High sensation seekers are defined as having an acute sensitivity to their environmental surroundings and personal interactions. This personality trait is characterized by the need for stimulation, and is related to a preference for novel, intense and complex experiences. They tend to be extroverted, accept change more openly and view others as an audience rather than a source of nurturing or affection.The proclivity for stimulation of high sensation seekers can lead to risk taking behaviors, which fulfill their need for stimuli. Common activities include adventure sports, listening to high intensity rock music, partaking in risky sexual behavior, or even extreme exotic travel.

Studies show that there is a strong association between sensation seekers and drug and alcohol use: The search for novel experiences sets off the same brain reward system as drug use, providing a biological explanation for substance abuse among people who constantly seek out new and exciting experiences. The inhibitory response of these personality types is also diminished, adding to their tendency to take risks.

Although it may seem obvious, it’s interesting to note how our chemical make-up can determine our need for physiological stimulus. Everyone’s primal reward system is largely predicted by genetics; drugs may satisfy the pleasure portion of one person’s brain, but do little to stimulate someone who is less inclined to pursue experiences outside of their comfort zone. 

Knowledge of the association between high sensitivity and drug use is considered valuable because specialists believe that they can take intervention measures in young adults’ lives who demonstrate high sensation seeking behaviors prior to their exposure to substances, preventing their urge to use. Many ad campaigns are targeted towards risk takers, and encourage adolescents to find healthier ways to get their thrills. Dramatic depictions of the damaging effects of drug use has shown to have greater impacts on high sensation seekers than less sensitive individuals. These media campaigns have proven to be effective tools in drug prevention.

When kids and young adults are abusing drugs, it’s a challenge for parents to confront them about their problems. It’s much easier to deny the warning signs or to just wait for these young adults to seek out help; but, when kids are dying from drug overdoses, it’s reasonable for parents to worry and want to do more to prevent addiction from taking hold of their children.

In New Jersey and Ohio, a company called Sniff Dogs rents drug detection dogs to parents and employers to find any traces of illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine, meth, heroin, and ecstasy. It’s one way for parents to find out if substances are present inside their home or if chemical residue from the drugs lingers on their child’s dirty laundry.

If the dogs find something or nothing at all, communication between the parent and child is priceless. Talking about drugs with kids or teens lays the foundation that they need to fend off the peer pressure or low self-esteem that can lead to drug abuse. If the child is already using or suffering from addiction, talking about the problem is the first step to getting help.

While drug sniffing dogs may be a discrete method for dealing with addiction at home for some families, it may not work well in all parent and child relationships. ABC News reported that some psychologists are highly critical of parents using drug dogs and other surveillance methods, because it implies a lack of trust on the parent’s behalf. Kids need to feel that they can go to their parents for help, but that is tough to accomplish without a mutual sense of trust and respect.

As a parent, would you consider using a service like this one to find out if your child is using drugs?

The popular A&E show Intervention chronicles the experiences of drug and alcohol addicts whose dependencies have brought them to a point of extreme personal crisis. The show takes an intimate look at the downward spiral of an addict, and the efforts of loved ones to lead him or her on the road to recovery.

Intervention is an effective course of action when an addict is not paying heed to their own health and safety, and is becoming increasingly estranged from friends and family. Concerned loved ones decide to step into the addict’s life and strongly encourage him or her to seek help. An intervention is a structured, solution-oriented meeting that is often moderated by an interventionist. Before approaching an addict, a specific plan of action needs to be devised, including treatment measures and facility arrangements. An interventionist helps family members explore their options and decide the best route to take when confronting the addict. During the gathering, a circle of loved ones, colleagues and spiritual leaders in the addict’s life express their observations and fears regarding his or her behavior in a non-judgmental way. The ultimate goal is for the addict to recognize their destructive behavior and accept help.

The success rate of intervention is promising: The National Association of Independent Interventionists Conference (AIS) in 1995 revealed that 90% of professionally facilitated interventions resulted in the identified patient entering treatment as a direct result of the intervention. Knowing when an intervention is necessary can be difficult to gauge, but if you are even slightly considering staging one, it is likely the appropriate step to take.

For me, drugs and alcohol were a big part of the pressures of high school, because drug abuse was a real problem for the youth in my community. When I say that people get this idea that I lived in a rough inner-city neighborhood, but that wasn’t the case. My family lived in a suburban area and I went to high school at a very typical, middle-class public school. As a teen, I can remember how often I would smell pot on other student’s clothes, mostly because they were smoking joints in the bathrooms or at bus stops. The saddest drug-related tragedy was when one young girl, who was a freshman at the time, was found dead at a popular community hang out. Her death was revealed to be caused in part by friends who were involved with drugs.

Those events happened many years ago, and I feel a wrenching sadness whenever I pass by my old school and see that things haven’t changed for the next generation. It’s terrible that teens have to deal with other kids coming to class stoned or drunk on a daily basis. Even if some teens aren’t interested in doing drugs or drinking alcohol, it’s all around them – and it takes a serious, concerted effort to stay out of it. Even worse is the fact that many parents don’t really prepare their teens for the stress of substance abuse. There’s no doubt in my mind that the support of my family and friends is what got me through those difficult times.

So, if you know someone who is heading out to school this fall, don’t hesitate to let them know you believe in them. Give them the reassurance to come to you if they need help or for advice. It’s not silly – every teenager needs reassurance, because they are so uncertain about what’s going on in their lives. Even if you’re not their parent, you’ll help empower them to make the right decision when the time comes.

There are many signals that drug users, especially teens and young adults, display when they are using and abusing drugs. Here are a few examples:

• Grades begin to drop
• Slurred speech
• Curfew violations
• A change in friends
• No concern about future
• Red or glossy eyes and use of eye drops and washes

If you see these or any of the other many warning signs, do not wait but address your concerns immediately. The sooner you confront this the better and the sooner you can get your teen or young adult the help they need. Teen and young adults that live with their parents will often go to great lengths to hide their drug use and parents and guardians must be diligent in protecting their children from drugs. Early intervention is one of the best things you can do to help keep your child drug free.

There is nothing like watching someone you truly care for make unhealthy, self-destructive choices. Dealing with a friend or family member who is suffering from a drug addiction can be especially challenging if they do not want to seek the help you know they desperately need. It’s even more painful to realize that as long as they do not want to change, they won’t. Doing drugs is a choice. Getting help is a choice. So, the key to helping someone with their addiction is to support them in making healthy choices.

To encourage someone to make the right decision and to get help or go into a rehab facility, try an intervention. Sit down with them and let them know how worried you are. Make every effort to tell them you care and show how you’ll be supportive throughout the whole process. Let them know that you’ll be there as little or as much as they want you to be.

In very severe cases, when the addict displays suicidal symptoms or is causing harm to others, forced hospitalization is possible. However, it is more likely that the individual will be treated for the psychological and mental health issues, not the drug addiction.

Knowing that a person’s behaviors will not change until the individual wants to make those changes for their own self, do you think loved ones should be able to commit those suffering from addictions into a drug treatment program against their will?

Before an addict bottoms out or losses control over her life, an early intervention can prove to be successful. It works best when the drug or alcohol addict is still using in the “social” stage and hasn’t started to plan her life around the substance yet, but an intervention at any point is better than none at all. The point of the intervention is to snap the person out of denial and motivate the abuser to voluntarily seek treatment. The important thing to note is that the family and friends of the addict should not attack or gang-up on the person they are trying to help. If this can be accomplished, the addict is much more likely to agree to treatment and with treatment the addict is much more likely to beat the addiction.

Gatehouse Academy is an extended care treatment center for young men and women in need of long term drug rehab or alcohol rehab. We offer the opportunity for young adults from the ages of 17-25 to learn life skills, continue formalized education, enhance physical well-being, and recover from the detrimental effects of chemical dependency.

If you have any questions please contact us.