how should I respond to this?
Dear Teen Editor,
I am writing this letter because I don't know what to do. my use of bath salt is out of control. I feel pressured by my friends to be apart of the drug scene. I see people I media using drugs for pleasure. when I am high on drugs I forget all my problems and school is unimportant. I dropped out of sports and I do whatever for money. I read your column and I know you talk straight teens can you help?
Answers
Hello,
I want to thank you for trusting me enough to share your problem with me.
First thing i want to tell you is that drugs is NOT the answer to ANY of your problems. It will completely ruin your life in a way that it can lead to suicide. It lures you into thinking that, even if its just for a little while, your problems will vanish. It will end up ruining your life.
You are a very special person who is loved by your family and friends. There are people who care about you, who wants to see you achieve your dreams in life. Once you realise your self worth, you will begin to understand that the life of drugs, which DOES give you pleasure, but only for a little while, was a complete sham. It fools people into thinking that all their problems will vanish, when in reality, it just creates more problems.
When people on social media use drugs, alcohol, etc, they don't realise that they are not only ruining there own lives, but are also influencing other teenagers who watch them, to do so as well. But you CAN come out of drug addiction, it is not a chronic problem.
The first thing you should do is, stay away from people who are pressurising you to use drugs. If you do not do that, no matter what you do to get rid of the addiction, the wrong people you surround yourself with will always try to lure you back into the same situation.
Surround yourself with good people who will continue to back you up even when you feel like falling back to using drugs again. This is one of the most important things to do in this situation. Then throw away any drugs that you have with you, each and every one of them. Its going to be difficult, but this is where you start.
Second thing you should do is to seek help from a responsible adult whom you trust completely. Share the problems that you are facing with this adult and he/she will help you through this journey, although it will be very difficult. But know that you CAN get through this. If you do not feel like there is a person like this that you can talk to about it, then there are numerous organisations where there are professionals who will help you in this situation.