{"id":11645,"date":"2020-05-22T18:15:37","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T18:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=11645"},"modified":"2020-05-22T18:15:38","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T18:15:38","slug":"staying-vigilant-about-teen-substance-abuse-in-covid-19-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=11645","title":{"rendered":"Staying vigilant about teen substance abuse in COVID-19 pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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For every 5 percent increase in the state\u2019s unemployment rate, an additional 725 Texans could die each year by suicide and drug overdose, according to a new study by the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.<\/em><\/strong> Photo: Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By ROZ BROWN<\/strong>
Texas News Service<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Home isolation due to COVID19 is causing some people to suffer anxiety and panic attacks \u2014 both of which can lead to substance abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why a narcotics expert says if you have teens, this is the time to stay vigilant about drug use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With most people homebound due to the pandemic, Joe Abdalla, executive director of the Code 3 Association, says now is the time for parents to learn the warning signs of substance abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says in times of crisis, people can fall back on unhealthy behaviors \u2014 and right now, there are multiple triggers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot being able to complete school or failing school, not having a job, not having the income to go back to school,\u201d he points out. \u201cTriggers can be economic, they can be social \u2014 and that pushes kids back to drugs or encourages kids to use drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Texas has launched a new mental health pandemic support line, and nearly 2,000 calls were received from 100 counties in the first month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates related deaths from alcohol, drug overdose and suicide due to the crisis could hit 150,000, and has called on Congress for additional funding for services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abdalla reminds parents that the opioid epidemic in the U.S. knows no demographic boundaries and can impact both city youth and those who live in rural areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says parents who\u2019ve reported drug use among teenagers say it often became obvious when their child\u2019s social interactions changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHanging around with a different classification of friends \u2014 they started to see a lack of hygiene,\u201d he relates. \u201cAnd with opiates specially, you start to see this super-enhanced state of sedation, relaxation, very lethargic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abdalla says if your child is exhibiting such signs, it might be time to start looking for evidence of drugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, the Code 3 Association and the Rali Cares program have created a virtual tour online<\/a> that shows parents what to look for if they think a child has a substance abuse problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By ROZ BROWNTexas News Service AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Home isolation due to COVID19 is causing some people to suffer anxiety and panic attacks \u2014 both of which can lead to substance abuse. That\u2019s why a narcotics expert says if you have teens, this is the time to stay vigilant about drug use. With most people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11645"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11647,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11645\/revisions\/11647"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}