Millions of young children and teenagers get bullied every year by their peers and the emotional damage it causes can be devastating. Unfortunately an increasing number of these bullied teens are turning to drugs to alleviate their pain. Sadly this is causing a rising rate of addiction that could be dangerous and destructive to the teen population.
Bullying Is Connected To Depression
Bullying is a major problem in American schools because of the way it causes depression. In one study of depression, it was found that 30 percent of all students who suffered from depression had been victimized or bullied in their life. This was particularly problematic for girls, though it affected both genders.
This depression can be hard to control for many teens, particularly if it goes unreported or is not diagnosed. As a result, many feel the need to take care of the problem themselves, rather than turn to parents, teachers, or other authority figures.
Depression Is Connected To Addiction
Teen depression and addiction have been heavily linked through various studies. This has caused an increasing rate of substance use and addiction in the nation. For example, a 2013 study found that about a quarter of all American teens used alcohol that year. Around 17 percent used illegal drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. Many of them were using it to manage depression symptoms.
As teens continue to turn to drugs to self-treat their depression, they can become addicted to them quite easily. This is particularly true if they fall into a circle of users who serve as a surrogate family or social circle. Often depressed teens fall into addiction together, after suffering from severe bullying from their peers. Thankfully it is possible to escape from this cycle of abuse.
Treating This Problem
Managing addiction in teens with depression requires a two-pronged approach known as treating "co-occurring disorders." This is a situation in which depression walks hand-in-hand with addiction. The two problems feed each other and create a difficult-to-break cycle.
Psychotherapy, relapse prevention, cognitive behavioral therapy, and other treatments are typically used with this process. This will help eliminate the negative presence of addiction and depression in a teen's life by managing them simultaneously and breaking the hold they have on their life.
As a result, parents of teens who have been bullied or who may suffer from depression need to get them treatment for these conditions as soon as possible. Managing bullying depression early will make it unnecessary to get adolescent addiction recovery treatment in the future by preventing it from ever occurring.
Share29 December 2016
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