Troubled Teens: To All Teenagers: This Was Written So Parents Might Understand

It is at the very heart of the never-ending “generation gap” harangue: how to deal with troubled teens?

Anyone who is an adult has been a teenager, so there is always some sympathy to be imparted for anyone who would approach the topic of “troubled teens” with considerable trepidation. And no matter how old and experienced you are, it is not like you have to be a parent of a teenager for a teenager to make you feel particularly uncomfortable as fear and issues of conscience unite to make it an unnervingly rough ride that it is all but impossible to be prepared for.

If sibling rivalry can be unsettling at times, when one reaches puberty social relationships with anyone, as well as self-esteem, become more important than anything else. Troubled teens are misfortunate enough to be guided primarily by anger, jealousy, or an irrational inclination toward subservience, among other negative things. The implications can take a very long time to amend – if they are ever addressed to begin with.

Examination stress, peer pressure and overwhelming resentment are hardly new topics to any teenager – troubled or not. But those to whom their care is entrusted, should know that the signs of  troubled teens include isolation, concealment of property, bad grades at school, fights and ugly disputes, eccentricity, experimenting with drugs and alcohol, anxiety and depression, obsession with self-appearance, nervous breakdowns, and self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

Be prepared for major mood swings.