What can I do for my 14 year old girl?

[Berncly]

Thanks. I'm glad you found you're way back. You've got my respect and admiration.

Mine too.
Audie Murphy, a man of no little hard experience, said overcoming his drug addiction was the hardest thing he did in his entire life.

[4thdimension]

Thank you, I am glad to be back. I am glad I can once again enjoy my first addiction which was hunting and fishing.

[Carson]

Thank you, I am glad to be back. I am glad I can once again enjoy my first addiction which was hunting and fishing.

Glad to hear you were a success story. It seems today many folks are getting turned on to heroin after getting addicted to pain killers overly prescribed by doctors. That is something that has to be addressed. But what would you recommend for parents to do to help their kids never start down this road?

[greg758]

That is a million dollar question. After having read many books on this subject, one of the best ways I heard it put was as follows, "My son got on the bus for his first day in 9th grade and he never came home". Very sad.

[greg758]

meaning his son came hone as a different person.

[Exbiker]

I'm curious. As a person that's been around the block a few times and enjoyed my teens and twenties. What is the thought process the first time a person shoots? I was willing to try many things but heroin, crack, LSD,PCP, all things I heard could hook or kill you in a blink of the eye I would flat out refuse.

So I'm curious if users had that same rule but said "Fuck it" or if they were never of that mindset.

Two different topics here. There is addiction and there is chemical dependency. A teen without an addiction predisposition may become chemically dependent, for them just avoid dope or if after some recreational use just detox and move on.
For an addict the addiction starts long before the first drink or drug.
I'm surprised an addict in recovery would bash NA or rehabs. Like to revisit this in a couple years.

[Berncly]

Two different topics here. There is addiction and there is chemical dependency. A teen without an addiction predisposition may become chemically dependent, for them just avoid dope or if after some recreational use just detox and move on.
For an addict the addiction starts long before the first drink or drug.
I'm surprised an addict in recovery would bash NA or rehabs. Like to revisit this in a couple years.

It's just the personal experience of one person vs another.
A godsend to one may be the wrong approach for another.
One rehab organization may be great while another may be lacking.
The important thing is for an individual to find whatever works for them.
Not an easy process for anybody.
I have seen people from all walks of life get destroyed by drugs.
There is no way to know who may fall to addiction, who may recover, who may not.
I don't think a methodology that is reliable has been discovered yet.

[4thdimension]

Two different topics here. There is addiction and there is chemical dependency. A teen without an addiction predisposition may become chemically dependent, for them just avoid dope or if after some recreational use just detox and move on.
For an addict the addiction starts long before the first drink or drug.
I'm surprised an addict in recovery would bash NA or rehabs. Like to revisit this in a couple years.

. I have plenty of friends in NA. NA works. I am just not a fan. I prefer AA even though I was a drug addict. I've worked at many of the rehabs in the Poconos and can tell you that they are corrupt. There was plenty of drug use going on in the last place I worked and the leadership overlooked it because they didn't want to discharge patients and lose money. I could write a book about why I hate rehabs as could many recovered addicts. Check out the situation in Florida. Things are bad there in the treatment field. It's mostly just scam artists. Patient brokering is a major issue. The Delary PD had to set up a special unit to address all the corrupt recovery houses and rehabs in their area. The Poconos are getting just as bad.

[4thdimension]

Glad to hear you were a success story. It seems today many folks are getting turned on to heroin after getting addicted to pain killers overly prescribed by doctors. That is something that has to be addressed. But what would you recommend for parents to do to help their kids never start down this road?

I honestly have no idea how to stop a person from using. Believe it or not one of the guys I started getting high with was the son of a substance abuse counselor. She was the clinical director at a well known facility here in the Poconos. He had lots of early intervention and practically grew up in AA. However, he still became an alcoholic. He got sober a year before I did. He was one of the original"trio." Me, him, and another kid lived next to each other and started using and drinking together. Him and I got sober. Unfortunately, the other buddy of mine took his own life in 2011. I believe he suffered from some type of mental illness aside from his drug abuse.

[wanneroo]

A part of the problem with the youth is a lack of complete brain development until the age of 25. The part of the brain that completely understands consequences doesn't fully develop until then and some have it worse than others.

My dad did a lot of extra work in the emergency room in his earlier days as a doctor. Frequently on weekends he would take me into the hospital to do his "rounds" to visit all his patients. The hospital was filled with all sorts of young soldiers that had made bad choices, like riding a motorcycle high on cocaine without a helmet on or getting drunk and getting in a bar fight over some floozy. So I saw lots and lots of consequences from poor choices early on in my life and hence always lived a clean life with zero drugs, alcohol, cigs, getting women knocked up, etc.

For a lot of young people out there they never see or have much appreciation for the consequences of these poor choices and I think a big issue today is that children are over coddled and the parents defer too much to the children and kiss their asses like they are little princes and princesses. That treatment makes it even worse so the kids just think the world revolves around them and they can do whatever they want with no responsibility or consequences.