My High School Substance Abuse Class

When I was a sophomore in high school, I enrolled into a substance abuse class. At that time period, I did not realize that alcohol abuse in point of fact was a sub classification of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse, I read a lot about Alcoholic Anonymous, their meetings, how their programs have twelve steps, and how successful the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program has been for individuals all through the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol treatment and the different alcohol rehab that are often available to alcohol abusers.

Some of the dangerous effects related to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class without a doubt startled me. The ruined lives and countless difficulties experienced by most alcohol addicted people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. More to the point, I did not want to face the wreckage and ruination that alcohol dependent individuals almost always encounter.

Ponder upon this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old person wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What young person wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that drinking alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What adolescent wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related problems before he or she becomes an adult?

What young person wants to deal with alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to quit drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause serious issues in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after a person has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would a young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that focuses on abusive drinking?

These issues were so important that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was absolutely unbelievable to me was the number of students who essentially didn’t care about the harmful results of abusive drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t be bothered with reality and how these outcomes can wreck their lives. For the first time in my life I started to grasp something that my grandfather used to say to me all through my younger years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.