Sources
Reality Check
Above the Stress
Stressful events can profoundly influence the abuse of alcohol or other drugs. Stress is a major contributor to the initiation and continuation of alcohol or other drug use, as well as to substance abuse relapse after periods of abstinence.
SOURCE: “NIDA Community Drug Alert Bulletin - Stress & Substance Abuse.” NIDA; 2006.
By using their own support systems (such as friends or going to the gym), some people are able to cope effectively with the emotional and physical demands brought on by stressful and traumatic experiences. However, individuals who experience prolonged stress that disrupts their daily lives may require treatment by a trained and experienced mental health professional.
SOURCE: “NIDA Community Drug Alert Bulletin - Stress & Substance Abuse.” NIDA; 2006.
Children exposed to severe stress may be more vulnerable to drug use.
SOURCE: NIDA Community Drug Alert Bulletin - Stress & Substance Abuse.” NIDA; 2006.
Fifty-four percent of Americans are concerned about the level of stress in their everyday lives and two thirds of Americans say they are likely to seek help for stress.
SOURCE: “Facts & Statistics.” APA Help Center. The American Physiological Association; 2004.
Above the Crowd
Just be yourself and hang with friends who encourage you to be who you are, and not who they want you to be.
Don’t be too hard on yourself – you may be your toughest critic. Hang out with people who support you and be careful of people who are all about negativity.
Above the Image
Steroids can cause pimples, hair loss and shrunken testicles. Seriously, they can make guys grow breasts and girls grow beards, not to mention they can cause damage to your liver and heart.
Source: NIDA 
Eating disorders, left untreated, can lead to malnutrition, muscle damage, skin, hair and nail damage, dental problems, ulcers, diabetes, anemia, kidney, liver or pancreas failure, bone mass loss, arthritis, infertility, seizures, heart attack or even death.
Source: U.S Dept. Health & Human Services
In the United States where a bone-thin body type is idealized by the media, the average American woman is actually 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 142 pounds.
Source: U.S Dept. Health & Human Services
Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are diseases that affect the mind and body simultaneously.
Source: Office of Women’s Health
Above the Pressure
Drugs and alcohol can impair a person’s judgment and cause them to engage in unplanned sexual activity. This could result in STDs, unwanted sexual advances, rape, pregnancy, and emotional trauma.
Source: NIAAA
Not everyone’s having sex. In fact, less than 50 percent of high school students report having had sex. (CDC) And the vast majority of teens (73 percent) surveyed recently do not think it is embarrassing for teens to say they are virgins.
Source: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
The national teen birth rate fell 30 percent from 1991 to 2002, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
Source: U.S Dept. Health & Human Services
Forty percent of chlamydia cases are reported among young people age 15 to 19. Females in that age group also have the highest rates of gonorrhea.
Source: Center for Disease Control: 1999 Youth Risk Behavior Survey
Half of all new HIV/AIDS infections are thought to occur in people under 25.
Source: Center for Disease Control
One in five teenage girls has at least one birth by age 20.
Source: Vital Statistics of the United States, 1999, Vol. 1, Natality
Above the Influence
Marijuana is addictive. More teens are in treatment with a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependence than for all other illicit drugs combined.
Source: SAMHSA
Meth can damage blood vessels in the brain, leading to strokes (which can produce irreversible damage).
Source: NIDA
Some side effects of steroid use include liver tumors and cancer, jaundice, fluid retention, high blood pressure, kidney tumors, and trembling.
Source: NIDA
Inhalants can kill you the very first time you use them.
Source: NIDA
Motor vehicle crashes remain the number one cause of death among youth ages 16 to 20.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Above the Hype
Teens spend more time watching TV than they do in school, and by the time they reach the age of 70, Americans will have spent 7 years of their lives watching TV
Source: Comstock & Strasburger, 1990
The average American child may view as many as 40,000 TV ads every year. Do the math…that’s estimated to be hundreds of thousands of ads by the time you’re in high school.
Source: Children, Adolescents and the Media
Above the Control
60 percent of boys who were bullies in middle school had at least one criminal conviction by the age of 24.
Source: Olweus, 1993
Cruelty to animals is often a warning of future violent acts.
Source: American Journal of Psychiatry
Resorting to violence or carrying a weapon to stop being picked on will not solve the problem. In fact it's likely to make it worse.
Seventy-five percent of students report they have been bullied.
Source: Bully Police USA
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