Parenting our Teens; Helping them with their Stress- Part 1

This article is about how stress causes problems in our teens like self harm, eating disorders, depression, anxiety and suicide

In case you don’t have time to read this, but want the information, here you go:

Spend enough quality time with your teens and pre-teens so that you continue to know them and have healthy attachment through these difficult years.

Have a clear view of what the parameters of “normal” are for your child, and pay attention to behaviors that call out for help. Sometimes these behaviors will seem like they are intended to alienate you, but don’t fall for it.

Not being a therapist or a clinician, I see it as appropriate for me to refrain from description, diagnosis, analysis or suggested remedy for these challenges, and for the rise in their occurrence in our children, pre teens and teens. So many of our children’s extracurricular lives include regular visits to psychiatrists, therapists and other clinicians. We continue to hear of new names and labels for the many mental health afflictions our children deal with. At summer camps across the country, children wait in long lines to have their various medications administered.

I am a proponent of giving Western Medicine and research a first look for anything which presents as an indication of mental or physical illness. This would be on the lines of self-harm, eating disorders, suicide or acute and constant depression. I have as a teacher and guidance counselor seen many young people helped and guided to better mental health through various forms of therapy, including prescribed medication. I also advocate that any person, anywhere, who is receiving any kind of prescribed medication should be under the care of a qualified physician or psychiatrist, and should also be seeing a regular counselor of some kind. The medications, I believe can be a cathartic help, an aid and a booster in support of the work that counselors, coaches and clinicians do.

I also have had the experience of seeing Eastern Medicine and other alternative methods be successful in helping people through crisis. These approaches can be an essential support of other more conventional practices.

I also believe that a well trained, experienced, qualified and dedicated teacher, life coach, guidance counselor as well as an earnest and dedicated relative or family friend can be helpful and even integral to the healing of a young person’s soul.

Rick Concoff c 2013