Today’s teenagers have been stereotyped as adventurous and harebrained individuals.  They are generally fond of experimenting with things until they get in touch with drugs, sex, guns, alcohol among others. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures, 16,000 young adults die each year from unintentional injuries and accidents.  The most common justification for teenagers’ care-free attitude is that their brains just aren’t developed enough to know better. However, recent research shows that in some cases the fact is just the opposite, the brain matures not too slowly but perhaps, too quickly.

According to a psychiatrist, an adolescent who engages in more dangerous activities have white-matter pathways that seem to be more mature than those of risk-averse youths.  White-matter is the brain’s wiring, the neutral pathways that connect the various gray-matter regions of the cerebrum that are independent of one another.  Having a mature white-matter is necessary because it allows faster brain processing speed.  Nerve impulses also travel faster in mature white-matter. Experiments also reveal that the more mature the look of the brain, the more adventurous the teenager tended to be.
Another possible explanation is that some teenagers whose brains develop more rapidly than others become uncomfortable and a little confused owing to the gap between their biological capabilities and the social norms they must follow as kids. Precocious development of these neural tracts may make some adolescents more susceptible to engage in behaviors that society considers too adult in nature for their chronological age. It is also a common notion that teens make dumb decisions because their brains are immature. In other words, having a more mature brain may actually motivate some teens to try out new and potentially harmful experiences.
For now, these theories are mere speculation, and the researchers concede that the interaction of white and gray matter is so complex that hard conclusions remain elusive. The results of the study are relatively bare and by no means conclusive. The human brain is so intricate in nature, and one has to consider the fact that there are other factors that come into play such as the environment and certain genetic predispositions that are equally complex to study.

It is amazing how fast things can change; how pure innocence can turn to arrogance and adventuresome. It seems up until your first year in high school, you feel safe from anything. You are preoccupied with life as how you knew it from the start, when in school you’re intrigued to hear rumors in junior high, they’re usually about who likes who, and who broke up with who. It just seems so naive. But when you stepped into high school, it becomes an entirely different ballgame. Somehow you seem to have been stripped of all your innocence. Suddenly you become vulnerable to the evils that you knew nothing about before. It seems the only thing people talk about is either sex or drug use. We all know of so many personalities who have so much potential to do great things in life, but threw it all away when they started to use drugs.

This is the daunting scenario that we have today. We are aware of it, the government is aware of it, law enforcers are aware of it but still the nagging problem persists and threatens the fragile future of our youth today. Numbers don’t lie. Nearly half of all high school seniors in America have experimented with illegal drugs and about three quarters have tried alcohol. A study conducted on the drug use prevalence among high school seniors in the US revealed the following: 41.8% have tried marijuana and at least 5% uses it everyday; 7.8% have used cocaine; 1.5% have tried heroin; 72.2% have used alcohol and 3.1% take alcohol daily; 6.5% have tried ecstasy; 8.4% have tried using hallucinogens (LSD, Magic Mushrooms, Peyote); and at least 15.4% have reported having used prescription drugs (Vicodin, OxyContin etc.) to get high. These are alarming statistics but equally disturbing is how easily high school students can get hold of these prohibited drugs. The dilemma that we have today is worse than what our parents had to deal with; and at the rate things are going it is quite likely that by the time you have kids, the situation will be ten times worse than what it is today.

The problem should be addressed now with more stringent measures and from different fronts. It should be a collective and conscious effort from the government, school administrations and more importantly the parents. Parents should be educated about the dangers facing their teens today because they are for real and are likely to stay if nothing is done to stem the problem. The government should make laws with much more teeth in them so as to deter drug dealers and manufacturers who are selling these substances like pancakes. Schools must have more effective screening and monitoring systems to keep drugs away from their vicinity and thus give their students a good shot for a productive college life.  Illicit drugs seem to fall in and out of favor with experimental youths.  But one thing is constant, more and more teens are experimenting with it. The perils are great and more threatening than ever, but studies consistently show that teens whose parents talk to them about drugs are at a much lower risk to experiment.

Recurrent depression, cribbing, lamenting
Adolescents might illustrate their invasive grief by dressing up in black outfits, scripting poems with gloomy messages and themes, or having an obsession with tunes which has sad themes.  They possibly will sob for no obvious cause.
 
Despair
Young adults possibly will feel that there is no meaning to existence and it’s not worth living or important to sustain their looks or cleanliness.  They might suppose so as to an unhelpful situation will by no means alter and live cynical concerning their outlook in life and future.
 
Less attention in favorite past times and hobbies: 
Adolescents may turn out to be indifferent and loose interest in partying, clubs, games, and additional past times they once happened to enjoy. Nothing seems to interest a troubled teenager.
Constant dullness
Lack of inspiration, enthusiasm and less liveliness is noticed by irregular attendance in school. The child becomes very dull and depressed.

Communal separation, introvert
Teenagers may shun family and friends. Teens who loved spending time with friends will stay in isolation. Teenagers may not share their feelings with anyone thinking that no one cares about them and they are all alone in the world. This will further add to their worries leading to depression.
 
Low self-worth
Teens may feel like they are failures in life and this will have a negative impact on their self esteem and self worth.
 
Intense fear of failure
Thinking that they are not worth anything in life and they are failures will lead to further depression.
 
Amplified bad temper, annoyance, or aggression
Unhappy adolescents are often bad-tempered, leading to misbehaving with family.
 
Complexity with relations
Teenagers may suddenly stop calling friends and relatives. Stay in isolation.
 
Recurrent complaints of body pain and nervousness
Teenagers may complain of body pain, menstrual problems and bouts of nervousness leading to depression.
   
Less absorption
Teenagers may have a problem in concentrating in studies, following a television program or following a conversation.
 
Efforts of running away from home
Running away is a major sign of depression and it is a cry for assistance.
Consuming alcohol and drugs
Depressed teens will consume drugs and alcohol to feel better.

Self-Destruction
Adolescents who have complexity in discussing about their thoughts possibly will demonstrate their disturbing anxiety, bodily distress, arousing pain, and low self-worth with self-destructible behavior.
 

Adolescents are at high risk for such behaviors as drug or alcohol abuse, pregnancy, brutality, cruelty, dejection, depression or suicide. One of the difficulties parents face is how to recognize the more restrained indicators of such behavioral problems and when and how to get involved.
 
The reasons why parents delay in helping their struggling adolescence is the confusion about whether their child is actually a troubled teen or not. They don’t know the habits of a troubled teen and when do they really need to help them. Many parents have a tendency to compare their own children with other children.
 
Although it is very enticing to compare your own children to other adolescents do avoid this tendency. This only triggers offense and discouragement in teenagers. Every person should be treated as a unique individual. Otherwise, the teens get discouraged. Parents can see for themselves if their child is troubled or in a self-destructive path and will do the best they can to help them. Parents should trust their instincts and seize all the necessary actions before the situation worsens.
 
Several adolescents grow to be skilled manipulators, extremely secretive and skilled at wriggling out of any situation. If the parents don’t keep a check on them, these teens can effortlessly influence and manipulate the situation so that the parent feels things are stable.
 
Is your teen disturbed or is your child just an ordinary adolescent facing the increasing pains of becoming an adult? There are some signs of a truly troubled teenager. The following Parenting tips would help you to be always cautious and on the watch out for your teens. If you doubt your child is a troubled teen, take actions quickly.
 
Signs of a troubled teen:
 
·         The teen becomes very secretive, and desires       The teen becomes very secretive, and desires greater privacy and isolation.
·         Your teen has unexpected outbursts of irritation and annoyance that is evidently irrational and out of proportion of the reason causing anger.
·  Your teen lies about his/her whereabouts.
·  Your teen has unexpectedly changed his or her peer group and hasn’t made an attempt to make you meet their new friends. This new group has lead to a dissimilar transformation in appearances and drastic change in attitude.
·  Your adolescent has stolen money from your purse regularly.
·  Your adolescence has tremendous mood swings, from depression to elation, and seems to sleep lot more than usual times.
·  Your child’s grades have suddenly dropped and the child has lost all interest in the usual routine and hobbies.

The following are important question to ask when looking for a prospective substance abuse treatment facility or service.

1.  Why do you believe this treatment in this program is indicated for my child? How does it compare to other programs or services which are available?

2. What are the credentials and experience of the members of the treatment team, and will the team include a child and adolescent psychiatrist with knowledge and skills in substance abuse treatment?

3. What treatment approaches does this program use regarding chemical dependency; detoxification; abstinence; individual, family, and group therapy; use of medications; a twelve-step program; mutual-help groups; relapse prevention; and a continuing recovery process?

4. Based on your evaluation, does my child have other psychiatric problems in addition to the substance abuse problem? If so, will these be addressed in the treatment process?

5. How will our family be involved in our child’s substance abuse treatment — including the decision for discharge and the after-care?

6. What will treatment cost? Are the costs covered by my insurance or health plan?

7. How will my child continue education while in treatment?

8. If this treatment is provided in a hospital or residential program, is it approved by the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)? Is this substance abuse treatment program a separate unit accredited for youngsters of our child’s age?

9. How will the issue of confidentiality be handled during and after treatment?

10. How long will this phase of the treatment process continue? Will we reach our insurance limit before treatment in this phase is completed?

11. When my child is discharged from this phase of treatment, how will it be decided what types of ongoing treatment will be necessary, how often, and for how long?

12. As my child’s problem improves, does this program provide less intensive/step-down treatment services?