Troubled Teens Resources

Unfortunately, parents today live in a world where there are even more sinister trends then teenage drug abuse.

“I stood up and crossed my arms and as my friends started crushing my chest I was watching their eyes and the last thing I remember is saying to myself in my mind, “this isn’t going to work”. (I should also note that I was listening to a VERY fast paced trance hardcore song). Next thing I knew I was in complete darkness. I cannot remember everything I saw but I remember getting very scared. I remember something about my mom and then thats it. It felt like I had a five hour dream in about 5 seconds. Next thing I know I am staring at the sky and a SHARP pain is torturing me in my foot. At the same time I was completely numb though. I quickly started coming down and regaining my sences when I realize my left elbow was bleeding blood all down my arm and I fall to the ground because I was extremely dizzy. I remained on the ground for about 5 minutes before being able to get up.

Apparently, I am told that when I lost conciousness my eyes instantly rolled into the back of my head and got extremely red. Next my friends said my arms started twitching. I had asked them to hold me up if I started to fall but they said I was shaking so bad I would have hit them. So they let go of me and I cut my elbow open on the wall and land on my foot sideways. (this is all when I was asleep).

This experience was one of the most fun and frightening experiences I had had. I do not know why but I was just completely overwhelmed with fear while I was unconcious. It was tripping me out, I couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened for a couple hours.”
(source)

One of the many reasons a troubled teen starts experimenting with drugs is to escape their present reality. Be it emotional pain, anger at school and parents, or the emptiness of boredom, the objective is to “feel something else”.

What is frightening is the extreme measures that some troubled teens are willing to go in order to escape.

In addition to teenagers abusing drugs, they have managed to find a way to abuse themselves without a chemical in sight. They call it “fainting each other” and it can be fatal.

“Initially ruled a suicide, 13-year-old Chelsea Dunn may have accidentally killed herself by what some kids call a game.

“They call it something dreaming,” says twenty-year-old Kelly Pilger. Sarah Johnson remembers, “They call it fainting each other.”

Self-asphyxiation-choking each other or themselves, which produces a kind of high. “Press people up against a wall, until they didn’t have any oxygen, until they passed out,” describes Kelly. Jessica Fuller says “[they] probably do it for about four hours at a time, like repeatedly, over and over again…”

“Basically, it’s a very dangerous play where the person deprives his brain of oxygen,” explains Dr. Ashraf Attalla, child psychiatrist, “By reducing the blood pressure the brain basically starts an irreversible process of dying.”

And he says the result can be permanent brain damage, or in cases like Chelsea Dunn- death.”
(source)

Unlike most teen drug abuse, there are no obvious signs that a parent’s troubled teen is experimenting with asphyxiation. Some clues to look for are “Any unusual marks around the neck. Parents might find some ties, or ropes tied in unusual ways, complaints of headaches, blood shot eyes…”