Every teenager goes through ups and downs during their adolescent years, but certain behaviors may indicate your teen is in trouble and in need of your help. The warning signs below can help you differentiate between what is normal teen behavior, and what may indicate drug/alcohol abuse, depression or other problems:
Warning Signs
- A change in friends. Your child may grow into a new crowd, however a warning of trouble may be abruptly abandoning old friends for new peers who are drastically different from your child’s previous friend group.
- Sudden drop in school performance. Take notice when your child, who has previously performed well in school, suddenly loses interest and grades plummet.
- Extreme mood swings or changes in behavior. Mood swings are common during adolescence because of the fluctuating hormones of puberty. However, if your child is going from being deeply depressed to extremely happy, you need to figure out what is going on. Other examples of emotional warnings are: unreasonable fits of anger, very defiant and disrespectful, hostility toward family members, very withdrawn and barely communicative, wants to be left alone all of the time, radical changes in eating or sleeping patterns.
- Keeping major secrets or lying. If your teen telling lies about significant things like where they’ve been or who they were with there my be something else going on. Constant lying about grades, cutting classes, or disappearing for long periods of time without an explanation are also a sign of trouble.
- Depression. Is your child unusually quiet or sad? Have they been more withdrawn than usual? Have they changed their relationships with friends, their lifestyle, their eating or sleeping habits, or cleanliness? These are just some of the indicators that beg you to talk to your child and make sure everything is okay.
What to Do: There are numerous other warning signs of a teenager in trouble. If you have noticed major physical, emotional, social and school changes in your teenager, it is important that you take action right away, before the problems get worse and the consequences for your child grow greater. Talk and be honest with you child about your concern; don’t be judgmental or angry. If you need help, contact your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for professional counseling, referrals or information.
Note: Professional help should be sought immediately if a person is experiencing suicidal thoughts. Get help from persons or agencies specializing in crisis intervention and suicide prevention.