DP 7

Parenting an infant and young child is hard, but does that compare to dealing with an adolescent? Parents sarcastically joke about how challenging the teenage years are for them, but it is hard for the adolescent too. Massive amounts of hormones are hitting the blood stream as teenagers head toward sexual maturity. That alone may make it seem like the teenager is in an altered state. Add to that the decisions of whether or not they should succumb to peer pressure and start experimenting with drugs. This week we will tackle adolescence and development. What do we know? What is happening to teenagers that makes their friends so all important? What physical changes are occurring? The teenage brain has not yet finished growing, so what further changes can be expected as they mature? 

While learning about the trials of adolescents, we will tackle altered states as well. Many teenagers experiment with illegal drugs. What are the dangers of experimentation? What do the various drugs do to the human body?

It is interesting to note that while adolescence is beginning earlier than it did a few hundred years ago, it is essentially ending later. There are more things for the adolescent to accomplish before they will be ready for the responsibilities of adulthood. Teenagers today have many more career options than teenagers did 100 years ago, and it also often takes more time to be prepared to enter many of these careers. During their school years, most adolescents hold part-time jobs. Some work upwards of 15 hours a week while still going to school. Working this much typically correlates with lower self-esteem, increased anxiety, and even more trouble getting along with other people. 

Adolescence marks Erikson's identity vs. role confusion stage. With all the physical changes, increased responsibilities and freedoms, and the independence of adulthood looming, adolescents have to figure out "who they are." Some don't seem to like where they are. Adolescents are at increased risk for eating disorders and suicide. Many start to feel an increased freedom and sense of invulnerability, and they begin to experiment with illegal drugs and alcohol. 

Drugs will impact the central nervous system in a variety of ways. Depressants (sometimes called "downers") are drugs that depress the central nervous system, causing relaxation, sedation, or even possibly loss of consciousness. Some people are surprised that alcohol is a depressant, but it does depress the central nervous system, and, in a large enough quantity, it can lead to death. (Thus, the dangers of binge drinking.) As it is, alcohol is heavily involved in a large percentage of all murders, suicides, spousal abuses, fatal car crashes, and child abuse cases in the United States each year. Alcohol is also one of the leading causes of birth defects in the United States. Alcohol may also lead to damage in the teenager's brain even more severe than the damage it causes in adult brains.

Nicotine, caffeine, amphetamines, and cocaine all stimulate our central nervous system. (Thus the name stimulant.) Stimulants are addictive and not always illegal. Even a preschooler can get a soda loaded with caffeine. The nicotine found in cigarettes is highly addictive and illegal for most school-age children and adolescents in the United States, but it hasn't stopped them from getting it. Worse yet, the smoke from cigarettes can hurt those who breathe it second hand. Crystal meth or methamphetamine is another stimulant that causes great harm to people.

Opiates are drugs such as morphine and heroin. They are highly addictive. They affect us by imitating our brain's own natural painkillers.

Hallucinogens include things like LSD and marijuana. Use of these produces hallucinations. People like to think of marijuana as harmless, but it hinders a person's memory and makes it difficult to learn. Marijuana does have a positive side for some people, however. It is known to help individuals better deal with the sickness produced by chemotherapy. Neither LSD nor marijuana is physically addictive, though professionals debate whether or not they are psychologically addictive. Marijuana can be found in the brain up to a month after use, and LSD users may experience flashbacks.