You would have to live under a rock not to know that A.J. of the Backstreet Boys was in rehab. Supermodel Nikki Taylor was addicted to pain pills. And Robert Downey Jr. just got sentenced to one year in rehab. Yup... I guess the pressure of fame and fortune can be tuff.
Rehab stands for rehabilitation. Go look it up in your dictionary. In A.J's case, he needs treatment for some sort of substance use and abuse. And you know what, he's not alone. Substance use costs our country billions of dollars in lost income, school dropouts and health problems - you name it, it's bad news.
Being stressed or depressed like A.J. can make people try to find some answers in a bottle or from drugs. Obviously it doesn't work. When you are down and out and use drugs or alcohol, you usually just end up more down and out.
The fact is that everyone gets stressed about something at some point. Day to day living is not easy. A lot of people imagine that if they were rich and famous, all of their problems would disappear. Look at A.J. He still has problems.
It doesn't take money to be happy. It doesn't take bling-blings. It doesn't take being on the cover of teen people.
You know what it takes? It takes courage. It takes responsibility. It takes faith. Let me give you an example. I recently read about a young man who had a horrible childhood. He saw his brother killed by his father and mother. He, himself, was the victim of child abuse. Later, he had to testify against his parents, which he did successfully. He grew up in foster care. But through it all he had courage.
People who know him said that he always had a smile on his face. He admitted that his life was tough and unfair, but he was always going to work as hard as he could. He recently graduated from high school with that smile. When asked how he could still smile after all that he had been through. He said, "I am an example. If I can make it and face every day, anyone can."
So think about him. When the going gets tough, remember you can do it. Better yet, you can do it without alcohol or drugs. If you need to talk to someone, do it. Try not to feel like it's only you. Everyone has some bad days. Have faith in yourself and you will find a way that's beautiful.
If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, consider looking into drug rehabs for teens and other sites like this offer intervention services.
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