Troubled Teens Resources

Teen age drug abuse has a direct correlation to a teen’s sense of self-worth. You simply do not willingly damage or destroy that which you value. Self-worth has to be derived from reasonable and healthy standards. But the world is upside down and the standards that teens measure themselves by are cruel and exacting.

Fall short of the accepted profile and you are the one eating lunch alone, forever without a boyfriend, stuck with the nerds. The penalties for not measuring up to the cultural portrait of “awesome” are severe. Just ask a fat kid. Teens at risk are even more vulnerable if they carry the emotional baggage from being overweight.

“…Obesity is “one of the most stigmatizing and least socially acceptable conditions in childhood.” … An historic study showed that normal weight children rank obese children as the least desirable friends. Obese individuals were described as lazy, dirty, dumb and deceitful. These descriptions were made by children as young as six years old…”

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Following close on the heels of rejection, ensuing loneliness and increasing vulnerability, are drugs. Drugs take the pain away. Drugs give you a boldness that you’ve never had. Drugs become identity. Especially if you can deal them. Especially if you are the go-to guy for a bag of dope. Overweight troubled teenagers hunger for the attention that the drug world gives them, further binding them to the shackles of their addiction.

Get your teen moving. Unplug your teen. If he is overweight, help him find a solution. Give him three options; train at a gym, train at home, or train via a class. Set the goal. Join him. Just do it.