When your child becomes a teenager and enters adolescence, they’ll start to endure a number of physical, mental, emotional, and social changes. Among those are puberty, growth spurts, voice changes, increased muscle, and body hair. There’s a lot going on in a teenage body.
Of course, this is also a time when teenagers start to form a personality, dreams, goals, opinions, and emotions. They become more independent from their parents, gain influence from their friends, and start to make their own decisions. It’s an important time for them.
And while this can be an exciting time for the parents as they watch their child grow up, it can also bring a world of nerves as they encounter new risks, dangers, and challenges. Let’s not forget that this is a time when teens are very likely to try drugs and other harmful substances.
Teens can be very curious and will often try whatever they can get their hands on. With that said, there are a number of drugs that are more commonly abused by teens – mainly due to how accessible they are. Let’s take a look at the most common drugs used by teens today:
In addition to the drugs above, teens are also known to try inhalants and some illegal substances such as MDMA (ecstasy), salvia, and LSD. As you can likely imagine, the consequences of using these drugs can be dire for you, your child, and their loved ones.
Now that you know what drugs are commonly abused by teens, you can reduce the chances of them having access to them. Of course, you’ll also want to familiarize yourself with the many different signs, symptoms, and risk factors of teen drug use – that way, you can detect it early.
Here’s a quick look at some of the most common signs of teenage drug use:
Some risk factors play a role in teen drug use. Family history of drug use, poor parenting, sexual abuse, mental health issues, and poor relationships with family members, parents, and peers can all increase the chances of a teenager using harmful drugs.
There are a number of reasons why teenagers use drugs. Some teenagers start using drugs out of boredom, curiosity, or for experimental reasons. Unfortunately, this often leads to drug misuse, drug abuse, and even drug addiction. As they grow dependent, they start using more.
Other reasons teenagers start using drugs are to feel good, forget their problems, feel grown-up, ease their pain, feel independent, fit in with their peers (peer pressure), and improve athletic or academic performance. No matter what the reasoning is, no teen should be abusing drugs.
Learning that your child or teen is using drugs can be difficult for any parent, but it’s important to know that there are millions of people ready to help you and your family succeed. At Thrive Teen, we take great pride in helping teenagers regain a sense of control in their life, providing teen mental health treatment in Southern California.
By combining relational therapy, behavioral therapy, holistic techniques, medicine, and psychiatric interventions, our wonderful staff can help the entire family overcome the effects of teen drug use. As a result, your teenager will be well on their way to living a rewarding life. Whether looking for Santa Monica teen depression programs, or Southern California bipolar treatment for adolescents, Thrive Teen is here to help.
If you’d like to learn more about our teen drug treatment program, contact our facility today!
