Introduction
It is very common among teenagers to go through the phase of their lives where they experiment with different drugs. Sadly, they are not able to create a link between the costs they would have to pay in future for their behavior today. One of the reasons why adolescence drug abuse is the stress they have to bear because of friends, parental expectations and even their extracurricular activities. It is the job of teachers and parents to indicate the vital signs of drug intake among teenagers. This article will guide you on how you can indicate that your child is on drugs.
Step 1
The intake of drugs among teenagers is not limited to only legal drugs but it is becoming increasingly common that they take illegal drugs as well. Some of the legally available drugs are wine, alcohol, beer and even inhalants like fumes from glues, etc. Besides this, illegal drugs include marijuana, cocaine, LSD and heroin. Sometimes, the environment of the family also encourages the person to take drugs. If one or both of the parents do drugs then it is likely that their children might also start taking drugs, after all parents are the role model of every child. The first time a child takes a drug is between the age of 12 or 14 and coming home late or vomiting can indicate the usage.
Step 2
There are many factors which indicate that a person is on drugs. The basic and primary factor is the physical and emotional state of child. This will change drastically. Teenager who is on drugs would have respiratory complaints, red eyes, tiredness and possibly coughing complaints.
Step 3
Coming to emotional indicators, the person under drug abuse would have a completely different personality from before. He or she would have mood swings, might become easily irritable and would start taking less interest in everything. Apart from this the abuser would have lower self-confidence and might remain depressed if he or she is not able to get the drug regularly. This will indicate in the obvious direction.
Step 4
Thirdly, parents can also indicate that their child is on drug abuse if he or she has suddenly started giving a poor academic performance. It is highly possible that the abuser would start getting lower grades. This is because of the fact that drugs reduce the capability of the human brain to work at its optimal level. Besides this, the person under the influence of drugs would start taking lesser interest in extracurricular activities such as sports. It is possible that the person would also have trouble making appropriate day to day decisions and would have problem keeping track of time.
Step 5
Lastly, the behavior with family and friends can also be a factor which can prove as an evidence to parents that their child is on drugs. The drug abuser would be argumentative regarding almost everything and there would also be a change in peer group to indicate substance abuse.
Tips
Keeping all of the above mentioned facts in mind, it is evident that drug abuse has many negative impacts not only to the person but also to the people around him. It is our responsibility as a citizen of this world that we indicate the signs of abuse in our friends, siblings and children so that we can tackle this menace at an early stage. Never be hesitant to indicate it because you are actually doing something good.
