Can I Stay Sober Once I Go to College?
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Your teen could talk themselves out of going to college before they even have an opportunity to get the application in. Normally this type of fear can be chalked up to not having the grades or finances to be accepted into the university of their choice. If your teen is sober or trying to maintain sobriety, they may have already decided that they will fail at their educational endeavors because of the lifestyle that is promoted on campus. The thought of fraternity parties and dorm room keggers could get a teenager to rethink their purpose in attending college.
Heavy drinking and drug usage is often the stereotype that colleges take on due to news stories or how campus life is portrayed in the movies which makes parents assume that being under the influence is what students major in. According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, students who drank heavily in high school have been shown to intensify their alcohol abuse in an environment where no authority is present. Statistics prove that 60 percent of college students drank in the span of a month with ⅔ of them binge drinking.
For a teen who is trying to stay sober, this can crush their dreams since they have been taught in recovery to stay out of places that may tempt them into drinking or using. By focusing on two areas that can help to promote educational success, your teen can use their recovery program to help them adapt their college experience into a sober one.
Get good grades
The number one reason why someone should be going to college is to get good enough grades to pass their classes and earn their degree. Although someone who parties may disagree that college is for beer and marijuana bonging, your adolescent can go to school and do what they are supposed to do - educate themselves to build their career.Find sober friends
Your teen may think finding sober people at a college is like finding a needle in a haystack, but they are there attending the same school. Suggest to your teenager that they should ask their guidance counselor to connect them to something like a Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC) to locate sober classmates and clubs. By finding the people who are staying sober, they can be around like-minded people that can give them a whole different experience beyond the party scene. Putting your teen's recovery first should make them have no qualms about sticking out like a sore thumb in a crowd where binge drinking, and pot smoking is acceptable behavior. People who have recovered from an addiction have gone on to do great things such as attending college to graduate, and your teen can certainly be next.If you or an adolescent you know needs to get help for drug or alcohol abuse, Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center can give you the guidance that you deserve. Establishing a strong network of family and community can reinforce practices for living substance free.
Call us today to start living in your recovery: 662-598-4214
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