Teens Lying About Taking Drugs: How to Discover the Truth

Drug abuse is not uncommon among teens, but most parents remain oblivious to their youngsters indulging in this habit because teenagers frequently lie about taking drugs. In a recent survey, researchers asked 400 teenagers if they were using drugs. As expected, most of them lied, as was revealed by the drug tests that followed. What’s disturbing is that most parents believe their teens when the latter deny taking drugs. We don’t want you to be one of those parents, which is why we are sharing a few tips on how you can tell if your teen is lying about drugs.

Trust Your Gut Feeling

Parents usually know their kids well enough to figure out that something is wrong. However, the problem is that they keep on negating their gut feeling, thinking that they are just overthinking stuff and being paranoid. Mason Turner, a psychiatrist, strongly believes that if parents get an uncomfortable feeling that their kid is up to something, then they must investigate it further as their gut feeling may unfortunately be spot on.

Do Your Homework on Different Drugs and Their Symptoms

A lot of parents have limited information about the drugs commonly used by kids. They keep on looking for the usual signs like red eyes, unconscious mind, strange body movement, etc., when not all the drugs cause these symptoms. When it comes to drugs, teens have a unique taste and choice based on what’s currently in trend. You should know what’s popular among kids these days. Hiding cough syrup and cold medicines is unlikely to help in today’s day and age. You need to keep your teens away from all sorts of drugs, and the best way to do so is by getting to know more about different drugs and possible symptoms that appear after taking those drugs. This will make it easier for you to know if your kid is lying about taking drugs.

Seek Professional Help

Teens with a history of drug abuse face difficulty making friends, getting admission in schools and getting good jobs. To protect their kids from such a fate, most parents choose to keep this problem to themselves instead of seeking professional help. The result is obviously bad as this habit turns into a permanent thing. Tom Hedrick, who is one of the leading members of The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, says that delay in treatment causes more problems. You must consider drug abuse as any other illness as it is the health of your kid which is at stake. Talk to the family pediatrician or school counselor. They will recommend treatment centers based on teen’s situation.

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