Most teenagers actually exhibit symptoms related to any or all three of these scenarios so let’s review some of them a bit and then talk about what you can do about it.
Bi-Polar: Grossly misdiagnosed by lazy psychiatrists who don’t even talk to people anymore and instead simply send you to the pharmacy, Bi-Polar is more than what most people think it is. It is a severe personality disorder that is so much more than “moody ups and downs.” It used to be called manic/depression. The depressed state is easy to see, but it needs to stick around for weeks at a time or longer to be considered clinical. The manic phase is more than “feeling good” or positive. Manic people feel like superheroes; recklessly bulletproof they might actually imagine they have superpowers, like ESP, telepathy, heightened senses like hearing and sight and strength. They will often speak wildly on tangents that truly seem delusional and have insomnia; unable to sleep due to the volume of thoughts in their head. Don’t diagnose this yourself, get help to decide if your child is bi-polar and be careful since many psychiatrists will go along with whatever home diagnosis you’ve made and go right to meds which could make a non-Bipolar person worse.
Drugs: Moody? Isolated from family? Mean? Anti-social? Lethargic and apathetic (except when it comes to friends socializing)? Sorry… they’re almost all like that. To determine a drug issue takes more finesse than a worried parent can navigate through. If you’re not sure, don’t even accuse them. Call and consult, we’ll figure it out how to proceed together. Already know they’re on drugs? Ok, you still need to call. Bad news is once it’s happened you can’t stop it. Good news is you can keep it from going from alcohol/pot to heroin/meth. You can’t stop it but you can keep it from becoming life wrecking/threatening. Handle it wrong and you can make a novice drinker/smoker into a rebellious dope fiend. Perfectly good parents do it every day!
Crazy: Of course! They all are. But there’s a lot you can do. Spend time and a little money learning how to keep your influence with your kids. Don’t underestimate the importance of this. A little can go a long way in either direction!
There’s so much more to this than these little editorials can tell you. Please call, it’s free so why not?
Scott Spackey is a state Registered Addiction Specialist, Counselor, Interventionist, Life-Coach, Hypnotherapist and Bio-Feedback Technician. For more information, please call 661-299-1966, email: Scott@Life-Mind.com and visit www.LIFE-MIND.com.