An Unbalanced High School Student Manifests Numerous Alcohol-Related Issues, Gets Suspended From School, and Has to See the School Counselor
Larry was a eighteen year old high school senior who was exhibiting numerous alcohol-related difficulties at school. Therefore, the principal told him that he had to see Miss Johns, the school psychologist, before he would be allowed to return to class.
Later that afternoon when Larry went home after school, he had to explain his school discharge to his Mom and Dad. His parents were “relatively conservative” and explained to Larry that getting thrown out of school was not a doable educational game plan. They told Larry that failing to graduate from high school would most probably be like a lead weight around his ankles that could probably mar his educational achievement for the rest of his adult life. In addition, Larry’s Mother and Father were quite troubled that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his peers in the second.
His parents told Larry that even though he may be an adolescent, he has to comprehend fairly rapidly that drinking is the map to pain, financial problems, ill health, and failure.
It was plain to see that his Mom and Dad were absolutely in concurrence with Larry’s principal and told Larry that he had to see Miss Johns, the school psychologist. After his discussion with his Mom and Dad, Larry at long last agreed to see Miss Johns the next school day. So Larry phoned the school and made an appointment to see Miss Johns the next morning before school.
The Counselor Asks Larry if He Understands Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Actions Made the School Administrators Uneasy
When Larry got to his scheduled appointment with Miss Johns, she instantaneously surveyed all of the alcohol-related issues Larry had gotten into and asked him if he comprehended why his recent alcohol-related behavior caused quite a bit of apprehension by the school administrators.
Quite honestly, Larry questioned why the principal informed him that he had to see a school therapist. As he expressed to Miss Johns, why should he see a professional counselor about his drinking behavior? Due to the fact that just about all of his pals drink the same amount that he does, basically, drinking is no big issue. Stated more explicitly, if nearly everybody is drinking, why is this such a major problem?
Miss Johns asked Larry when he started to drink alcoholic beverages. He said that some of his older friends introduced him to drinking hard liquor when he was twelve or thirteen years old and in the seventh grade.
Miss Johns informed Larry that while his pals may indeed drink as much as he does and that they may be a negative influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting kicked out of school due to alcohol-related fighting, delinquency, and absenteeism, not his classmates. In addition, Miss Johns also highlighted the fact that Larry, and not his buddies, is the one who is failing and who is missing at least one day of class per week due to his alcohol related problems. Finally, Miss Johns underscored the fact that due to his drinking behavior, Larry is getting into a damaging cycle of abusive drinking that can in the long run ruin his life.
In a word, Larry’s involvement with youth alcohol abuse was beginning to thwart his ability to act like an accountable young man. As put into words by Miss Johns, “Just because most of your buddies drink wine coolers, wine, hard liquor, or beer does not mean that it is the healthiest thing in the world for you.”
Larry Learns That Ultimately He Must Take Responsibility For Himself In Order to Stay Away From Destructive, Unhealthy, Damaging, and Dangerous Consequences Down the Road
Miss Johns explained to Larry that one’s peers can undoubtedly influence a person in an unhealthy way, but that the individual himself or herself has to in the long run be accountable for herself or himself in order to stay away from dangerous, destructive, unhealthy, and damaging situations down the road.
Luckily, Miss Johns was very well equipped for her scheduled time with Larry. She showed him research studies and reports she had highlighted that listed different drinking facts and statistics that targeted most people in general. Then she showed Larry quite a lot of figures and reports that applied chiefly to teens.
For instance, Miss Johns highlighted the difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse and told Larry that drinkers who continue to drink in a hazardous manner frequently become alcoholic.
Miss Johns also discussed the concept of binge drinking that she defined as follows: ingesting five or more drinks in one sitting for males and consuming four or more drinks in one sitting for females.
The Counselor Lists A Number Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse Facts and Statistics
Then Miss Johns conveyed the following eight alcoholism facts and alcohol abuse statistics:
1. According to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, there are 105,000 annual alcohol-related fatalities in the United States because of inebriated drivers and related diseases, injuries, or medical conditions.
2. About 25% of all U.S. individuals who are admitted to general hospitals have alcohol-related problems or are undiagnosed alcoholics who are being treated for the results of their abusive drinking.
3. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse are the third leading cause of preventable fatalities in the United States.
4. More than 7% of the population that is 18 years old and older — roughly 13.8 million Americans — has problems with drinking, including 8.1 million drinkers who suffer from alcoholism.
5. 500,000 Americans who are addicted to alcohol are between the ages of 9 and 12.
6. As demonstrated by one U.S. research study of 18 to 24 year-old current drinkers who did not complete high school, approximately sixty percent began to drink before they were 16 years old.
7. Currently, almost 14 million Americans, 1 in every 13 adults, are alcohol dependent or are alcohol abusers.
8. As demonstrated by the research literature, non-alcoholic members of alcoholic’s families use 10 times as much sick time as families who do not exhibit alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency.
Larry Gets A Relevant Primer on the Facts Regarding the Long Term and the Short Term Consequences of Underage Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Addiction
After Miss Johns presented the aforementioned alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse facts and statistics, it was evident that what Miss Johns revealed to Larry was a wake up call for him. Why? Because for the first time in his young life, someone not only made the effort to go over the short term and the long term outcomes of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, but she also took the time to corroborate what she was saying with alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse statistics and facts that related to everybody in general, and chiefly to adolescents.
Without a doubt, it was almost as if a light went on and Larry instantaneously comprehended why he should not be engaging in abusive and hazardous drinking with or without his pals anymore. Larry thanked Miss Johns for her concern and for the information she discussed.
Miss Johns then asked Larry how he felt about getting a physical exam and an alcohol evaluation for the alcohol rehabilitation he would probably need.
Larry thought about this for few minutes and then agreed to get a comprehensive physical exam and to go through an extensive appraisal of his drinking situation so that he could start an alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency treatment program as reasonable as possible.
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Tags: alcohol abuse, alcohol abuse statistics, alcohol statistics, alcohol treatment, alcoholism, alcoholism facts, alcoholism statistics, long term effects of alcohol, short term effects of alcohol, teen alcohol abuse, teen alcohol abuse statistics, teenage alcohol abuse
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