Headed to college?

Are you heading off to college within the next few weeks? If so, you're probably feeling excited and nervous all at once. You might be wondering if you'll get along with your roommate, or if the academics will really be harder than in high school. Maybe you're afraid leaving home, or you're excited for the chance to meet people with the same interests as you. 

Image by Janeb13 from Pixabay

No matter how you're feeling about leaving for college, one of the things you may not have thought about was peer pressure and access to substances like alcohol, prescription, and illicit drugs. ​

If you experience feelings of anxiety, worry, or loneliness, drugs may seem like a quick fix. If you're being offered this kind of escape, it might seem like "no big deal." But the fact is, alcohol, misused prescriptions, and other drugs can have extremely harmful and detrimental effects on your brain and overall health. 

Things to Consider: 

• You're brain continues to develop until you are about 25 years old. For example the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for complex behaviors like planning and personality development, is the last region of the brain to fully develop. So damaging your brain with substance misuse will inhibit your ability to protect yourself from harm in the future. 
• Further, regular use of several substances is linked to a loss in motivation and drive. As a college student, these are two of the things you'll need most! 

How to be Prepared: 

• Talk to a parent, a trusted adult, or the counseling services at your school about refusal techniques as well as healthy coping and emotional regulation. 
• Ask your friends to check in on you from time to time--and do the same for them! Ask them if they feel stressed, isolated, or lonely.  
• Most schools have free tutoring and counseling services. Enroll in both right away to take a proactive approach to stress. 
• Know that it takes time to adjust to the stresses of college and being far from home. 

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) is also a great place to talk about those feelings--even if you are not experiencing suicidal thoughts. 

You can also watch the video below with a trusted adult and ask them to talk about it with you. This video helps inform adults on how to help you cope with some of the new stressors you may be facing.