Teens and Self-Harm: Why Substance Addiction May Be Next
Teens and Self-Harm: Why Substance Addiction May Be Next
It’s pretty agreeable that one’s teen years are often some of the hardest times they will experience. The teen years are tough because an individual is making the transition from being a child to being an adult, and that transition is a difficult one, fraught with hormones, drama, excessive physical growth, peer pressure, teen angst, and many other factors. This development time is why it is so important to be aware of issues such as teens and self-harm.
Real life problems that adults face on a day to day basis are arguably far more significant than the problems that teens face. However, the problems that teens face often seem incredibly difficult because they feel that they are so complex that they can’t handle them. Feeling so overwhelmed with issues is where the problem of teens and self-harm take such full hold on them.
Those crucial, vicious teen years are often fraught with worry and heartache, and it’s all just a part of growing up. However, teens cross a line when they engage in harmful activities and unhealthy habits to “cope” with their complicated lives. You could say the same for adults who do this too. They feel they have no answers for a better life and see no relief in sight. They feel as if the only release they have is that with self-harm.
Teens and Self-Harm at Unprecedented Levels
Cutting or any self-harm is an incredibly dangerous behavior. Teens do it as a cry for help, as a way to deal with other problems, as a way to take their mind off of those problems, and as a way to focus on something else. What ends up happening though, is that they get addicted to self-harm, and it becomes a part of their habits and activities.
Teens and self-harm, and the addiction to that harm are more of a problem now than perhaps ever before. With the inception of the “Emo” and “Scene” craze of the mid-2000s, this mindset and this mentality of cutting and self-harm became very popular. What happens next is that teens aren’t just doing it as a habit, but they are doing it as a peer pressure thing. Peer pressure increased the prevalence of such habits tenfold because now teens are doing it whether they want to or not.
Teens and Self-Harm Leading to Drug and Alcohol Addiction
The harshest factor of addiction is that it begets more addiction to other harmful substances and actions. When one becomes addicted to self-harm, it paves the way for addictions to drugs and alcohol. When one becomes addicted to drugs and alcohol, they will them become addicted to more alcohol, and to different types of drugs.
The sad truth here is that substance abuse truly does get worse as the years go by, for those who engage in it. When teens get involved in drug addiction, it becomes next to impossible to help them and to get them to stop abusing those substances.
A Forever Recovery is here to help. As a treatment center, we specialize in helping teens and young adults triumph over their drug and alcohol addiction problems. For youngsters who fall on hard times with drug and alcohol addiction, the best way to approach substance abuse habits is with a workable treatment plan. Call us today for more information.
