Overworked high school students turn to alcohol and social networks

Monica (real name known to editors) said they were done school year This caused serious problems for her 17-year-old daughter, who would sneak out of the gym near her home in Vilnius every Friday after school.

“When I suggested going for a walk in the city or in nature after get off work on Friday, she would reply: “Mom, I just want to sleep.” As Monica said, this made her feel not only regretful, but also terrified. “What on earth is a seventeen-year-old going to eight classes a day for?” Twice a week, the classes lasted until 3 p.m. 30 minutes. If the child just wants to sleep after the education, isn’t that a bit too much?” – Monica didn’t understand.

The overcrowded school schedule often makes Monica’s daughter feel tired. “After returning home from school, fatigue torments me and I have only one wish – to fall into bed and sleep until dawn. However, the homework assigned is not left alone and often has to be worked on until midnight. Due to the same fatigue, I often have to sacrifice time for extracurricular activities. This really makes me feel bad, because I often have to sacrifice boxing training – my main hobby, which helps me relax and release myself – to prepare for exams,” the seventeen-year-old girl consoled.

The mother noted that her relationship with her daughter, who will enter 12th grade in the fall, is based on complete trust and openness. “I don’t mention the gym or my real name, my daughter’s or her friends’ names. I know all of her best friends,” Monica said.

One of her daughter’s friends admitted that she, like most eleventh graders, had been under a lot of stress this year.

“We prepared a lot for the midterms. We didn’t even know what was waiting for us. It made me even more tired. You are preparing for something, but you don’t know who. I felt very exhausted and stressed out by so much work. I started spending more time on social networks. It seemed to be the only place where I could disconnect from the world around me and escape. I became more withdrawn because after a hard day, I didn’t feel like communicating with my family or friends. Alcohol It’s also a way to escape a repressive environment and at least feel freer,” she reveals.

When Monika admitted to psychologist D. Ražauskas that she bought alcohol for her daughter’s and friends’ New Year’s party, and she didn’t have to buy alcohol for one of them’s birthday because a relative of the birthday girl (18 years old) “provided” them, the psychologist calmed her down. “With prohibitions and restrictions alone you won’t achieve anything. It is possible to become addicted not only to alcohol, cigarettes, but also to a specific person. The most important thing is to create a sincere, open relationship with the teenager. He doesn’t need to be afraid to say with which friends he celebrated or in their company, what and how much he consumed, what negative consequences he experienced,” he advises.

Monica warned her daughter about the so-called Broken Memory Lane syndrome, which is often triggered by strong alcohol consumption. This was the first time her daughter had heard of temporary memory loss after drinking.

Director of the Republican Center for Addiction Diseases (RPLC), Dr. Aušra Širvinskienė was asked what kind of damage Alcohol consumption They say alcohol is a depressing psychoactive substance that affects all our organs, makes it hard for the liver to function, and so on.

“Scientific studies have proven the effects of alcohol on the brain, which is especially dangerous for minors and young people under 25 years old. It is not unreasonable to recommend not drinking at all before the age of 25. According to other experts, alcohol should be prohibited before the age of 20 or 21”, says A. Širvinskienė.

She believes it is important to understand that our brains are formed before the age of 25. One of the areas of the brain that matures during adolescence is the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for evaluating situations, making important decisions, and controlling emotions and passions.

“This important part of the brain is formed and developed during adolescence. Before the brain is fully mature, the risk of making irresponsible decisions is higher. However, the growing body still does not have enough enzymes to break down alcohol. Drinking while the brain is still developing can have serious and long-term consequences. It can also cause damage to the brain’s nerve cells. In the long run, cells die and human brain tissue shrinks when drinking, which means that information transmission may slow down, certain cognitive impairments will appear, and thinking and memory processes will deteriorate.” said the interviewer.

She added that drug and alcohol abuse can disrupt the functioning of brain areas responsible for motivation, memory, learning, decision-making and behavioral control. Using alcohol to relieve stress can unknowingly create a vicious cycle and become a habit.

“A young person who has experienced in the past that alcohol helped him cope with more difficult emotional situations will repeat his pattern of behavior when he finds himself in that situation again. After a while, the body adapts to the amount of alcohol it receives and tolerates it more quickly.

When drinking becomes more frequent, a person can no longer control how much they drink. This can set the stage for future behavioral and health problems in all areas,” she warned.

In A. Širvinskienė’s opinion, parental behavior, such as buying children vodka or e-cigarettes, can be clearly seen as bad and unacceptable, which can cause great harm in the child’s life.

“So if parents use psychoactive substances around their children, buy these substances for their children, this is a big risk factor for children to accept behaviour as ‘normal’, ‘no big deal’ etc. Family can be a protective factor, but unfortunately it can also be a strong risk factor. Not being able to properly control the behaviour of their children, having an environment that is too restrictive, or on the contrary, having no controls at all, the inappropriate behaviour of parents can have a significant impact on the future of their children,” she warned.

The Department of Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol Control (NTAKD) does not know how much and how often young people currently drink alcohol. However, three years later, in 2021, the NTAKD conducted a survey on the prevalence of the use of psychoactive substances, and according to his data, it was as high as 76%. Young people aged 15-24 have a negative view of drinking. The study, which was conducted after a survey of a group of people aged 15-64 in Lithuania, showed that negative attitudes towards alcohol were most pronounced among young people. However, more than a third (37.5%) of young people with negative attitudes drank alcohol at least once in the last month. On the positive side, 78% drank alcohol in the last month.

Aušra Želvienė, head of the NTAKD’s prevention coordination department, said that since 2012, Lithuania has implemented an active alcohol control policy aimed at reducing alcohol consumption and its availability, especially to minors. “Most of the current restrictions came into force six years ago, except for the ban on alcohol advertising in 2018, the shortening of the sales period of alcohol from 18 to 20 years and the increase in the legal age for purchasing and consuming alcoholic beverages,” she said.

The interlocutor added that the principles of state policy established by the Law on Alcohol Control not only envisage restrictions on the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in Lithuania, but also support the planning of an alcohol-free living environment and promote the creation of a social environment without alcohol.

Psychologists recommend that instead of drinking to relieve stress and seek relaxation, you should relieve stress through nature. According to him, for millions of years, humans have lived in nature, and now we can breathe fresh air when we walk to our cars.

“Exercises to relax the brain are endless, but the most effective source of mental and physical health is nature. Adequate sweating in the fresh air at least twice a week is necessary, as is regular contact with water. Parents themselves should not tell young people about this healthy lifestyle, but show it,” he advises.

Monica couldn’t find her daughter at home one day, so she called her and found her walking alone in the nearby woods during the day. She said to her mother, “What’s wrong? flourThe birds are chirping, it’s so peaceful…” The mother confessed that she didn’t understand her daughter’s love of walking alone in nature before, but now she is just happy about it.

Monica was surprised that none of these five beautiful, intelligent girls had boyfriends. The psychologist was not surprised by this trend.

According to him, researchers found that young people’s social skills for live communication and cultivating long-term relationships between couples were significantly deteriorated due to communication through screens.

“Young people become very sensitive, like crystal. Maybe this person is afraid to communicate with his classmates in public, because other classmates will take photos or videos of him and post information about the so-called new couple on social networks. The bullying in it is much more brutal than simple words, because it spreads more widely due to the possibility of sharing, liking, etc.,” observes D. Ražauskas.

The psychologist assured that there are plans to introduce an age limit of 18 to 20 years old on social networks in technologically advanced Western countries, and Lithuania will not lag behind. This will require your passport details.

According to him, researchers have found that borderless communication through devices is worsening public health. “It is not without reason that all these networks hire highly paid psychologists and psychotherapists in order to keep them as engaged as possible in their consumption, because the longer you are there, the more ads you see,” the interviewer revealed. Monica herself was surprised that after making a funny video, she received a message from Facebook pretending to be your Rilsas This week’s hottest, create new ones, we’re waiting for you.

“Yes, a lot of effort is put into keeping a person alive through the screen. Scientists have found that this gradually produces the same amount of dopamine (a pleasurable feeling) as cocaine. Young people regress, about ninety percent. Long-term relationships of young couples are not based on real life. I recommend you read Dr. D. Ražauskas in Elizabeth Kilbey’s book “Childhood Between Screens”.