Teens With Behavioral Struggles And How To Overcome Them

Teenage is a stage with a lot of changes including physical, intellectual, and emotional. it is a time when a young person is trying to find their identity.

As a teen tries to find themselves, they may experience challenges such as identity crisis and behavioral struggles. The good news is that when given the required help, the teens can overcome these challenges.

This article is about teens with behavioral struggles and how to overcome them.

Teen Behavioral Struggles

1. Substance Abuse

Some teenagers struggle with substance abuse such as the use of alcohol and drugs. They could do this because of peer pressure or if there are problems at home such as abuse and violence.

Sadly, it is difficult to recover from drug and alcohol addiction and so it's important to curb the vice early before it escalates.

2. Addiction To Social Media

There has been an increased use of social media by teenagers. While normal use is alright, overuse or addiction can cause problems.

If your teenager is always on social media while neglecting their relationships and normal socializing, then that’s a cause for alarm.

Also, being online can expose your teenager to strangers who are out to take advantage.

3. Aggressiveness

Your teenager may become angry for no apparent reason. They may talk back and become argumentative.

However, if the anger is left unchecked, it can result in aggressiveness and violence.

4. Lying

Your one honest child may turn to a lying teenager. It could be they are afraid of being judged or they fear punishment.

How To Overcome

Seek Professional Help

Your teen can get professional help to assist them to overcome some of the behavioral struggles. Luckily, there are health institutions established with the sole purpose of treating behavioral issues.

One such is Pacific Beach Health. They treat behavior struggles by combining holistic behavioral healthcare and psychotherapy,

They use the eco-psychological approach where they include nature in the healing approach.

You can use it if your teen is struggling with substance abuse and mental health problems.

Understanding From Parents/Guardians

Sometimes all your teenage child needs is your understanding. You may have gone through some of the behavioral struggles as a teenager and so a bit of understanding can go a long way in helping them overcome.

So, for instance, if they are angry, avoid the shouting match or being argumentative and remain calm.

Talk To Your Teen

Open lines of communication can help to deal with some of the behavioral struggles in teens. Encourage your teen to talk to you instead of bottling problems up. For instance, you can talk to your teenager in a friendly and calm tone and explain why they should avoid drugs and alcohol.

Let them know the consequences of substance abuse. Teach them how to say no to peer pressure such that they can decide not to use drugs or alcohol if offered by friends.

Set Rules

Rules can help your teen to overcome behavioral struggles they may be experiencing.

For example, if your teen is swaying towards addiction to social media, you can set rules on what they can use their phone for.

Let them know why you are setting the rules. It's far much better to set rules on how to use the phone rather than prohibiting them from using it, which can cause worse results such as hiding when using the phone.

You could set curfew time when they go out with friends instead of prohibiting them from going out, which can cause rebellion.