In this lesson you are going to learn how to deal with a teenager using hard drugs such as meth, heroin, crack, and PCP.
In it you will learn:
- The different types of hard drugs
- The two types of addictions to be aware of
- What it means if your child is using them
- How you can best approach the situation
- A sample talk you can have with your teen
- Why I am very sad if you need to read this lesson
Overview
Types: Crystal Meth, Crack Cocaine, Heroin, PCP
Concern Level: 10
I’m not going to spend too much time on explaining what these drugs are and what they do as these truly are “bad” drugs. I rarely judge anything but these particular drugs are literally bad. I consider these drugs the “devil drugs” as it brings out the absolute worst in any human being and takes them to hell.
More than anything, I’m SO sad when I hear of anyone doing this type of drug because their state of being must be at the lowest place imaginable. I really hope that no parent has to endure their child doing these and pray to God that no one is even actually reading this lesson.
What It Does
Basically, any of these drugs completely destroy the body physically, mentally, and spiritually. It does not matter which one it is, they all destroy the person who is taking them and it’s a very dark place to be for anyone who has chosen to do these drugs.
Why Your Kid Chose To Do These Drugs
If your teenager is doing any of these drugs, it means they’re in a really depressed place and are using the drug as a way for them to see and feel their depression. What most parents fail to realize is that it is not the drug that caused the problem. All the drug does is reflect or represent an emotion that was already there.
No person regardless of age or situation would “just” do meth, crack, PCP, or heroin for the sake of doing it. If your child is doing any of these drugs, they came to a point in their life where they were so miserable, angry, or unhappy that they just said, “Fuck it, I don’t care about life anymore” and decided to slowly kill themselves by doing these drugs.
By choosing to do the drugs rather then just killing themselves; they don’t actually want to die but it’s a huge cry for help. Please listen! Remember, do not focus on their behavior (taking drugs), focus on their state of being and “why” they are taking these drugs. The drug itself is a symbol for their inner state of being. If they are doing these types of drugs it is a reflection saying, “I have nothing to live for”.
What To Do
First you need to understand that you have lost your child and whom you are speaking to is not them. They’re not literally possessed but they’re not themselves either. You’ll be dealing with two major issues here:
1. Emotional and mental.
2. Physical addiction.
Emotional and Mental
If your child is doing any of these drugs, you need to act quickly and get to the root cause immediately. First you need to understand why your child has chosen to do these drugs from an emotional and mental perspective. What are they running from? What feelings are they not facing? What are they angry or sad about?
You need to sit them down without anger or judgment and remind them of how much you love them and that you will do everything in your power to get them off this drug.
This is one of the few circumstances where I recommend that you actually intervene and “control” the situation. Remove your child from whatever environment they’re in that’s supporting this behavior, put them in a positive one, and deal with the root cause of the issue.
Once again, I cannot emphasize enough how you must be loving and non-judgmental. Any anger expressed on your part will just add fuel to the fire. This means you will need to understand how to have a sense of urgency without panic or being reactive. I highly recommend (if you can afford it), having your child in a warm tropical type of environment as these drugs are very “dark:” and the sunlight and positive atmosphere will help.
Rehabilitating the emotional and mental aspects of doing these drugs can easily take one to two years so be brave, loving, calm and know that whoever your child is right now, it’s really not them. You may (or may not) have had a role in your child getting to this point and you will need to be honest with yourself about that. If you do feel you had a part, you will need to work on healing your relationship with your child because these types of drugs are literally a call for help.
Remember that no matter how much they hate you for intervening and they may say outlandish things, they are not themselves. You’re going to have to be brave for the both of you.
Physical Addiction
Hopefully you’re able to nip the issue in the bud before they have become physically addicted. If not, then you really have no choice but to put them in a clinic (find a positive one) because they will be going through withdrawals and they will need 24/7 supervision until they have passed this phase. It can easily take a few months just to address the physical addiction.
Remember, this all boils down to a “belief” and if your child is on these drugs it’s because they believe life is not worth living. You need to help them see that it is until it becomes their own belief.
If you’re living this right now, my deepest prayers go out to you. At the same time, there is a silver lining to this in that many people use other substances that are a lot “slower” in how they deteriorate. With hard drugs, it at least provides you an opportunity to address the issues immediately.
Either way, you will need good help. Find someone positive and not fear based. Many boot camps and clinics are absolute jokes and can actually make the situation a lot worse. As cheesy as this may sound, your child needs a lot of love. And my guess is that if you are experiencing this, so do you.
See also…
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Alcohol – How to talk to your teen about alcohol
Anger – How to help your teen address their anger issues
Being Cool & Popular – How to talk to your teen about not being cool & popular
Boredom – How to talk to your teen when they are bored
Bullying – How to talk to your teen about bullying
Career & Life Purpose – How to talk to your teen about building their future career & life purpose
Dating & Sex – How to talk to your teen about dating and sex
Depression – How to talk to your teen when they are depressed
Drugs – How to talk to your teen about drugs
Hurt Feelings – How to talk to your teen if they have hurt feelings
Lying – How to address your teen when you catch them lying
Money – How to talk to your teen about being responsible with money
Out of Control – How to talk to your teen when they are out of control
Overweight – How to talk to your when they become overweight
Partying – How to talk to your teen about partying
Rebellion – How to address teenage rebellion
School – Tips on how to address problems at school
Stealing – What to do if your teen is stealing
Technology Addiction – What to do if your teen is addicted to technology