Did you know that 15 out of every 100 teenagers will try illicit drugs?
When we’re teenagers, our autonomy and independence grow. We gradually build and define who we really are. During these formative years, we are exposed to countless experiences. This is the stage where we truly begin to experience life through our bodies, independence, and autonomy. The ego takes precedence (we mostly think about ourselves)... and our environment. Through this, we discover who we are, who we want to be, what we like (and don’t like), and who we want to spend time with, among other things.
Wonderfully, the teenage brain is constantly developing, adapting, and learning. The prefrontal cortex doesn’t fully mature until around age 25. This part of our brain is responsible for planning, setting priorities, making good decisions, and self-control, while other parts of the brain (e.g., the striatum) that process rewards and impulsivity develop much earlier than the prefrontal cortex. This difference in brain region maturation increases the risk of certain decision-making tendencies during adolescence.
Do you remember a time in your adolescence when your parents asked you, "What were you thinking?" after doing something “wrong”?
The simplest answer is that you weren’t thinking... or at least not enough. The teenage brain allows us to experience life without thinking much about the consequences.
At this stage of life, social benefits (considered a reward) usually outweigh the potential consequences of a decision. This leads us to take more risks, from making dangerous or negative decisions to positive ones, like taking more risks in sports or speaking to a new classmate.
Other examples of benefits might include:
The feeling of belonging to a friend group.
Feeling that our body meets societal or parental standards of “ideal.”
Prioritizing not being bullied, rejected, or isolated by peers (even if it’s evidently harmful to our health).
Feeling good in the short term through substance use, where good means feeling assertive, powerful, euphoric, relaxed, regulated, calm, sociable, or comfortable.
Drug use is directly related to: mental conditions (including those related to eating), school grades, high-risk sexual behavior, morbidity, and mortality.
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Out of every 100 teenagers we know, around 15 have tried illicit drugs* (e.g., cocaine, inhalants, heroin, methamphetamines, hallucinogens, or ecstasy). Cigarettes, e-cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol are not included in this number, which would likely be much higher.
*Cited from the CDC (www.cdc.org)
I firmly believe that intuitive eating could be an important factor in preventing drug use in teenagers and a huge gateway to the general well-being of our society, especially our children. When we examine the principles of intuitive eating, we directly reject diet culture and weight stigmas. With these principles, we honor and respect our bodies, confront our emotions with kindness, cultivate body movement, and learn to nourish ourselves in a nutritionally compassionate way.
While there are no studies on this topic (at least, not yet), I think that if we raise our children and foster an environment where intuitive eating concepts are constantly applied at home, those children will grow into teenagers with brains more capable of:
Accepting body diversity (then there would be no need or motivation to use laxatives, drugs, etc., to modify appetite or body size). This could also minimize weight-related bullying, which is a trigger for emotional imbalance and may increase the risk of substance use.
Having tools to navigate moments of bullying or rejection, without needing to suppress or numb feelings with substances.
Finding healthier ways to feel “good” or achieve emotional balance without resorting to substances, or simply feeling our emotions without needing to change or judge them—or letting them define us as people (e.g., seeking help or emotional support from a person rather than a substance in tough times).
Tolerating the discomfort of not “fitting in” with a group (for example, if everyone is smoking and they aren’t).
Thinking that using substances would be the opposite of respecting and honoring their body, making them less likely to prioritize immediate social rewards over long-term consequences.
In other words, intuitive eaters are more likely to prioritize what they learned at home about food and their bodies over social benefits during adolescence.
A simple example: if a child was forced to eat most of their life, they may have ignored their body’s signals, meaning they didn’t learn to respect or listen to their body. This disconnection between what parents say versus what we feel puts our self-confidence at risk. If we don’t build self-confidence, we’ll trust others instead of ourselves. If we lack confidence in our body, we won’t have the assertiveness to navigate situations that arise in adolescence. If a group of friends is consuming a substance, we’ll trust others + social rewards, a recipe for falling in. If we weren’t taught to trust our body’s signals, our self-confidence is compromised.
One of many examples I could give is this: if we educate about body diversity and accept that all bodies are different and that’s normal, there would be no bullying or rejection based on body weight or shape—personally or clinically. Consequently, we wouldn’t feel the need to change our bodies through diets or substances to fit in. Nor would there be as many mental health issues tied to body hatred and weight stigma, which may increase substance use as an escape mechanism.
I want to stress that this concept applies to everything in life: relationships (with ourselves and others), jobs, studies, difficult times, other temptations, and illnesses.
When we raise our children using intuitive eating, we allow them to honor and care for their bodies. We reinforce values of allowing authenticity and trusting their intuition. If we strengthen this from a young age, we only increase their self-confidence, self-respect, and innate intuition, so that someday (in adolescence or adulthood), their intuition to be who they are always prevails.
Let me know your thoughts on this! I’d love to hear from you below...
And if this resonated with you, I invite you to share it with your loved ones.
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