ADDICTION IS A PREVENTABLE BRAIN DISEASE!
There is nothing I would like more than to see these beautiful kids escape the painful ravages of this terrible disease and the ugly consequences that follow.
Through the non-profit, Action Against Addiction, I’ve taught grades k-8th evidence based programs which provide youth with the science and the skills that will help them make healthy life choices that do not include using or abusing legal and/or illegal drugs.
The science tells us that addiction is a preventable brain disease, and it’s critical that children learn early how to protect their growing brain because it is not fully developed until they are at least 21 years old.
The lessons emphasize that children should wear a bicycle helmet to protect their brain in case they fall off their bike and hit their head. They learn why the law requires them to sit in the back seat of a car with their seatbelts fastened. Airbags in the steering wheel and dashboard of a car deploy at 60 miles an hour and that kind of force could kill a young child.
The age of first use of alcohol, which is a gateway drug, is 11 years old in New Orleans and across Louisiana so we teach kids that young people who start drinking alcohol at 15 or younger are four to five times more likely to become addicted than if they wait until the legal drinking age of 21. The alcohol literally hi-jacks their brain.
Empowering children with the knowledge and the confidence to make the tough choices despite peer pressure, problem parents and perilous poverty can be challenging. During a writing assignment one child shared a painful personal tragedy.
“I was sitting at my mother’s funeral and I kicked my brother because I was mad that my dad was in prison for killing our mom.” As this child began sobbing my heart ached because this kind of unresolved trauma can lead a person to drinking, drugging and other risky behaviors.
In the public school setting I can’t tell the children they’re not alone and to place their trust and their hope in the almighty God. However, I can certainly bring his light to school by modeling his joy, his compassion and his unrestricted love as I inspire excitement about their unique talents and gifts and their greatest asset, their brain!
When I’m asked, I share my knowledge, my experience and yes-my hope with parents, community leaders, the media and even seminarians at Notre Dame Seminary.
Here’s the thing, knowledge is power and wisdom is liberating. So if we can all learn the science behind the brain disease of addiction, if we can accept the fact that it is a preventable brain disease, then maybe, just maybe we will unite to save the children and future generations from the insidious and damaging effects caused by adolescent use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs!
The sobering truth is that it doesn't take a brain scientist to figure out that investing in the prevention of addiction is the smart choice and it is a whole lot easier than trying to help someone recover from it!
Comments