Troubled Teens Resources

Parents are the most important factor in preventing teen age drug abuse, at an early age children should be taught about drug use and the effects of drug abuse. Teens can experience all kinds of issues and having solid morals and values can help to prevent drug use during stressful times.

“Risk of drug abuse increases greatly during times of transition, such as changing schools, moving, or divorce. If we can prevent drug abuse, we can prevent drug addiction. In early adolescence, when children advance from elementary through middle school, they face new and challenging social and academic situations. Often during this period, children are exposed to abusable substances such as cigarettes and alcohol for the first time. When they enter high school, teens may encounter greater availability of drugs, drug abuse by older teens, and social activities where drugs are used.

At the same time, many behaviors that are a normal aspect of their development, such as the desire to do something new or risky, may increase teen tendencies to experiment with drugs. Some teens may give in to the urging of drug-abusing friends to share the experience with them. Others may think that taking drugs (such as steroids) will improve their appearance or their athletic performance or that abusing substances such as alcohol or Ecstasy (MDMA) will ease their anxiety in social situations.”

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Teen age drug abuse is not a simple straight forward proposition. A myriad of factors can contribute to teens at risk saying yes to drugs. Very often divorce is the galvanizing factor in a teen’s descent into addiction.

“Hull said she was depressed “about anything and everything.” She was dealing with stress from her broken family and hadn’t gotten over the death of a childhood friend. She also bounced around, sometimes living with her dad, and then her mom, and then her boyfriend’s parents’ house.”

Combined with peer pressure, a culture that, more and more, tacitly accepts drug abuse and the unfortunate ease with which teens can secure prescription drugs, it is very easy for a disturbed teen to succumb to the constant temptation to do drugs.

“She also thinks she did drugs “just for the lifestyle I guess.”

“I wanted to be the life of the party,” she said. “I liked it when I could get drugs for people.”

In school, she would see other teens pass drugs to each other under the table or in between a piece of paper to make it look like a note. At one point, she said, she took some of her dad’s pain pills without him knowing, but it made her sick.”

Parents in the midst of divorce are often to caught up in their own drama to see how deeply affected their troubled teenagers might be. Never assume your teen is impervious to the lure of drugs.

He was surprised when his daughter got caught up in “bad choices.”

“I didn’t think she’d go that route because of her gifts and talents and what she could do…”

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Teen boarding schools seem an unlikely refuge, but that is how Adam felt about his school. It was a refuge from the bitter, drawn out divorce between his parents. It was a place where he wouldn’t have to see his younger sister’s sadness and tears.

Fortunately for Adam and his parents, it was a school staffed by professionals and mental health experts who knew how to recognize and deal with teen depression. Not exactly a troubled teen boarding school, it seemed to have a high percentage of students who had little or no family life.

Though perhaps “privileged”, these teens had no contact with jet hopping parents and divorce was a commonality that they all seemed to share along with the depression and emotional upheaval that troubled teenagers in the midst of a divorce have to master.

Adam pushed through the depression for the sake of his sister. He wanted to be the one “sane person” she could talk to. He went so far as to confront his parents about how their screaming matches and hostility was hurting everyone. With support from his school and a few referrals, all of the family ended up receiving counseling to help them through the trauma.

MyWellnessDiary.com offers some good articles on depression and divorce. A few are excerpted below.

“Here are some steps to decrease the chance of your divorce and child depression

1. Honesty is the best policy: Be honest with yourself about the potential for emotional trauma in your individual children.

2. Communication: Allow your children to communicate openly with each parent.

3. Choices: By offering your children choices, whenever possible, will increase their sense of control over their lives.

4. Support: Get the proper support for yourself and your children, It may differ for each individual.

5. Normal Activities: By keeping life as normal as you can with the same routine, same activities.”

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