What Can Teens and Parents Learn About Drug Treatment From the Tragic Example of Cory Monteith
Written by Curtis Reed, Posted on , in Section Teens & Tweens
For parents who have teens struggling with drug addiction, the fear of receiving a late-night call from the police, where they learn their child has died of a drug overdose, is perhaps the scariest thing a parent lives with every day of their life. It gets so bad that even hearing a phone ring can send shivers up your spine, I am sure the parents of GLEE star Cory Monteith are wondering "What went wrong?"
Recovering Drug Addicts Still Need Our Help
Cory Monteith was thrust into the spotlight as one of the stars of the popular FOX TV show GLEE. Along with that popularity came the opportunity to delve into the vices that fame and riches bring. In Cory's case, his vice was drugs, and even though he was very outspoken about his experiences with drug addiction - he was an advocate of teen's getting help in drug treatment programs - it appears that the drugs finally took his life. On July 13, 2013 Cory died of probable drug overdoes in a hotel with his girl friend. He was 31.
As a parent of a recovering drug addict, I am still worried about my child relapsing. So what can we learn from this tragedy? What can we do to prevent another young adult from destroying their life? Clearly there is no simple answer, but there are things parents can to do to help this children. First, realize that the addiction will be a life-long sickness. It is not something a person gets "cured" from. All an addict can do is learn to manage it. Don't ever believe that your child is out of the woods. Second, never stop talking about it. Sure, it's a big elephant in the room that no one want to discuss, but open communication may be the very thing that keeps your child sober. If it is a "disease", as the AMA has now classified addiction, then talk about it like you would any other sickness. Lastly, never stop loving your child, and that means get them help if they are struggling. Find a qualified drug treatment program and get your child the help they deserve.
