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 HELP KEEP YOUR GIRLFRIENDS HAPPY AND HEALTHY
The teen years are never easy, but sometimes it feels like girls have a lot of additional stresses to deal with. Sometimes school, relationships, double standards, hormones, magazines with unhealthy skinny women and trying to make everyone
happy can be a real downer. The important thing to remember is that whether it’s you, a girlfriend, a sister, or anyone else who is experiencing difficulties, you could look to your friends, family, a trusted adult, or a local group for help.
Help Ease Stress and Depression
Did you know that for many reasons, including hormonal changes, girls are 50 percent more likely than boys to suffer from depression? 1 Have you ever felt stressed? Or maybe
you’ve noticed that one of your girlfriends no longer gets excited about the things that she used to love. Well sometimes everyone gets “bummed out” or overwhelmed, and that’s ok, especially when you
have friends to help. But this can also be a sign of anxiety or depression. You should also know that depression and stress are leading factors for drinking and drug use by girls. 2,3
One of the many ways that you can be a good friend to others as well as yourself is by watching for signs of depression  and drug use
and then taking action if you suspect a friend is using. Girls sometimes drink to make themselves feel better, so drinking and drugging can actually be a sign of depression.4
Many people feel down at times, but depression and addiction are medical conditions that need professional help and you can give a friend the support she may need in asking for professional help. You can give a friend the support she may need by lending an ear or suggesting that she get expert advice.
Help Prevent Substance Abuse
Unique social and physical conditions also put girls at risk for drug abuse. 5 In 2004, 675,000 girls started using marijuana; that’s almost 100,000 more than boys. And that’s not all...currently
more girls use cigarettes, pain relievers, and alcohol than boys. 6,7,8 Drugs and alcohol are threats that ALL teens need to help each other avoid.
Remember that friends are a major determining factor in whether or not someone decides to use drugs and alcohol. Research shows that girls are especially likely to drink just to fit in with their friends. 9 You can begin
to help your friends reject drugs and alcohol by refusing to use them yourself and clearly stating your distaste for any substance abuse.
But remember that sometimes a friend’s help is simply not enough and professional intervention is required. For some people, pressures and personal factors make life seem almost unbearable; this is true for girls and boys. When this happens,
especially if a friend turns to drugs or alcohol or talks about hurting herself, you should always seek professional help.
Help Increase Self-Confidence
Unrealistic and unhealthy images of models and celebrities can often make girls think that being super skinny will make them more attractive. Sometimes boys and even other girls can make girls worried about their weight or appearance. Many
teenage girls go through a dramatic transition in which their self-esteem declines and they question their self-worth. 10
These feelings can lead girls to resort to eating disorders, drug abuse, drinking, sexual activity or other negative behaviors to temporary “fix” their personal unhappiness. But all these things wreak mental and physical havoc on a girl’s body and
don’t actually solve the problem. In the case of drug use, girls can actually develop addiction at a faster rate than boys 11 and marijuana use can double the risk of depression later in life. 12 Furthermore, girls who consume
even moderate amounts of alcohol may experience disrupted growth and puberty. 13 In the long run, drugs will only make an unhappy person even more unhappy.
How can you help? You can start by reminding your girlfriends that everyone, even supermodels, has something that is imperfect or that they don’t like about themselves. Also make sure to remind them of something about them that is really kick-butt.
But if your reassurances don’t seem to be working, you can help your friend seek professional help:
What You Can Do to Help!
Now you know that ALL teens, sometimes especially girls, need help dealing with the things that stress and concern them. Remember your job is to be the best friend that you can within your abilities; this includes recognizing that drug use,
depression, and other dangerous behavior is beyond your control and you should consult professional help. Here are a few ways that you can help your girlfriends, sisters and anyone else stay or become healthy.
- Know the signs of drug use and depression and watch for these in your friends.
- Remind your friends that you care about them and that they can confide in you.
- Clearly tell you friends that you WILL NOT accept any drug or alcohol use as part of your relationship.
- Help your friends within your abilities. Report dangerous behavior to a professional. (Remember you can do this anonymously.)
- Boost their confidence by reminding them of something that is really awesome about them.
- Visit the following links for more information:
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1 The Commonwealth Fund survey of the health of adolescent girls, New York: The Commonwealth Fund, 1997.
2 National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. Formative years: Pathways to substance abuse among girls and young women ages 8-22. Columbia University, New York NY, 2003.
3 The Commonwealth Fund survey of the health of adolescent girls, New York: The Commonwealth Fund, 1997.
4 National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. Formative years: Pathways to substance abuse among girls and young women ages 8-22. Columbia University, New York NY, 2003.
5 National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. Formative years: Pathways to substance abuse among girls and young women ages 8-22. Columbia University, New York NY, 2003.
6 The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) 2004. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2005.
7 The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2004.
8 Ibid.
9 Donovan, JE. Gender differences in alcohol involvement in children and adolescents: a review of the literature. In Women and alcohol: Issues for prevention research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Research Monograph No. 32, Bethesda, MD, 1996.
10 Pipher, M. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the selves of adolescent girls. New York, NY: Random House, 1994.
11 National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. Formative years: Pathways to substance abuse among girls and young women ages 8-22. Columbia University, New York NY, 2003.
12 Patton, GC et al. Cannabis use and mental health in young people: cohort study. British Medical Journal, 325:1195-1198, 2002.
13 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol Alert No. 62, Alcohol-An Important Women’s Health Issue, July, 2004. |
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