Mid-August was quickly approaching. My 11-year-old daughter was about to start middle school. I was not exactly looking forward to it, as I knew middle school can be a challenging transition and many pre-teens are just beginning to find themselves. I also knew that my sixth-grade daughter would also be exposed to older students; therefore, I assumed she’d be exposed to behaviors that I would not necessarily approve of.

Working in the mental health and substance use field for over 10 years, I have always educated my daughter on the negative effects of drugs and alcohol. I can’t even begin to tell you how many in-depth conversations we’ve had regarding substances being “poison for your body.” I was always pretty confident in that regard. . . .

I have always informed my daughter that addiction is a disease

It was like a light switch — my beautiful, kind and sweet daughter was spending all her spare time isolating herself in her bedroom. She’d have random outbursts and treated me very poorly. I kept asking myself, “Where did my daughter go?” It started to get really bad — worse than you could possibly imagine.

Read the rest of the story, and tips for checking in on your tween or teen at: https://drugfree.org/parent-blog/how-i-knew-my-daughter-was-using-substances-and-in-a-mental-health-crisis/