Mental Illness and Chemically Dependent Teens...There is Help and Hope!
Jun 30 '01
The Bottom Line Raising teens is a great and difficult challenge but the rewards are definitely worth it!
Imagine, if you will, being a 13 year old girl raped by your father's "best friend" over a period of 5 years. Then, suddenly, you can no longer focus on your academic subjects and making friends has become increasingly difficult for you. You wonder why acceptance from others continues to elude you. You fail in school, you fail with your peers, and your mother does not support your claims of rape. In fact, she calls you "a little lying bastard!"
So what are your choices as a misguided teen in an adult world that seems overtly cruel and unsafe? Well, for some teens, there are only a few dangerous and potentially fatal choices. Self-mutilation has become an option, because the teen feels a powerful release of the inner pain with each drop of blood flowing forth from her veins. Alcohol and other powerful mood altering drugs often become a part of the daily routine.
This scenario is a harsh reality for many of today's teens. They find themselves outcasts in a world that has forsaken them! There is no unconditional love shown to them, they have no positive role models and their lives have spiraled totally out of control. Parents dealing with mentally ill teens have their hands full, to say the least. Couple that with drug and alcohol addiction and these teens have the potential for being lost forever.
But, there is hope and help for these lost youth.
Many wonderful organizations have blossomed over the past 25 years to encourage teens who suffer from dual diagnosis, like Manic-Depressive Disorder and alcoholism, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and crack cocaine addiction. These organizations are available to help the teens who suffer, the ones who opt to live on the streets rather than stay in an abusive home, the ones who sell their bodies and their souls to the highest bidder, the ones who would choose suicide over their present unbearable lives.
I am grateful to be a part of such an organization called Rehabilitative Support Services. Our goal is to guide, teach, support, train and prepare these youths for re-entry into a society that has kicked them to the curb. We are mothers, fathers, counselors, sisters and brothers to these troubled people. By helping them to get the medical and psychiatric attention that they so desperately need we can help them on their road to recovery. This is a most heart-warming feeling and is the epitome of giving back to society.
Our healthy teens have road blocks as they grow and mature into contributing members of society. Teens with mental illness have even greater trials to deal with, such as learning the various types of anti-psychotic medications that they must take in order to keep their symptoms under control. Many of them have learning disabilities from missing school or completely dropping out of the academic world. Yet, others deal with anti-social behaviors and eating disorders, like anorexia nervosa or bulemia. These negative behaviors were developed by many of the young adults to help them to cope with life.
Teaching the teens who have chemical dependency the various ways to cope with life without drugs is a daily challenge. Let them know that there are others just like them who are able to maintain long periods of sobriety by taking life one day at a time. Lend an ear whenever the teens need to vent. Give them positive feedback and encouragement. Offer positive outlets for their pent up energy, such as sports, creative writing, drawing or exercise.
Raising teenagers is a rewarding experience, as challenging as it is. Being as helpful and supportive as possible is the key in the development of well-adjusted adults. We must be less critical, choosing our words wisely. Be supportive even if we disagree with the idea, allowing the teens to learn from their mistakes. We cannot live our lives over through our children.
Teens are a misunderstood breed. They deal with hormonal changes, physical changes and question everything about themselves. Our job is to guide them and prepare them for their future in the real world. Encourage them to excel in school. Stress the importance of a good education. Tell them that they can be all that they can be with a little effort.
Finally, when raising teens, we must draw from our own wealth of personal experience. It is often trial and error that begets the greatest rewards.
And, it is well worth it in the end!
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Member: Miriam Jacobs
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