Abuse vs. Addiction

Teen heroin abuse and teen heroin addiction are two distinctly different issues, and while both require the immediate and full attention of parents, each one will benefit from different actions on the part of both parent and teen. If you find that your teen has used heroin, your first objective should be to determine where, when and how much. Learning these facts will help you to discern whether or not your teen is abusing heroin or if he or she has developed a heroin addiction, allowing you to make the next best decision for how to address the issue.

Teen heroin abuse and teen heroin addiction can both be addressed through treatment. Outpatient heroin abuse help and inpatient teen heroin addiction treatment can both be found at Newport Academy for your teen. Call now to discuss your options and learn how to get started.

Teen Heroin Abuse: The Basics

If your teen is abusing heroin, it means that he or she has used the drug a few times over a period of months or weeks and has not abused other drugs or alcohol during that period. Your teen will not have developed a physical dependence upon the drug or experienced withdrawal symptoms when the high wears off. Your teen may not have bought the drug or contributed toward its purchase. He or she likely used with a friend who abuses the drug more frequently and likely felt extremely ill the first couple times of use.

If you can intervene in the early stages of heroin abuse and you have an open communication with your teen, you have an opportunity to help your teen avoid drug treatment. If there is no physical dependence and your teen does not crave the drug or want to abuse it again, treatment is not required. However, it’s important that you institute very strict rules that dictate that if your teen is found to be under the influence of heroin or any other drug at any time, then heroin addiction treatment will be the next step with no discussion and despite excuses.

Teen Heroin Addiction: The Basics

If your teen is living with a heroin addiction, then he or she has been abusing the drug for quite some time, perhaps multiple times per day. Whether or not your child is injecting, snorting or smoking the drug, it is highly addictive, so multiple uses or multiple incidences of coming home high are indicators of heroin addiction. Your teen likely will not admit the extent of his or her use, so you may need to have your child undergo a drug test if you are unable to find any evidence that they are regularly abusing the drug.

Due to the withdrawal symptoms associated with heroin detox, it is of the utmost importance that you enroll your teen in a heroin detox that can provide him or her with the medical care necessary to heal. Following up with teen heroin addiction treatment is paramount, to ensure that your child learns how to relax, have fun and relieve stress without abusing heroin. Inpatient heroin rehab is recommended when teen heroin addiction is an issue.

Fighting Teen Heroin Addiction at Newport Academy

Don’t allow your teen to put his or her life at risk another day. Call now to find out more about our inpatient and outpatient heroin addiction and abuse treatment programs here at Newport Academy.