Teen Drug Use Increases Risky Behavior

Every time I leave the house on a holiday my mom warns me to be careful on the road and to watch out for “crazy drivers.” And by “crazy” she means “drunk.” Yesterday was no exception, and as I left the house to go watch fireworks with friends she warned me to be careful. So I gave her the typical “Okay” and was on my way. This might seem like a normal exchange between a mother and daughter, but it also reveals something about the risky behavior that people engage in while they are under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

When teens are under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, the likelihood that they will do something reckless increases significantly. These reckless behaviors include driving under the influence, and risky sexual activity. The decision to engage in either of these activities can be life changing, and normally, people would not put themselves at such at risk. However, when teens drink and use drugs, they are more likely to do something that can have some pretty serious negative consequences.

For teenagers, drinking and using drugs can be a way to loosen up at a party, to be more social, and to have a good time. This “social lubrication” seems to be pretty harmless and can make the night more enjoyable. However, this decision to drink or get high can impair your common sense and your decision making skills, which can result in some really serious consequences later. Under normal circumstances, most of us wouldn’t drive drunk, but after you’ve had a few drinks your common sense doesn’t work so well and driving home doesn’t sounds like such a bad idea. It’s just five minutes away, and nothing can go wrong.

Unfortunately, this line of reasoning is why so many teens are involved in drunk driving accidents. Alcohol impairs your ability to think clearly and lowers your inhibitions, so when you are drunk, you are more likely to do something that you wouldn’t do sober, like drive recklessly and put the lives of other people in danger. By driving drunk, you are putting yourself at risk for serious injury, or even death. You probably think that it won’t happen to you, but it can happen to anybody.

In addition to the risk of drunk driving, teens are also more likely to engage in sexual behavior when they are under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Like I mentioned, when teens take drugs or drink alcohol, their inhibitions are lowered, and they are more likely to do things that they wouldn’t do sober, like engage in unprotected sex. These irresponsible sexual behaviors among teens can lead to pregnancy, STDs, and HIV/AIDS. Nobody wants to wake up in the morning next to someone you might not even like and have to worry about what happened, if you might be pregnant, or if you could have a disease.

By abusing drugs and alcohol, you could be putting yourself at risk of doing something that is against your morals and values. Unfortunately, while you’re under the influence those morals and values don’t matter. Everyone makes mistakes as a teenager, but the mistakes that you make while drunk or high can be life-threatening. Take responsibility for yourself and watch out for your friends. Don’t put yourself in the position to do something that you will regret later.

Labels: teen-addiction, teen-alcohol-abuse, teen-depression, teen-drinking, teen-drug-abuse, teen-drug-help, teen-substance-abuse

posted by beth @ 4:22 PM