Dear Sonia234:

You shared that you will be turning 15 soon. You and 4 of your friends got together, smoked weed and drank tequila, cooer and rum. You and one of the five friends, got very drunk,  she “was covered in her throw up and was unconscious.. I tried flipping her on her side and she kept puking”, you then called your mother and sister to help your friend, and your father came in as well, and then you “started having hallucinations and a panic attack and freaking out”. You went to the bathroom and tried hurting yourself, your father came in the bathroom, you hurt yourself some but not severely. You passed out 4-5 times. The parents of two of the friends arrived, an ambulance was called, etc., and everyone survived-

– good thing, so glad to read that the five teenagers, you included, survived the ordeal.

This is what I suggest: accept that you made a mistake, or more accurately, a series of mistakes that night and accept that those were not the first, nor will they be the last mistakes you ever make. But promise yourself that you will no longer make mistakes that will endanger your life and the lives of others.

Your parents, and your friends’ parents also made mistakes, maybe even mistakes similar to yours, as getting drunk and high are.. not uncommon. This is indeed not the end of the world because you all survived.

At this time, because you are so stressed, try not to think too much (we are lousy at thinking when stressed)- postpone thinking and problem solving. Try to relax and let yourself adjust to what happened.

There is a prayer that people say that makes a lot of sense to me, and it may relax you (I am not religious, so it is not that kind of prayer). Here it is: “god, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference”.

Patiently and gently learn from your mistakes, don’t throw in the towel figuring the world is over: it is not over. And post again if you want to, let me know what you think about my reply.

anita