Troubled Teens Resources

Teen crisis intervention projects sometimes show up in the oddest places. The imagination behind some of these efforts to reach troubled teenagers are admirable. They are created by private citizens and non-profits in various communities nationwide. Citizens who put their money and action where their mouths are. No platitudes and yearning for an answer to drugs. Just very practical and effective programs that hit the ground running. The Blue Sky Project is going after teen depression.

Most everyone is familiar with craigsList, the ubiquitous cyber bulletin board where all and sundry can find something or someone. craigList’s most prodigious users are the teenagers and college students that Dr. Michael Bagby is looking to reach.

“…mental-health researchers are turning to the Internet to look for teen subjects. At Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, doctors posted on craigslist.org to recruit teenagers for a five-year study on first episodes of major, or clinical, depression called the Blue Sky Project.

The idea of navigating the grown-up world of psychologists and psychiatrists is terrifying to many teenagers, says Maria Luisa Contursi, mindyourmind.caproject manager.”Kids are afraid of bricks and mortar,” she says. “They’re not sure what’s behind that door.”
[…]
Hoping to attract students while they are searching for used bikes or second-hand furnishings for university dorm rooms, Dr. Bagby’s posting seeks people who are having trouble concentrating and getting out of bed in the morning.”

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You can’t blame a parent for becoming utterly confused with the whole list of acronyms available to label their troubled teenagers. There is Oppositional Defiant Disorder, ADD, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. There is bi-polar and conduct disorder and teen depression, all of which increase the liklihood of teen age drug abuse. It takes a heap of courage to sign up to be a parent these days.

So how do you tell if your ADHD child has ODD? What’s to tell them apart? Both disorders present behavior that is irritating and disruptive. But there lies the difference. Your ADHD-er has absolutely no intention upsetting the apple cart. The ADHD kid really rather have no attention drawn to their upsetting behavior at all. Studies point out, that with ODD, it is a different story.

• What is the difference between ODD and ADHD?

• ODD is characterized by aggressiveness, but not impulsiveness. In ODD people annoy you purposefully, While it is usually not so purposeful in ADHD. ODD signs and symptoms are much more difficult to live with than ADHD. Children with ODD can sit still.

• What difference does it make if you have ADHD or ADHD plus ODD?

• A lot! Children and adolescents with ADHD alone do things without thinking, but not necessarily oppositional things. An ADHD child may impulsively push someone too hard on a swing and knock the child down on the ground. She would likely be sorry she did this afterward. A child with ODD plus ADHD might push the kid out of the swing and say she didn’t do it.

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The link above will take you to more on ODD.

Schools for troubled teens are very much on the mind of a close associate’s family. Unfortunately, it took the attempted suicide by her teenage daughter Alice to wake Carol up to the reality of her ongoing depression. Coming from a strict family that disciplined her severely, Carol swore that she would never deal so harshly with her own children.

Thus when finally confronted with her daughter’s drug abuse and cruel and hostile behavior, later diagnosed as Oppositional defiance disorder (ODD), she became convinced that her leniency and denial helped bring her daughter to the brink of death.

Carol is being too harsh on herself. It isn’t unusual for parents to miss signs of teen depression. By the time Carol became alarmed, much damage had already been done.Two arrests, suspension from school, and now the suicide.
Schools for troubled teens now appear as the best solution, one Carol wish she hadn’t delayed.

Fololwing are the symptons parents will want to look out for that could indicate that their teen is fighting depression.

• Withdrawal from friends and family
• Preoccupation with death
• Personality and mood changes
• Difficulty concentrating
• Decline in quality of schoolwork
• Changes in eating and sleeping habits
• Persistent boredom
• Frequent complaints of headaches, stomach aches or other physical symptoms
• Late warning signs might include:
• Talking about suicide
• Violent or rebellious behavior
• Refusing help
• Not tolerating praise or rewards, complaining about being a “bad” person
• Giving away favorite possessions.

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Teen crisis intervention is imperative when a teenager takes their life. In many instances teen suicide can reverberate across a small community of teens, sometimes triggering “copy cat” suicides. Because teen depression tends to be dismissed by many parents, the symptoms are not always recognized.

Teens at risk for suicide will start withdrawing from their family, perhaps start listening to music that has dark overtones and lyrics. Teens at risk for suicide sometimes also experiment with self-harm activities such as cutting themselves or burning themselves with cigarettes.

Seek professional counseling if you feel that your troubled teenagers are exhibiting worrisome behavior.

• The teen may threaten suicide, either directly or indirectly.
• The teen seems obsessed with death.
• Themes of death or depression permeate the teen’s conversation, writing, reading or artwork.
• The teen seems constantly bored or world-weary, has poor concentration, shows declining quality of schoolwork.
• There are dramatic changes in personality, appearance or behavior.
• The teen demonstrates aggressive, rebellious and/or disobedient behavior.
• The teen suffers an overwhelming sense of guilt, shame or rejection.
• The teen frequently complains about stomachaches, headaches, fatigue or other physical symptoms often linked to emotions.
• The teen changes eating or sleeping patterns.
• There are signs of excessive substance use.
• The teen has suffered a recent, significant loss such as the death of a parent or friend.
• The person is frequently absent from work or school.
• The teen shows an inability to carry out the normal tasks of daily life.
• The teen may become sexually promiscuous.

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Teen crisis intervention in areas of teen depression and suicide is an inescapable necessity. And that in itself is depressing.

Parents feel a mixture of pain, sorrow and anger when confronted with a depressed teen. Often the parents instinctual response is to exclaim, “What do you have to be depressed about? Look at everything you have and everything you have to look forward to.” However, if you take the time to read teen message boards you’ll find talk of suicide is common.

“Gah i am stupid 17 today, and i was also meaning to end it but guess what i was way too gutless.
Gosh i wish i was younger and more innocent and blissful and ignorant and many other shitting things.
to sum it all up life sucks when you get older.
and the best way to fix that is…”
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At 17 she wishes that she was innocent again. That is indeed sad. While parents are telling teens that they have everything to live for,the popular culture is teaching teens to be drama queens. That same culture, via movies and TV dramas, is telling teens that the world is an ugly place without hope. Better have a good time now before it’s too late.

Media, videos, MTV are all encouraging teens to run pell mell into sexual experiences that they are not emotionally mature enough to handle. Advertisements tell the teen that whatever he has is never good enough and that he needs more. Empty celebrities gain acclaim for crude behavior and drug use while in real life that behavior has far reaching consequences.

Parents have every right to be angry that their troubled teens do not recognize their good fortunes but they have to realize that the media and the drug culture are telling them the opposite. Depressed teens need a chance to see the world without the lens of popular culture so that they have a chance to recognize that they, and life, are worthwhile.

Teen depression can be precipitated by substance abuse or, be the actual trigger for teen age drug abuse. Either way,  every teen will express depression differently, there are some core symptoms that parents would be well advised to be aware of.

Does your teen write poetry? Tara tells me of her daughter being upset with poetry written by a friend. It was dark and dwelt on death and loss. That alone may have been dramatic license but with the poetry came, listlessness,crying jags and heavy pot smoking. A constant sense of despair enveloped this young girl. Fearing that expressing her worries to her friend’s mother would be viewed as betrayal, she had remained silent. Tara took it upon herself to contact the depressed teen’s mother and was met with gratitude. The young girl is now in treatment.

Not only should parents be aware of the signs of depression but make sure your teens are up to speed so that they can feel confident in helping their friends.

Here is outline of symptoms. You can read them in their entirety here.

1. Frequent crying, intense sadness, and tearfulness
2. Hopelessness
3. Shows less interest in their otherwise favorite activity.
4. Low energy.
5. Social seclusion.
6. Lowered Confidence.
7. Irritability.
8. Poor school performance.