Adolescence and addictions

Dr Vaishali Deshmukh

Adolescents are all those who are between 10 and 19 years of age.

Adolescents are in a transition and undergo major rapid physical, emotional and thinking changes. The body changes from that of a child to that of an adult male or a female. Adjusting to this visible change can be daunting for them.

Even more dramatic changes are happening within the adolescent brain. The thoughts are becoming more and more mature. The front part of the brain, called the prefrontal cortex, is the manager of all the emotions and decisions. This part takes the longest time to mature, up to 25 to 30 years. Till then, the emotions take the upper hand. The thoughts and behaviours are impulsive. They cannot think about very long-term consequences and think mostly in black and white. The reward centre is always hungry for achievement, appreciation and attention. At this stage, they also need to form their own social circle as part of becoming an independent adult.

All these developmental happenings provide some peculiar characteristics to adolescents.  Here are some of them:

„  Risk taking behavior

„  Impulsiveness

„  Curiosity and Experimentation

„  Instant gratification

„  Need to socialize

„  Peer preference/ peer pressure

As you can imagine, each of these characteristics have multiple implications on different areas of their lives.

„  Addictions

„  Technology

„  Law

„  Implications on counselling

„  Mental health

„  Relationships

„  Education

„  Sex

„  Career

Let’s talk about our main topic today, addictions. Yes, smoking, drinking and drug abuse are the three major addictions that we are worried about.

They are characterised by tolerance (need of higher dose to achieve same effect). Habituation (repeated craving for the substance) and withdrawal (ill effects if the substance is not consumed). We do see similar steps when it comes to screen use. (Social media, Gaming, Porn, Gambling- online/offline)

Multiple factors act as protective as well as risk factors.

The effects of addiction are not just physical or mental, but also social and economic.

„  Unsafe sex

„  Driving under influence

„  Crime, Legal troubles

„  School failure (loss of concentration and cognition, IQ)

„  School dropout

„  Relationships

„  Loss of interest in normal healthy activities

„  Mental health problems, suicides

„  Economic problems

 

Prevention and treatment: prevention is important during adolescence as there are far reaching effects at this age. Giving information, creating awareness, providing alternatives to substance abuse to have fun are some of the interventions.

„  Multiple levels- Individual, Family, Society

„  Multidisciplinary approach: physician, mental health professionals, occupational therapists, teachers, peers, family

 

Our role is that of a gatekeeper, a role model and a solid support giver. These are some of the things that we can do.

„  Non-judgmental attitude

„  Communication

„  Providing alternatives

„  Creating a non-materialistic environment

„  Identifying red flag signs

„  Life skills