Teens and Drugs | CT Natural Health - Connecticut Holistic Health ...

Posted by melissabochet on August 2, 2012 ? Leave a Comment?

Teen drug use is an ages old concern, and as a parent it?s one of my biggest fears. The landscape of our children?s world has changed and it?s a challenge to understand the present drug problems, let alone find a solution. There is a plethora of designer drugs replete with chemical toxins, as well as a profusion of prescribed medications that can make their way into our children?s lives. These come along with a changing economic climate, an increasingly stressful world, and a less healthy society. We have to know 2 things: If our children are at risk of using or are using drugs, and how we can help them.

The most prevalent drugs are marijuana, prescription drugs and alcohol. If your children have told you they aren?t using drugs, but you?re still concerned they may be doing so, there are warning signs to look for. The following is intended only as a guide, as many of these signs may be the result of other physiological changes related to your children?s development through their teenage years. If your children are too young to consider drug use remember that if you keep them optimally healthy, you will help them avoid drugs in the future. It is my professional opinion that health conditions in childhood can lead to self-medication in later years.

Regardless of age, make a point of observing your children, and make note of how often these warning signs occur. If a number of them occur at the same time, it might indicate your child is on drugs. Here is a partial list:

A drop in school grades

Changes in eating patterns

A reduction in organized extracurricular activities (such as an unexplained dropping-out of sport or other activities or interests)

Bloodshot or glassy eyes

Agitation, anxiety, jitteriness

An unexplained change of friends

Tiredness, laziness and loss of motivation

Sleeping problems, including not sleeping

Unusual or irregular behavior

Aggressive behavior

Unexplained mood swings

A reduction in or minimal interaction with the family

You notice that valuable items or money are missing

Kids might get involved with drugs because of peer pressure, and/or for emotional reasons, which are often caused by a chemical imbalance or hormone imbalance, such as depression, anxiety, or a physical health problem they think can only be helped with drugs. It?s important to know about each of these in order to understand how best to help our children and to realize that natural solutions exist for these conditions.

The most prevalent reason kids start experimenting with drugs is peer pressure. Teach your children how to say no to pressure so they don?t feel they have to say yes. For example: ?Are you crazy? We could go to jail. What would happen if our parents found out??

The second reason children try drugs relates to the anxiety of growing up which can include poor self-esteem, rejection by peers, or a traumatic event. One solution is to help your child find something s/he can do well at, such as sports, dance classes, yoga, exercise, working out, etc. If you need to participate, don?t resist. It will help you feel better, too, and will create a bond between you and your child. Children often take cues from those closest to them and you would always like that to be you.

Prescription drugs also can lead to drug dependence. In fact, prescription drug overdose as a cause of death has recently become more prevalent than illegal drug overdose.

If, as often as possible, you use natural solutions to resolve your family?s health problems, you will help your child avoid prescription drug abuse. Keep in mind that numerous studies have revealed that children often get their drugs from their parents? medicine cabinet, and they also can get prescription drugs from friends. Prescription drugs are the most lethal type of drugs. Even though it may at times be necessary for us to use prescription drugs, it sets an example that children follow. The overuse of medication is clearly on the rise: According to IMS Health, a healthcare information company, doctors issued 124 million prescriptions for the generic version of the painkiller Vicodin in 2008 compared to 97 million in 2004, and prescriptions for the generic version of OxyContin have doubled, increasing from 14 million to 28 million during that same time period.

According to an article published in the St. Petersburg Times, pain killers and antidepressants kill more people than cocaine and heroin combined. The article stated that ?prescription drug overdoses are likely to overtake car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death here?? Dr. Leslie Walker, chief of adolescent medicine at Seattle Children?s Hospital, says that prescription painkillers have become more widely available than ever before. Studies conducted by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America found that 40 percent of American adults believe it is safe to take prescription drugs without a prescription, with an attitude of, ?Why else would doctors prescribe them??

?The easy availability of addictive opioids, depressants and stimulants on the net has, for many children, made the Internet a greater threat than the illegal street drug dealer,? says Joseph A. Califano Jr., Chairman and Founder of the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA). You don?t need to actively surf the Web to find these sites. Many of them solicit using spam e-mails that invite the consumer to buy prescription drugs without a prescription. If you haven?t gotten these e-mails, a Google search for ?opiates but no prescription? produces more than a million hits for sites, many of them offshore, offering controlled substances delivered to your door in a plain wrapper. All you need is a credit card.

Next let?s look at stress and various chemical imbalances which may lead to drug use. Because stress is a major factor in disease and can directly affect a person?s moods, we need to understand more about it. Children as well as adults often turn to drugs to lift their moods when there are more effective, less dangerous, natural solutions. To get some idea of how stress can affect your moods and health, consider that the stress glands of the body (called the adrenal glands) secrete 50 different hormones. For example, the adrenal hormone cortisol controls your blood sugar by breaking down fat so you don?t experience fatigue or low blood sugar. When this hormone is out of balance you can experience mood swings, depression and have problems with weight. Another adrenal gland hormone, called noradrenaline, is secreted when you are under stress. This hormone takes blood from the digestive tract and puts the blood into your arms and legs. This can cause digestive problems. Furthermore, the adrenal hormone DHEA controls your estrogen reserves. When this hormone is out of balance it can lead to sleep problems, PMS and menopausal symptoms, etc. At Sophia Natural Health Center, we test for adrenal function to insure that your child?s adrenal glands are functioning properly. Most Natural Medicine Specialists should be able to do this.

There is another tool you can use to fight the drug culture we live in besides trying to lead a drug-free life yourself. This other tool is knowledge, which will fill the void about the dangers of such drugs as marijuana, prescription drugs and alcohol. Free booklets are available at the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (ncadi.samhsa.gov/) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (nida.nih.gov/) websites.

If your child or any member of your family is abusing drugs and you need outside help, here is an organization that can help with rehabilitation and prevention: Narconon International www.narconon.org at 1-877-362-9682. This is the only drug rehabilitation program with a 75 percent success rate.

As a Wellness Professional, I believe there are three major causes of health problems:

  • Stress and related hormonal imbalances
  • Bio-chemical imbalances due to the 82,000 chemicals which we can come into contact with each week through our water, food, and air
  • Undetected physical damage, which can occur from past traumas leading to pain, headaches, and numerous other symptoms.

We believe everyone, children and adults, should be evaluated to find out how these three causes could be impacting their health. Not only can these conditions lead to drug abuse or addictive behavior, they are important to one?s overall health. By keeping ourselves and our children healthy we are drug-proofing them in many ways. By staying healthy and keeping a healthy household, we can protect our children from the impacts of drugs.

Kenneth R. Hoffman, L.Ac, is the medical director for Sophia Natural Health Center in Brookfield where his specialties are hormone conditions, allergies, pain and medical thermography. ?He started private training under the tutelage of a Taoist medical and qi gong master in 1991 where he began learning the art of Chinese healing through Qi Gong, Herbology, Tui Na (Chinese medical massage) and Tai Qi. ?He then went on to finish a 4 year Chinese medical school program at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. Having treated thousands of patients over the years including many children with ADD and ADHD, his center is one of the largest acupuncture and Oriental medicine centers in Connecticut.

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