Teenagers are a complicated bunch. From hormones to social pressures, and everything in between, how do you tell what is normal and what could be a sign of a serious issue? There isn’t a teenager on earth who hasn’t challenged their parents at some point along the way. The healthiest teens still exhibit friction with their parents as they try to assert their independence and juggle the interplay of physical, emotional, and social pressures they are experiencing.
So how do you tell the difference between big warning signs and natural changes that are part of your teenager’s growth? You want to give your child space and allow them to adjust to the growing complexity of teenage-hood, but you definitely don’t want to ignore an important signal that your child may require help.
Luckily, there are typical changes that happen early on in a teenager’s drug use pattern. If you are present and aware of your teen’s behaviour, you may be able to notice some of these markers early and address things before they get too bad.
3 Early-Warning Signs of Drug Use in Teens
Look for one or all of these signs if you are concerned about your child’s potential drug use.
1. Behavioural Changes
According to researchers, changes in behaviour are the earliest warning signs of drug use. Behavioural changes can fall into a number of categories to watch out for. It may not always be possible to separate normal behaviour from abnormal behaviour but be reasonable and use your instincts.
- Sudden change in friends or social group. Have they started spending time with new friends all of a sudden?
- Rapid changes in grades. Has your child gone from getting good grades to all of a sudden doing poorly or doing much worse than normal?
- Reduced time spent with family. Does your teen seem especially reluctant to interact at all? Are they avoiding family dinner? Are they spending enormous amounts of time alone in their room? Or breaking previously agreed to and upheld curfews?
2. Personality changes
Although it may not always be possible to notice changes in personality from drug use, there will often be marked changes that the teen will attempt to shrug off or defend as normal, so look for sudden and extreme changes that seem out of the ordinary.
- Sudden change from upbeat to low energy. Do you notice a change in energy level? Do they seem like they are not as happy and outgoing as they were just a few months ago?
- Decline in motivation. Drugs like marijuana can significantly affect motivation levels. Does your child seem less interested in activities and goals that only recently were important to them?
- Confrontational or angry. Teenagers will often be defensive and angry if you try to confront them about their drug-use. If you find that your child seems way more defensive than normal about small things and big things, it could be a sign of more.
3. Physical Changes
Physical changes are usually straight forward but they may occur undetected if you don’t know what you are looking for.
- The eyes. Drug use often has an effect on the user’s eyes. Marijuana makes eyes red because it reduces blood pressure in the eye causing blood vessels to swell and become visible. Other drugs cause the pupils to swell wildly and still others cause the pupils to shrink into tiny pin points.
- Obviously smell is a big one.Drugs like marijuana have a strong odor when smoked that lingers on the user like tobacco smoke. On the other hand, new methods of using marijuana like vape-pens and edibles can be almost odor-less. Still, various drugs, including alcohol have characteristic odors that are not easy to mask. If you smell something strange, don’t ignore it.
- Changes in body weight and composition are associated with the abuse of several drugs, however it is not typically an early sign.
The Take Away
Some of these changes, when taken on their own, are common issues that face teenagers and parents. The trick is to notice clusters of changes that point to something deeper going on. Don’t expect your teen to eagerly come forward and share what is going on in their lives.
If you notice a combination of individual changes from the above categories, it may be time to discuss the issue with your child and / or contact a health-care or treatment professional.
At AARC we have dedicated treatment professionals who can support you in the process of figuring out if your child has a problem and what to do about it if they do. Contact an AARC counsellor at 403.253.5250 by email at info@aarc.ab.ca or our website chat www.aarc.ab.ca