Essay on Nurturing Emotional Resilience: A Parent's Guide to Addressing and Preventing Drug Abuse in Youth

Introduction

Drug abuse refers to the repetitive use of drugs such as alcohol and cigarettes, resulting in physical, emotional, and social harm to an individual (Schifano, Chiappini, Corkery, & Guirguis, 2019). Drug abuse involves substance abuse, which triggers an emotional and behavioral response that results in addiction. Psychology defines addiction as the continuous use of drugs characterized by the inability to live without taking them (La Scala, & Tsong, 2017). There is a very close connection between drug abuse and emotion as psychology and sociology have identified cravings and negative reinforcement as one of the causes of substance abuse (Possi, 2018). Youth at the tender age of development experience the challenges of drug abuse. They do this through a lack of close parental care and peer influence. Parents should be close to their children so that they can learn their emotional and behavioral patterns.

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Drug abuse and addiction result in an emotional feeling that one cannot live without. Parents should be available to guide their children on the benefits of living without drug abuse. Parents should avail some side effects of drug abuse to one health and harm to those around us. There has been a report of cases of fights and even others killing others just because of drug abuse. Emotional, health, and physical effects should be of serious concern while helping children understand themselves and turn away from drug abuse. Drug abuse and addiction to academic life should also not be ignored. Emotional effects of drug abuse include substances to deal with negative emotions such as depression, anger, loneliness, and anxiety. There is a need to follow emotional development procedures and stages of drug abuse problem-solving techniques to shape the child's behavioral pattern.

Using Steps to Emotion Coaching to Control Effects of Drug AbuseBeing Aware of Child's Emotions

Parents should be aware of the causes of drug abuse. Emotions are some of the outlined reasons that propel an individual to drug abuse which will later lead to addiction. Craving and negative reinforcement from peers are among the causes of why my child tends to develop substance abuse cases.

As a parent, I will have to offer close guidance and counseling to prevent my child from developing cravings and bad companies to control drug abuse. My close relationship will help in know the company that relates to reinforcing my child to drugs and helping him come out of that company. I can control the behavior of my child even when he develops cravings for substance use. One way to know my child's behavior to cravings will be through a discussion with him to determine the circumstances that led him to drug abuse. I will be able to control these circumstances as they arise. I will give scenarios of my friends and other members of society who have been greatly affected psychologically, emotionally, academically, and spiritually due to drug abuse. By doing these, I will make my child fit in with my own experiences of the negative effects of drug abuse I have witnessed.

Recognize that Emotions are an Opportunity to Connect

This step of emotional coaching will help me deal with cases of drug abuse with my child by teaching them how they can handle their problem. This step also builds a closer relationship with my children, where there is a limitation to full freedom but also grants full parenting freedom. My child will be able to control his troubles with drugs before he becomes addicted. This emotional coaching step will also help my children become better individuals in society and be responsible adults in their lives.

As a parent, I will let my child tell me why he develops tendencies of drug abuse. Then what will follow is me as a parent sharing my feelings about why I think drinking alcohol promotes a healthy life and personal development in society. My feelings concerning her behavior will make him feel accommodated. After accommodating my child's feelings, I will develop ways for him and make him understand why he can overcome the behavior of drug abuse.

Listen with Empathy

Empathetic listening is a form of listening and questioning technique that allows good relations and a proper understanding of what is communicated (Mehta, 2016). Listening with empathy assures concern between the two parties. Listening with empathy means the parent will understand the feelings of his child concerning her behavior and emotional concerns.

As a parent, I will listen carefully to what motivates my child to drug abuse and put his statement in one sentence to carefully guide him out of the drug abuse. This will create a feeling in my child that his emotional and behavioral concerns are being looked at, and that they are not alone in the situation they are in.

As a parent, I will make sure I reflect on his behaviors as of no help to him and then help him accommodate a new life's behavior. Addressing my child's problems in such a caring way will make sure I win his trust and accommodate my divergent views concerning his behavior. I will not also make her behavior sound unimportant but be more concerned about how we can deal with the problem for a better future for my child. Humiliating the child's behavior will not have emphatic feelings and feelings, and he can even feel depressed and much guilty. Providing the scenario facing my child, which is drug abuse, we should not humiliate his mistakes. It will lead to depression and other emotional characteristics that make him take drugs to overcome them. Children will love being listened to, and as a parent, I will listen to the views child.

Help your Child Name Emotions

Helping children name emotional feelings helps them to know themselves better. It makes them discover good and evil behavioral patterns. Most children have bad morals with the thought that they are right. The parents, guardians, teachers, and counseling institutions must help children discover the emotional patterns that promote bad behavior. Also, religion plays a significant role in helping children realize themselves and what is expected from them by the church and society. Most children do not know what they do and may even be harming those around them. Children can control their emotions and feelings when they understand their emotions better (Brukner, 2016). However, the child needs to be exposed to an environment where he can learn good morals, away from influence.

As a parent, I will always be conducting guidance and counseling sessions with the child to ensure that he understands that drug abuse is not good for him and his health. The counseling will help him understand the effects of drug abuse, enabling him to make choices of leaving drug abuse.

As I guide my child, I will make sure we do not have a mixed reaction to the effects of drug abuse by accommodating his feelings and helping him understand why drug abuse is harmful to him. To understand the issue's emotional status under discussion, I will have to read their tone of voice and their body language. Children can easily adapt to a new good behavior as they are known to be sorry for their past. Children always want good in their lives, and as a parent, I will present the advantages of living a free life not influenced by drug abuse. I will also use rewards to reinforce a new behavior that is pleasing to my child. Positive reinforcement and reward entice children to a new form of behavior. Children easily accept when presented with gifts as a consequence of exhibiting a desirable behavior. I can also adopt some punishments, but I ensure they are punitive for my child's well-being. Some of the punishments may include limiting watching television until a new behavior is observed.

Set Limits and Find Good Solutions

This enables parents to understand and acknowledge their children's behavior and emotional feelings as they form certain limits to control them. Limits to behavior help in solving the behavioral patterns of their children. This solution should be adopted according to both the child's and parents' views to ensure that parents do not humiliate their children's behavioral patterns. All bad behavior should have a good strategy to solve it.

As a parent, I will first listen to my children's views on how we can solve the problem of drug abuse before they become a burden to them. Giving my children a chance to contribute to their emotional and behavioral changes helps me understand my child better. It will explain why the child is abusing drugs and help me form my mitigation factors to help my child from drug abuse.

I will also listen to the ideas of my child with empathy. Listening to the child's ideas with empathy enables me to get a full understanding of the needs of my child. The raised should reflect on how the drug abuse and circumstances promoting it can be addressed. By doing these, my child will feel accommodated in the process of helping him overcome drug abuse.

I will also not judge the ideas formed by my child. Judging my child's views will make my child fear making views on the solution to drug abuse. As a parent who listens to his child, I will discuss how his ideas will eliminate the child's drug abuse habits. The child will develop so many views of how to deal with his bad behavior of drug abuse.

Using Steps of Problem-Solving to Control Effects of Drug Abuse

Setting limits

My ability to set a limit as a parent will involve me in making guidelines that will control my child's behavior. The guideline should include punishments and reinforcements that will improve the behavioral patterns of my child. I can promise my child a reward for improving his behavior of drug abuse. These will see them form limits to behavior for themselves so they can receive their rewards. Punishments may include limiting my child from going out of the house until he improves and changes his drug abuse behavior. The child will then have to work hard to overcome the limited behavior so that he can have the freedom he deserves.

To control alcohol craving cases, I will have to understand the circumstances that promote alcohol cravings for my child. I will, therefore, set conditions to limit those circumstances from ruining the behavior of my child. One way to determine my child's craving conditions is by talking and listening to his views concerning his behavior. Reducing this craving shapes the behavior of my children and gains respect from the members of society. If my child's desire for alcohol is depression, I will help him in good ways of dealing with depression other than drug abuse.

I will also need to understand that friend shapes the behavior of an individual. As a parent, I will need to investigate where the behavior of drug abuse is influenced by friends my friend has. I will now develop limits of interactions that will help him develop a new way of life not influenced by his peers. I will help my child choose good friends who will promote good morals and play a role in helping my child out of drug abuse and addiction.

Identify the Goal or Motivation of the Child

I will consider my child's views concerning his goal in life and later tell him how drug abuse can block his goals. By doing these, I will be able to enrich how my child will achieve his goals. I will plan how to financially and morally shape ways to make sure he achieves his goals. Nevertheless, my child will have to understand the role of his behavior of drug abuse in ruining his aspirations. One thing he has to understand is that the drug leads to poor performance in academics. I will show him education shapes the goals of individuals in life. Another goal that should be considered is listening to children on the views about leaving drug abuse. This will entail the personal core values...