Coping, Change & Loss

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Clean & Sober

Along the journey through high school, many students face the issues of addiction and recovery. If you are abusing anything (drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, etc.) and want to change your life, here are some things to consider.

• Change is hard. You will need to ask for help
• Some people may not want you to change. You might have to say goodbye to them.
• Others may not understand why you seem different. Be patient with them.
• If you hang around the same people that you were with while using, chances are strong you will use again.
• Using occupied a part of your life. Find something healthy to fill that time . (Exercise, volunteer, go to a 12-step meeting etc.).
• Learn from others who have gone through a similar experience. Ask your doctor, teacher, counselor or any other safe adult about finding a support group in your community.

If I went back to a public school, where I know all the people that use there, there’s no way I could walk around the school and say no all day long.
—Jay, student at Sobriety High School

If you’re trying to give up a powerful coping behavior—like being compulsive about gambling, drinking, drugs, sex, food, sports or television—it won’t be easy. That’s why people who are dealing with big problems seek out support groups. Support from people who have had similar problems and who understand what you’re going through is invaluable. Thinking that you can do it alone is what got you into trouble in the first place.
—Earl Hipp

Earl Hipp, Fighting Invisible Tigers: A Stress Management Guide for Teens. (Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing, 1995), 3.

Quoted in Herma Silverstein, Kids who Kill (New York: Twenty-First Century Books, 1997), 102.

Everybody out there in the world needs to know something: don’t waste your life doing the wrong things. Take advantage of what’s left of your life to become closer and spend time with that special person that you love so much. You never know when you could lose them and then you will regret not having spent more time together. I sure learned something when my brother was killed: you don’t know what you have, right in front of you, until you lose it. Then you realize how much that person meant to you, how special they were, and how much you will miss them for the rest of your life.
—Vianey Ramirez, 16

Life is like a book that never ends. Chapters close, but not the book itself.
–Marianne Williamson

There is an Indian belief that everyone is a house of four rooms: a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual room. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not complete.
—Rumer Godden

Treatments for Depression: Alternatives to medication or traditional forms of therapy

There are a number of alternative treatments for depression, some of which have been used for centuries. Although there may not be many studies to prove how well they work, many people have found them helpful, whether used along with more traditional forms of treatment or on their own. Whether you are considering acupuncture, herbal remedies, homeopathy, massage therapy, meditation, reflexology, light therapy, hypnosis, exercise or changes in your diet, please consult a trained practitioner for support and supervision.

True Courage

Some people confuse courage with foolhardiness. They assume that if you’re brave, you’ll try anything. But reckless behavior and courage aren’t the same… Putting yourself in danger isn’t brave.
—Barbara Lewis

Smoking Facts

• Unfortunately, only one in ten of all smokers who try to stop is successful.
• Nicotine is at least as addictive as heroine or cocaine.
• Smoking is a social activity among teenagers Four out of five have their first cigarette in the company of a friend.
• A young person is thirteen times more apt to smoke if his or her best friend does.
  —Eleanor H. Ayer

Eleanor H. Ayer, Teen Smoking (San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, Inc., 1999), 21.

Stories about Coping, Change & Loss

Resources to help you with Coping, Change & Loss

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Other tips and facts: The Reality | Image & Identity | Friendship & Belonging | Sex, Sexuality & Dating | Violence & Safety | Body & Health | Coping & Change | Responsibilities & Pressures | Parents & Teachers | Lifelines & Goals | Purpose & Perspective