I’m not saying that I was a talkative teenager, but there were a number of times when I would be in the process of telling my dad what had happened, and he would finally interrupt and say, “What’s the bottom line?” That was my cue to blurt out: “Mmy car broke down,” or “I had a little accident,” or “Joe broke up with me.” Then he was much more willing to listen to the details because he knew the most important fact.
I’m reminded also of a 7th grade health class where we watched a movie about lung cancer. It wasn’t the bunch of statistics that caught my attention, or the thoughts about parents being disappointed or sad. No, it was the operation where they removed a guy’s black lung and showed it to us. “Ewwwwwwwwww.” I still remember that film to this day, and it was a part of my decision to never smoke cigarettes.
So here’s an article about a guy who is trying to get clean. He is fed up with the difficulties of drug abuse and he is making the effort, but it’s hard going. He says,“What do you do if your insurance only gives 20 visits per year and you need more..? I was getting addiction treatments last winter for an oxy habit, unfortunately the rehab, therapy, and all the psych visits for my suboxone treatment used up all of my available visits for “mental health or substance abuse” per year. I have been having a lot of symptoms of depression lately..”crying spells, intense need to be held, severe fatigue, horrid sleep patterns, etc..” and don’t have any more visits available. I don’t have a job as i just graduated last year and am too weak to work more than an hour or so per day anyway…Is there anyway i can get them to allow me to see a psychiatrist or are there any other ways to get help with this kinda thing?”
Maybe this kind of info can be the “black lung” that some teens see about drug abuse. It doesn’t look too pretty, does it? That first try, that bit of a fun “high,” and doing it so that your so-called friends (who can’t possibly be true friends if they would wish this on you) will like you – doesn’t seem too worth it when you end up like this, does it?
There is a way out, but man, can’t you see that it’s not worth going in in the first place? There are so many better things in life than this.
