When talking about the prevention of alcoholism and drug addiction, it is important to understand the nature of these diseases. And it is known that the spiritual aspect of this disease is a shift in a person’s spiritual focus from his true, internal values ​​to relationships with a subject, with an external object. If we are talking about the prevention of chemical dependence of a young person, the question arises: does he, this person have any values? And wasn’t the first value he chooses a chemical substance? And, if so, then maybe it’s worth introducing this young man to what other values ​​there are in life? With the fact that a person has some needs. And that instead of naturally satisfying these needs, people often choose substances. Or not substances, but, say, playing on the computer or something else. Perhaps this is the beginning of addiction prevention, in getting to know life values. I am now talking about those young people who have not yet started using. Those who have already started using need rehabilitation, something has already happened to them. Some changes because of which they made a choice towards using. And those who are supposedly “normal guys” usually pay little attention to them. - I have a normal child, everything is fine, no, no, he’s not uses, he plays sports, he studies well, he has good friends and all that... Attention to such children somehow... gradually fades away over time. And then (of course, not always, but...!) it happens so that parents or some relatives suddenly find out that “oh, my child turns out to have problems!”... And it is completely unclear how this happened! It’s like a “blind spot” for parents. For the last 20 years, I have been more involved in the rehabilitation of addicts than in prevention, but I think that prevention is about introducing a person to what life is. What does it consist of? What values ​​does she have, what hobbies does she have? What are your goals in this life? How to achieve them? To figure out what a young man actually wants from this life? I often ask young people: “What do you want? What do you want to become?” Well, you can, of course, hear “an astronaut.” Well, it’s like from a joke: - What do you want to become? - An astronaut! - What’s your name? - I don’t remember. But there are usually no clear answers. Often the conversation turns to material values: - I want a lot of money. - I want a good car.... I don’t remember (that is, this does not mean that there is no such thing) for a person to answer, for example: “I want to be a doctor and treat people, bring this benefit."No, a person wants to be a doctor, for example, a dentist, because - well, it’s clear: it’s profitable, it’s prestigious, it’s profitable. Or a gynecologist there. Because it is also profitable and so on. Or, because my parents are doctors, and they will help, but it’s easier this way... Now education... I don’t want to step on this “thin ice” of criticism of education, but... I believe that the goal of education is , after all, to educate a personality, and show a person what kind of life he is entering, what difficulties he will encounter, and how he can overcome them? To be continued…