The Connection Bernards-Ridge Edition Sept/Oct/Nov 2018

PAGE 96 THE BERNARDS-RIDGE CONNECTION SEPT/OCT/NOV 2018 CONTACT US 908-672-2623 Rachael@rachaelnicoleevents.com RachaelNicoleEvents.com !* %, ( % -& (! $ &" $$!$ $ - +*!$ , $*) * (%+ %+* * $!* * * ) " ! %" ) , "%& +$!'+ !"!*. *% "!, ( %$". * !$ )* !$ ) (,! )! $ $ ** $*!%$ * * , (. "! $* ) (, ) +"" !$ " $$!$ . !$ " $$!$ %(&%( * , $*) ( * !*/, ) % ! " )!%$) $*(% + !$ 0 . " ! %" , $*) I would like to share with you some of my answers to inquiries that I received in response to my last article in June/July/August 2018 issue of The Connection Magazine. Addiction concerns topped the list. As a physician, I wish I had a pill to cure addictive behaviors, such as sub- stance dependency (heroin, cocaine, alcohol, tobacco) as well as physical addiction (gambling). Unfortunately, I do not. Ideally, your children will have friends who do not indulge in addict- ing behavior or have the inner strength not to succumb to peer pressure. One parent wanted to know if one could recognize early signs of addic- tion. The signs of early drug depend- ency may be very elusive. Look for changes in personality, worsening of school grades, peer associations, secretive and elusive behavior, and, of course, denial. No age is immune. Even babies can show signs of dependency if their mothers are addicts. In the book, Preventing Addiction and Other Calamities, one of the guest contributors, Dr. Mark Panoff, an expert in adolescent addiction, described drug habits of two of his patients as follows... 1. ”He was popular, the life of the party. He was part of the in-crowd in school and because everyone was into alcohol, he drifted into a habit of sneaking a drink between classes, stealing liquor from his home and lying to himself and everyone around him about his deteriorating condition. His family confronted him and wanted him to seek treatment. He’s resentful and resists seeing the truth about himself. He would constantly repeat, “My family doesn’t under- stand. I’m not an alcoholic.” 2. The second patient was a promis- ing young woman who wanted to go to law school. “Her world came crashing down when her cocaine drug habit spun out of control. She was caught up in a web of denial. She professed that she could control her habit. “No big deal,” she thought. When she hit rock bottom, physically drained, emotionally spent, she realized she needed help.” Would it not have been much better if these individuals were instructed in the dangers of alcoholic and drug dependency when they were younger? Hopefully, they would not have fallen into the trap of addiction. Having information about the dan- gers of addiction is half the battle. A parent should not take credit if their child does not fall into the trap of addiction, as too many other fac- tors are playing roles; nor should they blame themselves if a child does not do well. All you can do as a parent is to expose your children to important life management skills and hope for the best. The rest is up to them. A parent is only human and should give themselves credit for doing the best job that they can. A free electronic handbook is yours for the asking. All requests should be made on the website, RewardingLifeInc @gmail.com. If you prefer a hard copy, you can print the pages you wish as indicated by the page number. “PREVENTING ADDICTION AND OTHER CALAMITIES” By: Melvin S. Rosh, MD FAAP www.theconnectionsnj.com