Mouprise.com

Substance abuse in adolescents? 15 signs of troubled youth

Troubled teens throw families into total chaos. All teens go through mood swings and volatility, so it can be hard for some parents to decide what the normal range is for teen behavior. As a psychiatrist who specializes in helping families with addicted teens or young adults, I try to educate families on what the warning signs are that they may have a troubled teen on their hands. Here are 15 signs of a troubled teen:

1. Is your teen using drugs or alcohol (teenage substance abuse)?
2. Does your teen have significant mood swings?
3. Does your teen isolate himself in his room right after school?
4. Has your teen’s school performance worsened?
5. Is your teen skipping class and skipping homework?
6. Has your teen stopped eating with the family and stopped participating in family activities?
7. Is your teen losing weight?
8. Has your teen’s sleep pattern changed?
9. Does your teen seem depressed or anxious?
10. Has your teen been inspired by their old group of friends?
11. Is your teen hanging out with friends who seem like a bad influence?
12. Is your teen breaking the rules and challenging authority?
13. Has your teen gotten into any legal trouble (shoplifting)?
14. Does your teen seem restless?
15. Does your teenager lie a lot?

The most likely reasons you may have a problem teen is that your teen is abusing drugs or alcohol (teenage alcoholism or teen drug abuse), is suffering from anxiety or depression, or has developed an eating disorder (or a combination of these). ). Most of the other warning signs stem from these conditions. Anxiety and depression can lead a teen to use drugs and alcohol in an attempt to feel better or, conversely, teen alcoholism or teen drug abuse can cause anxiety and depression. RJ, this is an 18 year old I saw in my practice. His parents brought him to me because he was absent from school and told them that he was feeling very depressed. He had already been expelled from 4 schools for skipping class and not turning in assigned homework. His parents had sent him to various alternative school settings and were desperate. At evaluation he suffered from clinical depression and an anxiety disorder.

However, he also suffered from drug addiction and teenage alcoholism. With a patient like RJ, it’s not clear if his depression or anxiety came from before the use of drugs and alcohol or after the abuse. He had been abusing drugs and alcohol since he was 14 years old. He also had a family history of depression. To give him the best result, I took him off drugs and alcohol with medication that prevented withdrawal symptoms. So I prescribed an antidepressant that also helps with anxiety. antidepressants are not addictive I also worked with the family and helped teach both parents to set limits with their child and let them suffer the consequences of any drug and alcohol use. They also agreed to go to the Anonymous Families meetings. RJ participated in group therapy with other children her age who suffer from addiction. RJ, a year later, has maintained his sobriety and goes to a school that has a self-paced program. He continues to take antidepressants and is not depressed or anxious. He gets along much better with his parents now that they have learned to set limits for him. RJ has done well because his treatment has consisted of getting him off drugs and alcohol so he wouldn’t go through withdrawal. His therapy has consisted of dealing with the addiction and learning new coping skills and communication skills. Antidepressants have helped with depression and anxiety so that I can function at a higher level. His parents have learned to raise their expectations of him by setting limits if he doesn’t meet his basic responsibilities. A successful outcome with a troubled adolescent requires a multifactorial approach.