By: Rohan J Rana
Adolescence and teenage is a period for establishing independence. Teens show independence by questioning, criticizing, and disobeying boundaries. Parents and teachers must differentiate between occasional mistakes and persistent misconduct, carefully, as it is a complex subject to deal with. Teenagers are more autonomous and mobile than children; therefore parents can’t always manage them as the conducts of the teenagers’ mostly governed by their own moral and behavioural code. Some parents and teens fight about everything. The problem here is control. Teens want to feel freedom; parents want to establish their rules. One of the suggested ways of parenting during the adolescence phase employs progressive privileges to offer teens with responsibilities, such as caring for a pet, doing household chores, purchasing clothing & household items, decorating their room, or managing an allowance. If teens manage a given duty or privilege successfully over time, they’re given with rewards like going out with friends and driving or to enjoy an activity of their choice. This conditioning pattern, if continued carefully, we can possibly develop the liability and responsibility taking ability in our adolescents, and shall bring them to a level of emotional maturity.
However, not all teenage issues can be dealt with by parents alone; some may need the support of a professional. The prevalence of problems likes substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and non-suicidal self-harm among younger generations, necessitates the involvement of mental health professionals in any efforts to address them. Professional treatment also may be necessary for teenagers who engage in hazardous or unwanted behaviour despite parental intervention. As a parent, if you’re dealing a teenager with issues like truancy, online gaming dependency, cell phone dependency, oppositional defiant behaviours, drug and alcohol abuse, you may not be sufficient alone and will need technical support of trained experts in an environment that you like.
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Families that have such problems with their children may feel ashamed for their child not being “Normal” as others. Statements like – “This child is mad” or “That child is bad” or the “Child will always be this way” may be a common sentiment among these families. And may be with these experiences, families become critical of one another and set themselves up as failures in the eyes of the outside world. Families may find it harder to recover due to the stigma and prejudice connected with mental illness and behavioural issues. It’s tough to accept and discuss a family member’s behavioural issues, particularly an adolescent. It’s possible that the family may put off receiving the aid they need for fear of being stigmatized by the community for their situation.
Be careful – It’s not true. As a society, most of us stigmatize those with mental health disorders and those who care for them. We also stigmatize ourselves. In the end, stigma is harmful to everyone because it encourages people to concentrate on themselves and others rather than the condition that is causing their problems. For these reasons, families may be more reluctant to seek medical attention and individuals may be less inclined to adopt healthy habits as a result of social stigma. It’s important to keep in mind that people’s assumptions about mental illness are frequently based on ignorance and lack of education over the topic. Let us not allow others opinions to rule our well-being since opinion of others mostly formed before they get to know about us and our situation. No matter how hard we try, we can’t always overcome mental illness & behavioural disorder on our own. With the support of healthcare experts, we may better understand and manage our mental health difficulties. Let us face our problems. There is nothing to hide. (The author is a mental health worker at Nirmaan Rehabilitation Facility, Panjabari & can be reached at 9435192261)
