When I was a sophomore in high school, I took a substance abuse class. At that time, I did not realize that alcohol abuse in point of fact was a sub classification of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse, I read a lot about Alcoholic Anonymous, their meetings, how their programs have twelve steps, and how successful the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program has been for people all over the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol rehabilitation and the different alcohol rehab clinics that are regularly available to individuals who engage in excessive drinking.
Some of the detrimental effects related to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class unquestionably scared me. The ruined lives and countless difficulties experienced by most alcohol addicted people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. In a word, I did not want to face the wreckage and destruction that alcohol addicted people almost always experience.
Reflect on this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old teenager wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What teenager wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that drinking alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What teen wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related problems before he or she becomes twenty-one?
What young person wants to encounter alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to quit drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause serious issues in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after an individual has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would a young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that centers on hazardous drinking?
These issues were so important that I talked about some of them in class during the school year. What was entirely astounding to me was the number of students who basically didn’t care about the damaging consequences of excessive drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t care less about reality and how these outcomes can shatter their lives. For the first time in my life I started to comprehend a saying that my grandfather used to tell me all through my adolesence: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.
