A Stressed Out High School Student Manifests Numerous Alcohol-Related Problems, Gets Thrown Out of School, and Has to See the School Therapist

Larry was a seventeen year old high school senior who was displaying several alcohol-related issues at school. Consequently, the principal informed him that he had to see Miss Johns, the school therapist, before he would be permitted to come back to class.

Later that afternoon when Larry went home after school, he had to clarify his school suspension to his Mother and Father. His Mom and Dad were “fairly traditional” and explained to Larry that getting removed from school was not a viable educational option. They explained to Larry that failing to graduate from high school would more likely than not be like a lead weight around his ankles that could quite possibly hinder his educational attainment for the remainder of his life. Furthermore, Larry’s Mom and Dad were quite dissatisfied that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his classmates in the second.

His Mother and Father informed Larry that although he may be an adolescent, he has to understand fairly promptly that drinking is the route to financial problems, ill health, failure, and pain.

It was clear that his Mom and Dad were completely in agreement with Larry’s principal and explained to Larry that he had better make plans to see Miss Johns, the school psychologist. After his conversation with his Mom and Dad, Larry in due course agreed to see Miss Johns the next school day. So Larry phoned the school and scheduled an appointment to see Miss Johns the next day during his first period class.

The Psychologist Asks Larry if He Knows Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Actions Caused Quite a Bit of Apprehension By the School Administrators

When Larry got to his scheduled appointment with Miss Johns, she without pause went over all of the alcohol-related issues Larry had experienced and asked him if he knew why his recent alcohol-related behavior caused quite a bit of anxiety by the school administrators.

Quite sincerely, Larry was unsure why the principal suggested that he see a school psychologist. As he stated to Miss Johns, why should he see a professional therapist about his drinking circumstances? Because virtually all of his buddies drink about as much as he does, primarily, drinking shouldn’t be such a big issue. Stated another way, if just about everybody is drinking, why is this such a major concern?

Miss Johns asked Larry when he started to drink. He said that some of his older pals introduced him to drinking wine when he was twelve or thirteen years old and getting ready to enter the seventh grade.

Miss Johns told Larry that while his classmates may indeed drink more than he does and that they may be a negative influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting discharged from school due to alcohol-related fighting, delinquency, and absenteeism, not his buddies. What is more, Miss Johns also emphasized the fact that Larry, and not his pals, is the one who is failing and who is missing at least two days of class per week because of his alcohol related difficulties. Lastly, Miss Johns emphasized the fact that due to his drinking situation, Larry is getting into a destructive cycle of excessive drinking that can eventually wreck his life.

In short, Larry’s involvement with teen alcohol abuse was starting to impede his ability to act like an accountable young man. As pronounced by Miss Johns, “Just because most of your peers drink wine, beer, hard liquor, or wine coolers does not mean that it is the best thing to do for you.”

Larry Learns That In the End He Must Be Responsible For Himself In Order to Steer Clear of Dangerous, Unhealthy, Destructive, and Damaging Outcomes Down the Road

Miss Johns told Larry that other individuals can without a doubt influence a person in an unhealthy manner, but that the person herself or himself has to in the end claim responsibility for himself or herself in order to keep away from dangerous, damaging, destructive, and unhealthy consequences in the foreseeable future.

Fortunately, Miss Johns was well prepared for her scheduled appointment with Larry. She showed him research studies and reports she had underlined that outlined diverse drinking statistics and facts that targeted most people in general. Then she showed Larry quite a lot of data that applied principally to teenagers.

As an illustration, Miss Johns underscored the difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse and told Larry that drinkers who continue to drink in a hazardous manner repeatedly become alcohol dependent.

Miss Johns also explained the concept of binge drinking which she defined as follows: drinking five or more drinks in one sitting for males and consuming four or more drinks in one sitting for females.

The Psychologist Conveys Quite a Few Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Dependency Facts and Statistics

Then Miss Johns conveyed the following eight alcoholism facts and alcohol abuse statistics:

1. Alcohol is an issue in nearly half of America's suicides, murders, and accidental deaths.

2. Alcohol-related accidents are the leading cause of deaths among adolescents.

3. Each year in the U.S., roughly 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die due to underage drinking. This includes nearly 1,900 fatalities from motor vehicle crashes.

4. Research has shown that U.S. adolescents who drink alcohol are 50 times more likely to use cocaine than teens who never consume alcohol.

5. Approximately 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year--approximately 4.65 a day--as a result of injuries that are alcohol related.

6. In 2005, 2.1 million American college students between the ages of 18 and 24 reported that they engage in driving under the influence of alcohol.

7. The World Health Organization projects that roughly 76 million individuals throughout the world have disorders that are alcohol related.

8. As demonstrated by recent alcoholism studies, it has been learned that about 53% of the adults in the United States have stated that one or more of their close relatives is an alcoholic or an alcohol abuser.

Larry Receives A Relevant Primer on the Facts About the Long Term and the Short Term Outcomes of Adolescent Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse

After Miss Johns articulated the aforementioned alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse statistics and facts, it was apparent that what Miss Johns revealed to Larry was a wake up call for him. Why? Because for the first time in his young life, someone not only made the effort to give an explanation of the long term and the short term effects of alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse, but she also made the effort to validate what she was saying with alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse facts and statistics that related to everyone in general, and especially to young people.

Certainly, it was almost as if a light went on and Larry immediately grasped why he should not be engaging in hazardous and excessive drinking with or without his friends anymore. Larry thanked Miss Johns for her concern and for the material she presented.

Miss Johns then asked Larry how he felt about getting a physical examination and an alcohol evaluation for the alcohol abuse or alcohol addiction rehabilitation he would probably need.

Larry thought about this for few minutes and then agreed to get a complete physical examination and to go through a comprehensive evaluation of his drinking condition so that he could start an alcohol abuse or alcoholism rehabilitation program as reasonable as possible.