The warmer months of the year bring a wide array of enjoyable things, like Fourth of July parties, grill outs, celebrations, and other activities. And while the summer and warmer weather brings these great times and events, it also brings an increase of something negative as well – substance abuse and misuse.
There are many factors and reasons why substance abuse and misuse increases during the warmer months. For instance, there tend to be increased amounts of parties during the warmer months, and when parties increase, then, of course, substance use spikes as well. It brings about increased instances of individuals drinking and using in excess, even to the point of endangering themselves. An individual can simply be enjoying themselves at a summer party, while not realizing how much they have been consuming and end up overindulging
One type of get together that tends to have large amounts of substance use and abuse are music festivals. These types of concerts can be an absolutely enjoyable experience, but there tend to be massive amounts of drugs and alcohol that circulate around them as well. The large access to these substances, and often very little authoritative presence, leads many to use quite heavily.
The Prevalence of Underage Drinking During Summer
Then, there is the factor that this is the time that kids and young adults are out of school. These age groups then begin to partake in heavy substance use during their break time. This shows heavily in the spike of underage drinking rates during the summer and warmer months. As an example, researchers had found that on an average day in June or July, more than 11,000 teens aged from 12-17 try alcohol for the first time, whereas the average for most other months is 5,000-8,000.
There can be certain dangers to this overindulgence during the warmer months, aside from the usual ones. Being that many parties are held outside in the sun, individuals could be subject to dehydration, sunburn or heat stroke, especially when not taking care of themselves due to being under the influence. In fact, alcohol can cause some of these conditions to come about quicker and exacerbate their effects. When drinking in warmer weather like this, it is important to remember to take care of oneself, such as by getting out of the sun if need be or having hydrating beverages in between alcoholic drinks. Not everyone will overindulge during summer celebrations, but it is still necessary that they take care of themselves in the heat when consuming alcohol.
Finding Help for Substance Abuse and Misuse
Overcoming addiction can sometimes seem like an insurmountable task, but this is far from the case. Addiction is never impossible to recover from. With the right treatment, an individual can work through the issues and difficulties of their addiction, and be able to overcome it and lead a long life of sobriety. There is a wide array of different treatment centers across the country that offer various modalities. With the large number of centers available, it can make it difficult to know which one to choose, but we can help with that. We are familiar with the treatment centers across the nation, as well as their various offerings, and can help to find the ideal fit for you or your loved one. Take the first stepping stone on the path to recovery from substance abuse and misuse, and give us a call today.
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