It’s something that every parent hopes they never have to face, a child that becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol.
Jason Jones is a Counselling Therapist at the Atlantic Wellness Community Centre..
He says this is something we now need to worry about at a much younger age, “Kids are being exposed to drugs by the time they get to middle school. A lot of times, by grade 8, so around the age of 13, a lot of them are starting to experiment already.”
Jones adds, “Just because they try drugs once, doesn’t mean they will get addicted. It typically results from an underlying problem. It could be that your child is depressed, has anxiety, is bullied, or has low self worth, and using drugs could be an easy solution. If it lessens their fears, if it lessens their anxiety or if it makes them feel better, then that is kind of a dangerous recipe for the drug being a good solution for their problems.”
He also notes, “Unfortunately, I think the relapse rate is very high for youth. They have a few things working against them that adults don’t. First, they haven’t faced a lot of consequences for their actions. Also, it is sometimes a given, that youth are going to party, and there aren’t always a lot of outside supports in the community, even if they go to a rehab or something.”
The Atlantic Wellness Centre does free counselling for youth ages 12 to 21. Many youth go there to talk about their problems, and Counsellors are non judging and can help youth to find their way.
