Parenting is never an easy job, but parenting a troubled teen is an exceptionally difficult task. These fact sheets for parents of troubled teens will help familiarize you with several of the common issues that your teen may face.
Many kids smoke or use tobacco products to feel "cool" and grown up or to fit in with peers. Some do it out of a feeling of rebellion. Others do it because it relieves feelings of depression and anxiety. Depressed teens may also do it out of the hopeless or self-destructive feelings associated with their depression. In other words, they know better, but feel it doesn't matter.
Teens who feel badly about themselves are desperate for love and validation outside themselves. The physical intimacy of sexual contact is easily confused for the love that they crave.
Depressed teens who take their own lives do so because they are enduring unbearable psychological pain and perceive that no more options are available to them.
Because alcohol is easy to obtain and socially acceptable, it is a popular means of self-medication for depression. If your teen is drinking frequently, it could be a sign of depression.
Teens with eating disorders appear to share a common personality type. They may suffer from low self-esteem and a strong need for control in their lives. They are often perfectionists and overachievers. Feeling a sense of mastery over their eating may help them feel that they have control over at least one aspect of their lives.
Although suicidal feelings may sometimes accompany self-injurious behavior like deliberately cutting or burning oneself, it does not generally indicate a suicide attempt. Most often it is simply a mechanism for coping with emotional distress. People who select this emotional outlet may use it to express feelings, to deal with feelings of unreality or numbness, to stop flashbacks, to punish themselves, or to relieve tension.
If you think that your child can't be abusing drugs because he doesn't have access to them, think again. It is possible for teens to inhale the chemical vapors from common household products like glue or paint thinner to produce a mind-altering effect.
When Missouri teen Megan Meier committed suicide after receiving taunting messages on MySpace from an adult woman masquerading as a boy who liked her, it brought home the fact that Internet roleplaying isn't all fun and fantasy. The games people play can have real consequences, especially for those with depression and mental illness. Just like in the real world, bullies can use harsh words and intimidation tactics to push their victims around -- and sometimes, as in Meier's case, with fatal consequences.
