of Drugs on Youth Causes of Teenage Drug Use One of the primary reasons teenagers turn to drugs is the overwhelming anx... Anxiety Insomnia In fact, many illicit drugs (and their withdrawal periods) can cause insomnia in users of all ages. If your teen is constantly tir... Insomnia Major depressive disorder Among adolescents, substance abuse has been found to generate major depressive illness ( Aseltine Jr. et al., 2004; Walinder & Rut... Major depressive disorder Mental disorder Substance abuse, like excessive alcohol consumption or illicit drug use, is closely linked to the development of mental illness. T... Mental disorder Memory Learning Problems Caused from Drug and Alcohol Abuse Drug abuse can negatively affect the memory of teenagers. This may lead to po... Memory Drug overdose An image of a woman taking pills because of which she experiences common consequences of teen drug abuse. Overdose is a tragic and... Drug overdose Impaired judgement Impaired Judgement Prescription drug abuse among teens often has the pernicious effect of impairing judgment, compromising the abi... Impaired judgement a boy who lost himself to drugs
But the story of a boy who lost himself to drugs does not have to end in the dark. The "loss" of self is often a displacement, not an extinction. Beneath the layers of dependency and the wreckage of the struggle, the original boy remains—scared, perhaps, and deeply tired, but present. Recovery is not just about stopping the use of a substance; it is a profound archeological dig to find the person who was buried underneath. : Adolescence is a period of risk-taking and
This is a difficult read, but a necessary one. It forces the audience to confront the reality that addiction is not a lack of willpower, but a loss of self. It leaves you with a heavy heart and a haunting question: At what point does the person disappear, and only the addiction remain? When Ginger Katz lost her son, Ian, to