Most people have already heard the traditional speech about how drinking at a young age is a terrible decision. In drug and alcohol prevention talks, everyone mentions that teens are in their mental and physical developing years. Studies have shown that alcohol is not good for growing bodies. Yet, surprisingly enough, there’s still more to discover about how alcohol can dramatically change a young person’s life. Reuters recently reported on one of these new findings: Early exposure to alcohol may lead to heavy drinking later in life.

The lab study was performed with teenage rats. According to the study, it only took three exposures to alcohol at an adolescent age for the rats to build up a liking for the drink. The rats that were given the most to drink in the beginning went on to become the heavy drinkers.

It’s interesting to note that the study didn’t just test the rodents on their behavior towards alcohol. The scientists also tested the rats to see how they respond to stress and to also determine their “novelty-seeking behavior” level. Surprisingly, rats who liked to try new things weren’t necessarily the ones who became heavy drinkers. According to the tests, stress and a desire for excitement did not correspond with drinking choices and behaviors. One scientist involved with the study said, “This suggests that there are other characteristics that we as scientists should be looking for, that are related to the early experiences of drinking.”

What could those other characteristics be? The future insights will be fascinating to know, and hopefully they will also lead us to additional methods to help impede teen alcoholism.

For teens who aren’t smoking, drinking, or doing drugs, going to school can be one of the hardest things in the world. It’s because that’s when you see it: real teens, not movie stars or celebrities, doing terrible, illegal things to their bodies. It’s not just the “outcasts” or the “bad kids” anymore. It could be the straight-A student or even your best-friend for the past three years. Does it ever feel like you’re the only one not getting high?

On the flip side, if you are a teen engaging in substance abuse, have you ever wondered what life would have been like if you hadn’t given in?

If so, take a look at this article in the Hawaii Reporter written by eighth-grade student, Janae Rasmussen. She asks the same questions that many young adults ask and talks about why she believes teens her age turn to drugs. Sometimes just reading about other teens who have decided not to do drugs makes it easier to say no because that’s when you realize you’re really not alone.

New episodes of “True Life” are coming this month to MTV.  It’s award-winning, provocative television that has shown audiences the stories of people with drug and alcohol addictions. Fatal Dose, the shocking first episode,  is one of the most memorable in its depiction of heroin addiction, but other past episodes told the tales of being an alcoholic or hocked on OxyContin.

What do you think of reality shows like “True Life” and how they portray drugs and alcohol? Can you or do you know someone else who can relate to the stories about substance abuse in “True Life”? Or do you find that “True Life” just isn’t true enough?

Last year was a rough one for Lindsey Lohan. She was in and out of drug and alcohol rehab, with DUI charges against her. Ten months later, her past behavior is still catching attention. As reported by CNN, her mug shot from July 2007 was used in an anti-ignition lock device legislation advertisement that was paid for by the American Beverage Association. The ad argues that ignition-interlocking systems are a bad idea for casual, low-alcohol level drinkers and a good idea for someone with multiple DUI offenses, such as Lindsay Lohan.

The article raises a lot of really good questions about both alcohol and advertising. Is it fair for Lohan’s mug shot to be used in an advertising campaign when she is nearly a year free of DUI charges? Is it fair for the ad to be printed without letting the public know it was paid for by the American Beverage Association? Should ignition-interlocking systems be mandatory in all cars, just like seat-belts? Will these systems mean the end of drinking at parties and ballgames or will it just mean more responsible drinking?

What do you think?

Teens, young adults and many other drug users hide their drugs so that friends and family cannot confiscate them and to keep from getting caught. Addicts have invented many deceptive ways to hide their drugs. Some hide them in hollowed out candles that mask the smell of the drugs. Others have purchased cans of “soda.” The can weighs the same as an unopened can but the bottom unscrews to provide a hiding place. Some have even purchased what appears to be a stack of CDs. But there is a  not a CD inside. Instead they are hollowed out to leave a hiding spot. There are also lipstick and highlighters that are actually pipes.

Often teens or young adults that live with their parents will be very secretive about their privacy. This is because the user has drugs stashed throughout his room in places such as in his drawers, in clothing pockets (that are hanging), in between mattresses, under mattresses–anywhere it might not be seen.

Many addicts use these types of devices as a way to keep treatment at bay. By hiding their use from friends and family, the user is living in a state of denial.

When a person is in treatment for alcohol, methamphetamine or any other substance, receiving therapy and counseling is very important to recovery. Besides the dual-diagnosing aspect, many addicts have low self-esteem and feel very poorly about themselves. A lack of confidence combined with self-hatred can make the recovery process difficult. One of the things that individual and group therapy do to help those in recovery is help the addict to try to understand why she started to use in the first place. Often there is a combination of poor self-esteem and several other factors.

By increasing a person’s self-worth, the addict will begin to see hope instead of feeling despair. The guilt that is felt will start to go away and the addict will have a better chance at sobriety outside of treatment. Many studies have found that even young children, 11 years old, have a greater chance of using drugs if they have poor self-esteem. Being unhappy with oneself can lead to many problem and drug abuse and addiction is one of the main ones.

Increasing the self-esteem of users will help them in their battle against addiction. If the user feels that he or she can stay sober, the chances of success increase.

After an addict leaves rehab, he needs to become involved in an aftercare program and build a support system with other addicts while building a support system with friends and family in order to stay clean after treatment. One of the best predictors of success after drug or alcohol rehabilitation is involvement in aftercare. When a recovery addict or alcoholic is overconfident and feels that he does not need an aftercare program, the probability of relapse increases drastically. In addition, building a support system with friends and family will help to increase the chance of success. This is because if a person talks to friends and family about his feelings or when he has a craving, they are going to be supportive and help the addict stay sober. Also, if friends or family are not supportive, an aftercare program can help the recovering addict or alcoholic learn how to cope with loved ones.

Getting involved in a program such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous right away will help to build that support system. AA and NA are designed to help give the recovering addict or alcoholic a place to talk about feelings, triggers and problems. The people in these meetings are also recovering addicts and they offer a vast amount of wisdom.

There are numerous reasons why people relapse. Some of the major obstacles to addiction recovery include:

• Denial. Many recovering addicts do not accept that they have an addiction/dependence problem.
• Not changing lifestyle. Many addicts continue to hang around the same people and places that they did when they were using.
• Idle time. After treatment, addicts often find that they have an access of time and they begin to use again.
• Overconfidence. Some addicts feel that they have changed and start to believe that they can not become addicted again, when addiction never goes away.
• Effect of the drug. Addicts often relapse because they miss the “high” feeling that comes from doing drugs.
• Social effect. Addicts will miss the interactions they had when using and will miss the social effects of drugs.
• Daily stressors. Problems with family and friends can influence the decision of the addict to start using again. They want to escape the confrontation.
• Aftercare. When the addict participates in too little aftercare or no aftercare, the addict does not build a support system and is more likely to relapse.
• Personal issues. The addict stops working on psychological issues such as anger or sadness and begins to use again.

There are many warning signs of alcoholism. Here are just a few:

1. Do you drink alone?
2. Do you lie about the amount of alcohol you consume?
3. Has your tolerance increases?
4. Do you suffer from alcohol-related medical conditions?
5. Do you ever drink in the morning to get over a hangover?
6. Do you drink more than you used to?
7. Have you blacked out while drinking?
8. Do you drink to calm your nerves or relax?
9. Have you been involved in alcohol-related and/or legal problems?
10. Is alcohol affecting your relationship to a loved one or friend?

If you answered yes to even one of these questions there is a strong indication that you have a drinking problem.

Alcoholism is a complex, genetically influenced disorder. The way a person’s genetics affect their alcoholic tendencies is still unclear to scientists. But they do know that a person’s genetic makeup does play a large role. What is believed currently is that there is not one certain gene that is to blame. Most likely there are several of these genes. Individually they do not make much of an impact but combined they do. Genes affect both the intake and dependence while others affect only dependence.

Studies have shown that adopted children of alcoholic biological parents have an increased risk of becoming alcoholics. But there are other contributing factors towards alcoholism. The 5 most major influences are peer pressure, cultural influence, certain coexisting psychiatric conditions, availability and occupation.