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Teens and Alcoholism

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Alcoholism in teens is very prevalent as Alcohol has become the drug of choice for many adolescents.  Many teens participating in underage drinking, alcohol use often leads to alcohol abuse and alcoholism. For help with teen alcoholism check out the links below.Teesn and Alcoholism

Alcoholism in teens is different than alcohol abuse? Some teens will experiment with alcohol or drink occasionally and exhibit control over there use others quickly become addicted. Adolescents who drink before fifteen are very likely to show signs of alcohol dependency. Once a teen has developed a dependency for alcohol it is a fight they will have to work thorough for the rest of their lives.

The signs of alcoholism in teens

  • Teens who excessively consume to the point of being impaired mentally and physically
  • A teen that respectively uses despite the negative effects they experience mentally, physically, or environmentally. Their body has developed a physical dependency and they cannot stop
  • The teen continues to consume more and more to experience the same effect.
  • If the teen try’s to stop they and experience withdraw symptoms they may have nausea, sweating and anxiety. 

Alcoholism in teens may be obvious or quite ambiguous depending on the teen’s ability to hide the signs. There are many things to look for like sleep problems, fatigue, depression, drop in grades, missed classes. While separate from alcohol these may be teen issues however when co-occurring with alcohol a problem most likely is prevalent. Any behavior which seems out of the ordinary should be watched. Teens often use alcohol as a way of coping with life and the changes they are experiencing physical, emotional or environmental. Puberty and age appropriate independence are also associated with alcoholism in teens. For teens that use alcohol to help cope with their problems, helping them with their key issues can help curb them from turning to alcohol as a "cure".

Finding appropriate treatment- teen alcoholism

Finding appropriate treatment for alcoholism in teens may be done in many ways based on individual situations.  Type of treatment will differ based on teen’s severity of drinking, behavior. Most effective are (RTC) Residential treatment centers, Therapeutic boarding school, IOP intensive out patient, and long term treatment.