Contributor: Ryan Moffat, B.S. in Bible and Theology from Multnomah University. Pastor of Vast Church.
College should be a time of incredible educational opportunities, developing lifelong friendships and making memories that will make an imprint for generations to come.
For far too many young adults, what starts as a fun, exciting, life-giving possibility of living and developing your dreams ends up being a place where many students’ dreams go to die. “Harmless” and “fun” parties (where large amounts of alcohol are consumed) become addictive, and before you know it, instead of living the dream, you’re living a nightmare!
Binge drinking becomes regular, loose and sloppy, and next thing you know, you’re looking for BIGGER and BETTER highs to get you amped for the big party on Friday night. What promised to be “fun” and “harmless” only months earlier is now no longer either.
So what do you do when you’re addicted to drugs as a college student?
#1: Confess To A Trusted Friend, Mentor, Pastor or Adult
David said in the books of Psalms, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.” David needed to confess (speak out loud) the things that were causing emotional and psychological damage in his life. David calls these things “sin.”
Sin needs to be confessed as bad, selfish, against God and ultimately harmful to oneself. The first step is to actually acknowledge that what you’ve allowed into your life, substance abuse, is actually bad and harmful.
#2: Create A Plan Of Accountability
To hit rock bottom and have a moment of clarity about how bad things really are is a grace afforded to you by God to move towards accountability, transparency and healing. Don’t waste that gift my failing to make a plan to stick with your desire to get help! As it’s famously been said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail!”
#3: Do The Work Of Attacking The Root Issues
Too many treatment plans address the symptoms (addictions) while never doing the work of digging into the issues of the cause, such as, “Why is this person moving toward addiction?”
Tim Keller said, “Counterfeit gods are anything (good things, bad things, etc.) that we are looking to (besides God) to save us”.
When we start dealing with the root issues (lack of relational intimacy, a painful childhood memory, being a victim of abuse, etc.) of addiction, we start moving away from simple behavior modification and into real, long-term healing!
Remember This If You’re In College And Drug Addicted
If you’re a college student, don’t throw your life away on vain things at 21 years old. It’s not too late to get help, repent of your folly and dust off the dreams of your youth. There are too many great possibilities to simply throw it all away for a short, synthetic, temporary high!
Community Discussion: Share Your Thoughts Below
What types of support systems have you found for college students struggling with substance abuse? Please leave your answer in the comment section below.
About the Author: Ryan received his B.S. in Bible and Theology and a minor in counseling from Multnomah University. He has pastored students, families and is passionate about Christ-centered recovery and healing.
He’s been married to his beautiful wife Michelle for 13 years and they enjoy raising four crazy, unique and special kids together. Ryan is the teaching pastor at Vast Church in Sisters, Oregon and is currently working on his Masters in Theology at Western Seminary in Portland.
He and his partners have created a website that focuses on the community of Central Oregonians. They are committed to sharing the culture, the landscape, the people, the beauty, the opportunities and the overall incredible community that is “The High Desert”. Please visit The High Desert Life.
Addiction Hope is proud to announce the initiation of a special Christian Track of blog posts and articles to commemorate the blessing of our sister site’s, Eating Disorder Hope, 10-year anniversary. Look forward to further content noted as “Christian Track”.
The opinions and views of our guest contributors are published to provide a broad perspective of addictions. These are not necessarily the views of Addiction Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by many different concerned individuals.