From major cities to small town America, the incidence of substance abuse is a problem that has reached out of control proportions. It often begins with young teens, who feeling under pressure from their peers, make the choice to give using a drug a try. For some that is all it takes. One incident leads to two, until the user is hooked to a lifetime of drug abuse. Oklahoma substance abuse is not immune from these problems.
Depending on the drug of choice and how often it is used, it can be difficult to determine who the abuser is. They become experts at hiding the problem from family or relatives. In addition, there are family members who are suspicious, but remain in denial. They just cannot allow themselves to admit that their loved one is using illegal drugs.
In today's society, there are very few families that do not know of at least one member that has a problem with drugs. It could be a son or daughter; brother or sister; niece or nephew. Substance abuse does not discriminate and is an equal opportunity addictive agent. Problems can begin with a few drinks of alcohol, and once under the influence a user is more apt to be susceptible to trying other substances. A person is under the illusion that if they handle one drug well, they will be able to handle others.
The first thing one has to do is watch for ways to recognize someone who may have a problem with illegal drugs. If of school age, they may be missing more and more school and losing interest in school activities. Money and valuables may come up missing from around the home as drug use is an expensive habit. Personality changes and odd behavior are often noted.
Caring family members will sometimes set up traps and try and catch the abuser or locate their 'stash.' Even when confronted under these conditions, the addict will deny all use. Very few will admit to having a problem. They foolishly see themselves as the ones in charge and they are capable of handling the situation. It is a once and a while thing that is only done for kicks. Any possible excuse is better than the alternative of facing life drug free.
The truth of the matter is that help is available. Yet, unless one is caught breaking the law while using, or is still young enough to be under parental control, there is not a lot that can be done to stop the abuser. Only in a few cases where they have hit rock bottom, do some abusers reach out for help. Usually the thought of entering rehab and having no access to their drug of choice, is the very thing that keeps many from entering.
Occasionally, getting a user to go for counseling with a highly trained dependence facilitator can get them to begin to see the error of their ways. There are those who will begin to see that that drugs are controlling their lives. They will begin to see the error of their ways and want to work toward a drug free life. Sadly, these people are the exception and we are helpless in stopping the loss of life to drug addiction. Oklahoma substance abuse is as critical a situation as it is in all of our United States, and the journey back to health for many be a long and difficult one.
Author Resource:-
Arbuckle Life Solutions, Inc. (http://www.arbucklelifesolutions.com/) provides outpatient Oklahoma substance abuse counseling & education, employee assistance programs, information & referral services to Southern Oklahoma.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.massagebyben.com/articles/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites 