The signs of substance abuse

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The signs of substance abuse

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Signs of a teen substance abuse problem are; one, they will come home with red eyes or their eyes will be dilated to the point where they are black. They will come home smelling like cologne or perfume. They will come home wearing different clothes that they left that night in. They will come home and make a beeline for their shower, saying that they need a shower, or straight to their bed and say they need to go to sleep. Some kids will come home and raid your refrigerator. Outside of that, you'll also see that they will be exhibiting similar signs of of depressions; which is, irritability, dropping grades, inability to concentrate, not finding pleasure in normal activities, changes in sleep patterns and food patterns. If you see any of these, it should be a red flag for you as a parent. What I think you should do is start randomly drug testing and breathalyzing your teens. This is going to enable you to suppress the amount of volume and duration of which they are going to be partying; which will help them ward off addiction throughout their life. If you can't get them to reel it in, then the consequences and tangible consequences need to come down. Typically, a week or two weeks of grounding per incident. If it continues, you can add more weeks or enter them into a substance abuse program.

See Jerry Weichman, PhD's video on The signs of substance abuse...

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Jerry Weichman, PhD

Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Jerry Weichman is a licensed psychologist and adolescent specialist as well as an author, speaker and parenting expert. His clinical practice at Hoag Hospital's Neurosciences Institute in Newport Beach, California provides a window on contemporary teen and pre-teen behavior.

“Dr. Jerry” as his adolescent patients call him, is a young PhD who really relates to teens, speaks their lingo and has felt their pain. Author of the teen survival guide, How to Deal, and noted media expert on teen issues, Dr. Jerry is focused on helping teens cope with parents, teachers, friends and academic pressure, communicating with them in a way they understand to help successfully navigate the dramas and pressures of adolescence.

Dr. Jerry's popular speeches, lectures and seminars have presented assemblies of students, teachers, parents and administrators with practical approaches on how today’s teens can overcome the trials and tribulations of growing up, from coping with bullying to meeting parental academic expectations to walking away from drugs and other self-destructive behaviors. Jerry also sits on the board of directors for the Bullying Prevention Initiative of California and just recently sat on an expert panel for a screening of the documentary Bully.

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Transcription: 
Signs of a teen substance abuse problem are; one, they will come home with red eyes or their eyes will be dilated to the point where they are black. They will come home smelling like cologne or perfume. They will come home wearing different clothes that they left that night in. They will come home and make a beeline for their shower, saying that they need a shower, or straight to their bed and say they need to go to sleep. Some kids will come home and raid your refrigerator. Outside of that, you'll also see that they will be exhibiting similar signs of of depressions; which is, irritability, dropping grades, inability to concentrate, not finding pleasure in normal activities, changes in sleep patterns and food patterns. If you see any of these, it should be a red flag for you as a parent. What I think you should do is start randomly drug testing and breathalyzing your teens. This is going to enable you to suppress the amount of volume and duration of which they are going to be partying; which will help them ward off addiction throughout their life. If you can't get them to reel it in, then the consequences and tangible consequences need to come down. Typically, a week or two weeks of grounding per incident. If it continues, you can add more weeks or enter them into a substance abuse program.