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Dear Editor,
Addiction: what is it really? Do you think that a student in fifth or sixth grade, when trying some inhalant or beer with their friends thinks – “When I grow up I want to be an addict or alcoholic”? Have you ever seen a family with three or four children where only one of the children has a drug or alcohol problem and yet they were raised by the same parents with the same home values? What does it all mean? It means that the world of science is only scratching the surface of why some people are prone to addiction while others experiment all they want and never suffer from the disease of addiction. All judgments need to be “retooled.”
One young man told me that his first day waiting for the bus in Abington (as a freshman) he was approached by a new junior and offered prescription pills to help deal with high school. How would your child respond? Are you sure? Let’s look at some of the issues known to be causes of the disease of addiction.
• As parents we know our children. We know the child who has self-esteem and can say that it is not their thing and move away. We also know that some of our children have weak self-esteem and struggle with standing up for what they know is right. Don’t be fooled by the fact that your child is an Eagle Scout, star football player, national honor society member, or any type of leader. As parents we know that sometimes these students are the ones that work so hard to prove themselves because they have low self-esteem.
• Traumatic Brain injury is now considered a cause of addiction. This can be from direct trauma or from illness/ surgery.
• Genetics has been known to be involved in alcoholism. It is now recognized as having a role in other forms of addiction as well.
Let’s get together and share information and get to know one another in a nonjudgmental format. Come to the “Parent’s Forum” at Clarks Green United Methodist Church on Wednesday evening September 12 at 7 p.m. for a power point presentation and open discussion. Bring your middle school or high school student if you would like- it may open a discussion. Some parents in the past said that they learned how to ask specific questions and were surprised to find out how widespread the problem was – sometimes involving their own child’s friend.
Karen E. Arscott, D.O., M.Sc.
Director, Physician Assistant Program
Marywood University