Whether you have experienced it or had friends go through it, underage drinking is on the rise in society. While it might seem fun when you do it, it gets bad fast. Here are some of the main effects underage drinking can have on your brain and why you should not engage in it.
Difficulty Learning
One of the things you will notice in teenagers who drink is that they have an issue with grasping new concepts. The main reason behind this is, drinking affects the prefrontal cortex part of the brain, which is responsible for learning and memory. The more you drink, the higher your chances are of forgetting what you learned in school. Since you or a loved one may be at an age where new concepts are taught, it is difficult to grasp new topics, which can get frustrating. Awakenings Health and Wellness Centre works with teenagers who are caught up in such a mess to help them get off alcohol and get back to class.
Poor Judgment
You might think you have a handle on things, but alcohol makes this impossible. You realize that alcohol makes it difficult for you to say no, even when the decisions have dire consequences. If you or a loved one is an avid drinker, you are prone to making bad choices repeatedly. Since you might never recollect these choices, you might get into situations you did not intend to get in.
It Is Addictive
The worst thing about using alcohol while underage is that you risk leading to a life of alcohol dependency. After a while, you will not feel the damning effects of alcohol and might need to drink more to get that altered feeling. With addiction at such a young age, rehab might not do much for you. Therefore, you will have to receive more treatment to help deal with the addiction itself. Addiction as a teenager is harder to treat because teens lack the strength and willpower to say no. It is the main reason why addicts at a young age might spend the rest of their teenage years in rehab.
Conclusively, doing drugs or alcohol might seem fun at first, but it quickly escalates into something you have no control over. For this reason, it makes sense if you choose not to engage in drugs at all as a teenager. You might get called out for not being fun enough, but you get to spend your teenage years free of the shackles that come with alcohol addiction.
