Recognizing Early Signs of Substance Use in Teens
At 18 years old, Tony Hoffman was a promising BMX racer. From an outside perspective, he was set up for success. However, after using marijuana one time, he slid into addiction while telling himself this was the last time. As a parent of a teen, we want to understand how we can stop this from happening to our teens. We want to know the early signs of substance use so that we can recognize and provide assistance to help our teens. While our teens want to stop, they need help. They need support and care to help them take steps that will actually change their lives for the better.
Substance Use in Teens
On the surface, many of our teens look like they are doing great. However, teens commonly struggle with challenges such as depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and substance use. For some, these issues fade. However, many teens who begin to use substances as teens develop an addiction, which wreaks chaos in their lives. From the first use of drugs, teens with a high risk of developing addiction no longer have a choice. They often want to stop but do not know how and do not understand the process that is occurring in their body, which is addiction.
Prevalence
In 2023, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reported that 10.9% of eighth graders, 19.8% of 10th graders, and 31.2% of 12th graders have used illegal drugs in the past year. This is a significant amount of teens who are struggling with substance use. Of these teens, many will develop addiction, being unable to control their substance use both as teens and into young adulthood.
Type of Drug Use
There are a variety of substances that our teens use. Each teen's path to substance use and addiction is unique. However, each type of drug can consume their lives and take them down a path toward addiction, homelessness, or prison.
Drugs that are most commonly used among our teens include:
Alcohol
Vaping/nicotine
Cannabis
Narcotics
Each of these drugs has a unique effect. However, the early signs of substance use are similar for each.
Recognizing Early Signs of Substance Use
Early signs of substance use in our teens are important. Substance use in our teens is not a failure. In fact, it just means that we, as the support system for our teens, have work to do. The first step is to recognize when our teens need support and care. Looking for changes, including differences in behavior, academics, social groups, emotional state, and physical appearance, are all parts of recognizing when our teens are on a path toward substance abuse and addiction.
Behavioral Changes
When our teens use substances, their behaviors change drastically. Tony Hoffman, as a teen, went from being focused on BMX racing to spending his time smoking marijuana. This change is an example of large-scale changes that occur. For many teens, this is the case. They will go from loving certain activities and being fully engaged to spending their time doing “nothing.” Which often means using drugs or alcohol.
However, not all behavioral changes are as obvious. Addiction is a progressive disease. This means that while our teens may eventually show large-scale behavioral changes, small changes occur along the way. Using Tony as an example, he didn't go from being fully involved in BMX riding to dropping it completely. It started with one time of smoking marijuana. Then, over time, he slowly began to spend less time on his BMX riding. This subtle change in his behavior was an early warning sign of substance use.
In conversation with us, changes in behavior that can indicate substance use include behaviors that indicate that our teens are not being completely honest. This may include not making eye contact, making excuses, or outright lying. Other behaviors that can indicate that our teens are using substances include needing more money than before, coming home at different times, being secretive, or isolating themselves.
Academic Performance
Substance use in teens affects the brain significantly. Our teens are at a time when their brains are developing, and therefore, substance use has a more significant effect on them. Academic performance, as a result of the changes in the brain due to substance use, is impacted.
When our teens begin to use substances, they have a more difficult time focusing in class, problem-solving, and staying engaged in school. As a result, their academic performance suffers. Teens who have loved school and thrived in class before substance use will begin to get lower grades. They may forget to turn in assignments or simply not learn the material necessary to do well on a test or on assignments.
Changes in academic performance can be related to a variety of issues. However, sudden changes that accompany other changes that are often tied to substance use indicate the possibility of a teen using substances. When a teen's academic performance is changing due to substance use, it will commonly begin to change slowly. Then, as substance use increases, their grades will drop off more and more. This is why catching it early and opening up a dialogue with our teens is so important. There is hope in stopping the flow of negative changes that are occurring as a result of substance use.
Social Changes
The people that our teens spend time with have a significant impact on who they are and the decisions they make. This is not to say that our teens do not have their own minds. Instead, it is to recognize the importance of the social relationships that our teens have. When a teen spends time with other teens who are not using substances, they are quite simply not around it. This decreases their risk of using more or other substances.
However, when teens begin to use substances, the only way for them to continue to use substances is to be around them. Our teens begin to choose to spend time with others who are interested in substance use. This may include a buddy who introduced them to smoke. However, as they look towards buying substances, they look for other relationships that aid in their continued substance use, such as a dealer.
Knowing our teens, including who they spend time with, is very important in being able to recognize the early signs of substance use. When our teens make a new friend, it is important to get to know them, ask some questions, and understand if this new friend is related to positive or negative changes in a teen's life. Observing these social changes, along with other changes in our teens, helps provide us with clues about whether our teens are using substances.
Emotional Changes
Drugs cause changes in the brain that impact how our teens think and feel. The chemical changes in the brain affect all individuals using substances. However, as our teens are in a formative process, they have a large impact on their emotions. Therefore, when our teens engage in substance use, we will see emotional changes along the way.
As a parent of a teen, you know that emotional changes in teens are a normal part of life. However, these changes are often related to the challenges they are experiencing. There are ups and downs that we see our teens go through. This differs from emotional changes related to substance use.
When our teens have emotional changes due to substance use, it will be a continued road towards certain emotional challenges. These include increased agitation, depression, and anxiety. The emotions that we see due to substance use appear to not have a pattern. This is a result of them being related to substance use, which we may not be seeing. The best course of action, when we see emotional changes, is to open up a dialect about it where we can understand where these emotional changes originate from and how we can support our teens through them.
Physical Changes
Substance use uniquely affects every teen. However, physical changes such as significant weight gain or loss are commonly associated with substance use. This is related to how a substance interacts with the body and brain. Certain substances cause our teens to eat more, while others will decrease their appetite and eventually cause weight loss.
As a parent, you know that physical changes are normal for teens. Our teens go through many transformations, shoe sizes, and clothing sizes in a short period. However, physical changes due to substance use are commonly not positive in the manner that growth is. Our teens will show physical changes, such as weight gain or loss, that are combined with other symptoms that show they are not healthy. This may include sleep disruption, changes in complexion, and more.
Helping Teens Find Freedom From Substance Use
There are many stigmas surrounding substance use. We hear people say that teens and adults who have difficulty with substance use have no self-control and just need to learn to have more willpower. This is not the truth, and as a support for our teens, we can help our teens understand the truth of substance use and addiction. We can help them to know that while substance use as a teen may seem unimportant and not problematic, it can quickly change and lead them down a path they do not want to take.
The key to helping our teens with substance use is to provide a space for them to have open communication. Initiating conversations and being true support can help our teens take steps to change before they find themselves down the road regretting their choices regarding substance use.
Open Communication Regarding Substance Use
When we believe that our teens are engaging in substance use, it is easy to want to jump right in. We want to solve the problem, keep them from it, protect them. However, the reality is that they are a young adult. While they need support and care, we need to provide open communication regarding substance use.
Open communication helps our teens know that they are not alone. Being alone and feeling alone is one of the primary emotions that lead teens and adults to substance use. When our teens know they are not alone and that we want to engage in open communication, they know that they can come to us. We support them and care about how to deal with substance use both internally and externally.
Having open communication with our teens does not mean that we condone substance use. Instead, we can open up a style of communication that helps us to express the danger that our teens are in. This can include being open with what occurs mentally, emotionally, and physically when our teens use substances. However, it also means listening to experiences. We need to allow them to talk and actually listen. Many of our teens do not want to use substances but need us to help them find a way out and find a balance in their lives.
Initiating Conversations With Teens
Ideally, we will have an open dialogue regarding substance use with our teens. However, when we don't, it is time to initiate a conversation about it. This conversation can lead to an open and ongoing dialogue, which helps us to stay engaged with issues that our teens experience regarding substance use.
Initiating a conversation regarding substance use is difficult. However, what it truly takes is honesty. Our teens are important to us. If we want them to be honest with us, we need to take a breath and be honest with them. Starting a conversation can look different depending on the situation. We can start by asking about the new crowd our teen is spending time with. However, it can also begin with talking about substance use and concern over our teens being exposed to it.
When we initiate a conversation, it is important not to enter into the conversation as being on the offensive. We need to be open, as we want our teens to be comfortable talking to us about the challenges they are experiencing. Remember, the most important part is to start an open dialogue where both you and your teen can be respectful and honest.
Parental Role in Addressing Substance Use
When our teens use substances, many people in their lives will see the effect. However, parents have a significant part in a teen's life and can, therefore, play a vital role in addressing substance use. This is due to the high exposure teens have to their parents, making it easy for us to see what changes are occurring.
However, it is also due to our ability to address substance use from home. When we address substance use at home, teens are in a safe space. They can learn the skills they need to protect themselves and make positive choices for themselves.
Guiding and assisting our teens when they are using substances can feel hopeless. However, it is not. As parents, we can keep going, keep talking, keep encouraging, and continue to be there for our teens as effective support in their lives.
Importance of Support in Addressing Substance Use
As parents and loved ones, we see that our teens have so much to give. We know that our teens can be a light in this world, and we want them to be successful. However, we also see how even a single time smoking marijuana, like Tony Hoffman, can derail their lives.
When we address substance use after seeing early signs, we can put a stop to behaviors that will have a profound impact on our teen's life. As a result, we can help our teens save themselves before they find themselves in a position where they wish someone has supported them to make a change as a teen.
Substance use and addiction are common in teens. However, Tony Hoffman knows how much substance use can derail a teen's life. Tony took years and years to rebuild his life, but your teen does not have to. As parents, you can make a difference in your teen's life. You can open up communication when you recognize the subtle signs of substance use and help them to make better choices for themselves moving forward in their lives. If you are interested in learning more about Tony Hoffman, his story, or how he can help your teen by encouraging them to make a change now, call today at (559) 392-8897 and speak with Tony.
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