Teenage stress can be dangerous. Some studies show that up to 73% of teens who use drugs began taking them primarily due to worry over school grades. Discord in the family has also been shown to be a contributing factor to teenage stress. The same study showed that only 7% of parents believe their child became drug dependant due to stress, showing some possible lack of communication between child and parent. Is your teenager in danger of becoming addicted to drugs? Are there natural ways to handle teenage stress?
                                      
 It has been estimated that one in three teenagers have experimented with illegal drugs by the time they complete middle school (8^thgrade) and 41% have had experience drinking alcohol. In fact, alcohol is the drug that most young people choose to handleteenage stress.
 What is the result? Five thousand youngsters under 21 die every year because of underage drinking. This is broken down into 1,900 deaths from car crashes, 1,600 resulting from murder, 300 suicides and hundreds more from fatal injuries like drowning, falls and burns.
 It is worrisome, because children are more apt to binge drink than adults, consuming as many as five drinks in one sitting. And it has been observed that the earlier a person begins drinking regularly, the more likely he or she will develop a problem with alcoholism during their lifetime. But the danger is present for them now; young binge drinkers are much more likely to engage in other risky behavior. They may “graduate” to marijuana and cocaine and they are much more likely to be promiscuous.
 What other drug use commonly results from teenage stress? Synthetic marijuana had gained popularity, despite its potentially fatal side effects. This does not surprise toxicologists, who explain that the chemicals are often created in a dorm-room situation, where the manufacturers are not particular about quality or safety. Using these drugs has been compared to playing a game of Russian Roulette. 
Alcohol abuse, use of marijuana and synthetic marijuana, as well as the FDA listed side effects of psychiatric drugs, are each and every one of them, a reason that young adults end up at the Emergency rooms, and due to their behavior at the time, get involuntarily committed to psychiatric wards all over the U.S.  A high price to pay is having a “mental health history” the rest of their lives. 
Ritalin is a psychiatric drug that is often abused by young people. It is readily available due to the high prescribing of this and many other psychiatric drugs, to treat invented mental conditions such as ADD and ADHD. Those who abuse it may experience psychotic episodes, dangerous heart complications and addiction. Those who inject it risk dangerous side effects due to the fillers in Ritalin tablets blocking small blood vessels. And of course, they are at risk for acquiring blood-borne illness such as HIV and Hepatitis B and C.
Can teenage stress be handled naturally? There are many natural ways to handle stress no matter your age. Some particularly effective ones are: