|
|
(HealthNewsDigest.com) – A new year usually brings about resolutions on how to make 2013 better than the last year. More often than not, a family member and their safety are part of your reasons for making resolutions and as a parent, keeping a teen safe and sober is top of your list. A teen may not be interested in alcohol at all, may be curious about it, may try it, or may start drinking. Most teenagers experiment with alcohol and their relationship with it may go in any number of directions. If there are parental concerns about a teen abusing alcohol, the first steps often start with the knowledge that a problem exists.
Rick Meeves, Ph.D., LMFT Director of Adolescent Clinical Services at CRC Health Group offers the following warning signs a teen is abusing alcohol:
- Sudden change in attitude
- Issues at school, or drop in academic performance
- Truancy
- Withdrawal, isolation or depression
- New friends
- Lack of interest in anything besides hanging out with friends
- Loss of interest in hobbies or sports
- Increased secrecy about possessions, activities or whereabouts
- Aggressive, rebellious behavior
- Change in sleeping and or eating habits
- Deteriorating family relationships
- New or increased use of mouthwash or mints to mask alcohol smell
- Evidence of alcohol – empty bottles, etc.
- Cash flow problems
- Alcohol or money goes missing from your home
Obviously, not all of these signs point specifically to an abuse of alcohol, but these signs often give a strong suspicion that a teen is drinking inappropriately and parents should err on the side of caution and take it seriously.
Talk openly with your teen about your concerns, and ask for help from a pediatrician, psychologist or psychiatrist if you need to. Get a professional assessment to find out what is going on; screening for drugs or alcohol may be in order.
Put an emphasis on safety and weigh the following information carefully:
- Teens who abuse alcohol are more likely to have unsafe sex than those who do not drink
- Teens who drink heavily are three times more likely to try and hurt themselves (self harm, suicide, etc.) than those who don’t drink
- Alcohol is a gateway drug – those who abuse it are more likely to go on to abuse other drugs
Keep a close eye on a teen’s behavior and his or her relationship with alcohol.
For more information regarding teens and substance abuse, go to: http://www.crchealth.com/
Dr. Rick Meeves, Ph.D., LMFT, is the Director of Clinical Services for Adolescents for CRC Health Group, the nation’s largest provider of behavioral health and addiction treatment services. Dr. Meeves has over 17 years of experience working with struggling and underachieving teens. He currently provides on- and off-site support services to the CRC youth programs, including the Aspen Education Group network of programs, driving the improvement of clinical and operational excellence. He serves as mentor and coach to clinical directors and staff and is an active member of the clinical quality management department onsite team. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Meeves served for 10 years as the Executive Director for Outback Therapeutic Expeditions, a successful wilderness treatment program for struggling teens that he founded. Driven by the desire to help others achieve personal, family, career, and organizational success, Dr. Meeves earned a Masters in Human Development and Family and a Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy, and entered the world of helping teens and families in treatment settings and private practice in 1995. He has consulted with national and international companies as well as Dr. Steven Covey, founder of the Covey Leadership Center and author of numerous books on personal, family and business effectiveness. He also has conducted multiple lectures and trainings on a variety of topics related to treatment settings, family, children, and organizational success.
###
For advertising and promotion on www.HealthNewsDigest.com contact Mike McCurdy at: [email protected] or call 877-634-9180. We are syndicated worldwide and read in 164 countries. We also have over 7,000 journalists as subscribers who may use our content for their own media!