By Esme Canelos
For many, 2020 was a challenging and difficult year. By April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and flipped it upside down. Globally, borders, countries, and cities shut down very quickly. Isolation set in and for many, so did panic.
While the country had been hit with a pandemic, an endemic had been growing in severity. An endemic of teenage substance abuse.
Teens across the world use drugs and alcohol for a variety of reasons, whether that be self-medication or sensation seeking. Addiction is a disease that impacts people in different ways. There are various organizations to help treat people with addiction.
One such organization is Wildcats Anonymous. They host sober events for students in recovery at the University of Arizona, and have a mentor program to help students reach sobriety. The executive director of the program explains that lockdown left many people struggling with self control. “We weren’t exposed to the outside world, and it caused self reflection and self-reliance,” she said. Many people found themselves struggling with their pre-established or developing addictions.
While the country had been hit with a pandemic, an endemic had been growing in severity. An endemic of teenage substance abuse.
Teens across the world use drugs and alcohol for a variety of reasons, whether that be self-medication or sensation seeking. Addiction is a disease that impacts people in different ways. There are various organizations to help treat people with addiction.
One such organization is Wildcats Anonymous. They host sober events for students in recovery at the University of Arizona, and have a mentor program to help students reach sobriety. The executive director of the program explains that lockdown left many people struggling with self control. “We weren’t exposed to the outside world, and it caused self reflection and self-reliance,” she said. Many people found themselves struggling with their pre-established or developing addictions.
Being forced to stay at home exacerbated those feelings of loneliness. COVID-19 was a time when problems such as these got worse. The whole world was now in isolation, trapped in their homes. Nobody knew what was coming next, and many people found themselves asking would COVID-19 get worse? When would there be a vaccine? How much longer would they be trapped in their homes?
There are many reasons why a young adult or teenager might be trying drugs or alcohol. For example, one’s homelife plays a big role, such as how parents interact with their child or how the household functions. Many young adults use marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol as a way to escape the problems they face in everyday life.
Teenagers and young adults across the world were hit hard. In a study found in the US National Library of Medicine, results showed that the percentage of high school students that drank alcohol rose to 30.4%. The frequency of drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana also increased. The study said the frequency of drinking alcohol among adolescents rose from 0.94% to 1.10% and for marijuana it rose from 0.76% to 0.96%. This frequency measured how many days the substance was used in the weeks before COVID-19 in comparison to the weeks after COVID-19.
Summer, who decided to withhold her name for privacy reasons, said, “With COVID, when I was bored, I just stayed in my room and smoked during school.” This teen says she struggles with addiction to marijuana and has had near death experiences with alcohol poisoning, both of which were exacerbated and heightened because of the pandemic.
Currently sober, Summer reflects back on the times during the pandemic when she knew she needed help. “When I couldn’t sleep without weed, I would take Advil just to help me fall asleep,” she said.
Summer has since been diagnosed with clinical depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. She says that her situation that was caused by the pandemic led to increased depression. She was not the only one. Many teens turned to substance abuse as a way of dealing with boredom and isolation.
As for moving forward, many wonder how teens and substance abusers will do with re-entering normal life. Will it be easier or harder to refrain from use? The director of Wildcats Anonymous believes it may be harder for teenagers and young adults to enter normal life again because day drinking and addiction is normalized on many college campuses.
For Summer, boredom was the main factor, and now that we can re-enter normal society again, she hopes that many others just like her will have less motivation to use, and more motivation to live their lives drug and alcohol free.
There are many reasons why a young adult or teenager might be trying drugs or alcohol. For example, one’s homelife plays a big role, such as how parents interact with their child or how the household functions. Many young adults use marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol as a way to escape the problems they face in everyday life.
Teenagers and young adults across the world were hit hard. In a study found in the US National Library of Medicine, results showed that the percentage of high school students that drank alcohol rose to 30.4%. The frequency of drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana also increased. The study said the frequency of drinking alcohol among adolescents rose from 0.94% to 1.10% and for marijuana it rose from 0.76% to 0.96%. This frequency measured how many days the substance was used in the weeks before COVID-19 in comparison to the weeks after COVID-19.
Summer, who decided to withhold her name for privacy reasons, said, “With COVID, when I was bored, I just stayed in my room and smoked during school.” This teen says she struggles with addiction to marijuana and has had near death experiences with alcohol poisoning, both of which were exacerbated and heightened because of the pandemic.
Currently sober, Summer reflects back on the times during the pandemic when she knew she needed help. “When I couldn’t sleep without weed, I would take Advil just to help me fall asleep,” she said.
Summer has since been diagnosed with clinical depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. She says that her situation that was caused by the pandemic led to increased depression. She was not the only one. Many teens turned to substance abuse as a way of dealing with boredom and isolation.
As for moving forward, many wonder how teens and substance abusers will do with re-entering normal life. Will it be easier or harder to refrain from use? The director of Wildcats Anonymous believes it may be harder for teenagers and young adults to enter normal life again because day drinking and addiction is normalized on many college campuses.
For Summer, boredom was the main factor, and now that we can re-enter normal society again, she hopes that many others just like her will have less motivation to use, and more motivation to live their lives drug and alcohol free.