In our adolescent addiction treatment facility, Inspirations Teen Rehab, we seen teens abusing almost anything that has the ability of altering their mind and produce a quick rush. We are treating teens addicted to huffing or sniffing house hold chemicals and teens trying to asphyxiate themselves by putting a plastic bag on their head and removing it just before passing out.
You may consider these acts strange and bizarre. Unfortunately, this is the reality and many of these acts are prelude to a full blown teen drug addiction.
ABC News, on September 14, in a report called Robo Tripping or Dexing, introduced the new fad which teens and young adults overdose on over the counter cough medicine to get a quick rush. The culprit causing the desired effect for the abuser is the active ingredient Dextro Methorphan or DXM.
Overdosing on this over the counter drugs, like abuse of other prescription drugs have major side effects. In this case, DXM causes hallucination and produces a temporary sensation of being drunk.
Additionally, it causes fast heart beat with changes in the vision, difficulty in breathing and in rare instances can cause death.
Last year alone, according to FDA, prescription drug abuse sent over 8,000 people to emergency rooms, mostly teens.
The hidden danger in these kinds of teen drug use is that the parents or guardians have no clue of the actions of their loved ones. The teens themselves don’t see any danger in this particular drug abuse either. They don’t consider abusing a product that is legally sold and can easily be found in every cabinet in the house an illegal or dangerous action, thus minimizing the taboo aspect of their action.
As a therapist with over 10 years experience in dealing with teen addictions and teen drug abuse, I can only say that we have not seen the extent of the damage caused by this new fad yet. And my advice for the parents and guardians of teens; don’t ever let your guards down and be always vigilant in knowing how your teens are spending their times when they are not at school or at home in front of you.
If you or someone you know is struggling with drug abuse or addiction and is in need of help, Inspirations Teen Rehab offers a flexible and affordable teen addiction treatment program. Our aim is to treat the whole person, and not just an isolated symptom. During the addiction treatment process we will work with the teen to identify the factors that may have contributed to you drug abuse – home, friends and medical history. We also believe that families have a vital role to play in the recovery process, and each addiction treatment program has a place for family participation, to educate them in the treatment process and to equip them for their role as supporters.
Reach out to us. Recovery from addiction is just a click or a phone call away. If the information you are looking for is not found here and you need immediate attention you may contact us:
Teen Addiction Help: 1-888-757-6237
http://www.inspirationsyouth.com
Addiction Treatment for Young Adults and Adults : 1-888-387-6237 http://www.covecenterforrecovery.com
No comments:
Post a Comment