By: Katharine Sadler, M.Ed.
If you are a parent, educator, or youth leader, you may know young people who have gone through treatment for drug or alcohol addiction. It’s important to understand that recovery from alcoholism or drug addiction is a lifetime commitment—not only for the addict, but for loved ones, supportive friends, teachers, and mentors. That lifetime journey starts when the addict takes the first steps to change his or her destructive way of life. Like the disease of addiction, recovery is progressive. And as with any chronic illness, addiction has no permanent cure. Fortunately, the disease of addiction can be put into remission through abstinence from all mood-altering substances and adopting a lifestyle of honesty and healthy living.
Developmental Assets play an important role on the journey to recovery
If you know a young person in recovery, your work to build assets in the classroom can complement his or her recovery efforts. It is appropriate to take an interest in him or her, and to be a safe and reliable adult for that young person. However, it is not wise to try play an active role in the young person’s therapy. Teachers and concerned adults can best support a young person’s recovery by providing a caring school climate and acting as supportive role models.
Many addicts, when given the proper information and guidance, are able to refocus their lives and move toward more positive choices. For young people, one of these choices involves leaving behind friends who use drugs and alcohol. Perhaps a parent might say, “If they used drugs with you, they weren’t really your friends.” But a young person lives with the challenge of resisting the familiar friends, surroundings, and temptations that await them in their schools and communities.
Another challenge involves the stigma of seeking professional help from a counselor, psychologist, or psychiatric doctor. Many people regard seeking help for mental health issues as a “sign of weakness.” In truth, recovering from substance abuse or addiction is not a pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps situation. Like physical health, mental health is influenced by conditions of stress, genetics, injury, and lifestyle choices. It’s important, however, for young people and the caring adults around them to understand that seeking professional help for mental health is no different than seeking assistance for a physical condition. Substance abuse changes the way our brains and bodies function. Reversing the effects can be difficult, and may be unattainable without trained professionals.
Young people find it temping to sink back into the same habits and relationships that contributed to the substance abuse in the first place. As concerned adults and educators, we can support recovering young people by observing their temperament and behavior and monitoring their grades and attendance. Through these practical efforts, we play the role of supportive adults who hold the young person accountable for putting his or her new mental health skills into action.
Katharine Sadler, M.Ed., is the author of What Adults Need to Know about Kids and Substance Use: Dealing with Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs. Sadler is a community prevention specialist who has worked as a teacher, school counselor, business executive, and community activist. She is with Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University as a technical assistant and evaluator for prevention projects. Her understanding of the substance abuse culture also stems from seeing it firsthand as a school administrator and as a mom. Katharine resides in Elizabeth, Indiana.
