Addiction is a serious threat to teen wellbeing, whether it’s their own addiction or someone else’s. They may experience a range of negative emotions, struggle with relationships, and feel isolated.
Fortunately, there’s an answer. Teaching your teen healthy coping mechanisms, such as body scans and mindfulness, can help them to regulate their emotions. While this doesn’t fix the addiction, it equips your teen with essential life skills to guide them through challenging times.
For some parents, the journey also involves monitoring their teen’s progress at home, particularly in the early stages of recovery or when concerns first arise. Many families find it reassuring to have a clear, factual picture of where things stand, and urine drug testing kits at Drug Tests can be a practical option to keep track of things between professional appointments. When used alongside open communication rather than as a surveillance tool, this kind of home monitoring can actually help to rebuild trust over time, especially when emotions are running high and it can be difficult to know what to believe.
Read on to find out more about how addiction impacts teenagers and what you can do to support them (hint: it’s all about open communication!)
How Does Addiction Impact Teenagers?
When someone is battling addiction, it affects the whole family. Parents, siblings, and the wider family can all deal with their own emotional challenges relating to the addiction.
For now, let’s focus on the teenager. How might they be feeling?
Lonely. Ashamed. Angry. Upset. These are all common emotions for teens who are either in recovery, or have a family member who is in recovery.
It’s important to remember that addiction affects people differently. One teen may become withdrawn, refusing to engage with their family, and another may attempt to control the household, taking part in a role reversal with their parents. Others may seem perfectly content, as they manage to keep their internal battle private.
Before we even look at helping our teens with these feelings, take a moment to simply acknowledge them. Many parents struggle to accept their teens are feeling this way, but it’s important to accept this so that your child knows you won’t be overwhelmed by their feelings.
Signs Your Teen is Struggling with Family Addiction
Not sure whether your teen’s wellbeing is being impacted by addiction in the family?
Firstly, you know your teen best. If they don’t seem like themselves, trust your judgement, and open up the conversation with them.
More generally, common signs that a teenager is struggling are:
? They’re spending a lot more time away from the family (more than is normal for them)
? They’re avoiding things they would usually enjoy
? They’re getting frustrated or angry more easily than usual
? They’re being secretive
? They don’t want to talk to anyone in the family
? They’re getting stressed or overwhelmed very easily
How to Open Up Communication With Your Teen
The first step is often the hardest. If you don’t currently have open communication with your teenager, it may take time to gain their trust, but it will be worth it.
Here’s how you can make a positive start:
1. Model open communication
Some parents expect their teens to open up freely, but they aren’t yet ready to do so themselves. This won’t work.
Show your teen that you are ready and willing to have difficult conversations, and they will feel more comfortable joining you in this. You can do this by sharing your feelings and updating your teen on family situations that affect them.
That said, take care not to involve your child in situations that they don’t need to know about, or to overshare, as they may end up feeling responsible for the family’s wellbeing.
2. Keep it low-pressure
Open communication doesn’t have to mean an hour-long conversation once a week.
Keep it low-pressure. You might want to briefly check in on your teen every morning and evening, text them at times you know they may be struggling, and schedule more family time where important conversations may arise naturally.
3. Listen
It’s an obvious one, but active listening is a miracle worker when it comes to parent-teen dynamics. Remember to listen more than you talk, as the quiet moments are often the times teens are most likely to open up.
4. Validate
Whether your teen has an addiction or is witnessing one, keep validating their feelings throughout. It’s a confusing time, and they need to be reminded that it’s normal to experience a rollercoaster of emotions.
Go-to phrases could be “I hear you”, “that makes sense to me”, and “you’re allowed to feel that way”.
Supporting Teens Who Have an Addiction
Using the open communication methods we’ve discussed, you can address addiction issues with your teen in a controlled, compassionate way.
Prepare for them to be in denial, as this is a very common reaction to someone exposing an addiction issue. If this happens, stay consistent with your support, and keep reminding them that professional help is there for them.
If they’ve already accepted they are struggling, it’s about validating their feelings, organising professional help, and educating yourself.
Plenty of support is out there for teenagers with drug or alcohol addiction, such as:
? Drug or alcohol rehab
? Drug or alcohol detox
? Home detoxing
? Individual, group, and family therapy
? Counselling
? Outpatient addiction services
? Addiction charities
? Helplines
The best type of treatment depends on the severity of the addiction, mental health needs, availability, and more. Whichever option you go for, please remember that early intervention is key. The sooner your teen gets help, the lower their risk of relapse will be.
Supporting Teens Who are Witnessing Addiction
Teenagers whose family member is battling addiction also benefit from open communication. As a parent, your priority should be keeping tabs on your teen’s wellbeing and looking for any changes in behaviour that may suggest they’re struggling more than usual.
In terms of professional support, it’s recommended to look for a therapist who specialises in addiction within families. Counsellors can also be beneficial, as can support groups for the loved ones of drug or alcohol users.
Family therapy can be transformative for teens and the wider family. It gives everyone a chance to express their feelings, air their concerns, and better understand one another.
Teenagers in this situation often feel as though their life is unstable. Whilst you can’t avoid this, and the addiction is likely to significantly affect their home life, try to keep things familiar when you can. Whether it’s morning routines, meal times or dedicated family days, your teen will feel more grounded if they can rely on some familiarity in their life.
Helping Teens to Support Themselves
Family is everything, but teens also need to learn how to regulate their own emotions. It’s a skill that many adults were never taught, yet it’s life-changing.
Start by helping your teen with emotional literacy. Practise labelling your emotions together, and gauging where you can feel the emotion in your body, i.e., feeling anxiety in your chest. You could teach your teenager to do a full body scan once a day, checking for emotions and matching sensations in the body.
In terms of releasing these emotions, it looks different for everyone. Help your child to explore their options and figure out what makes them feel the safest and happiest. Some ideas are:
? Exercising
? Reading
? Listening to music
? Walking
? Journaling
? Talking to loved ones
? Making something (e.g., baking, crafting, painting)
? Practising mindfulness
Open communication can’t eradicate addiction from your family. It can, however, build trusting relationships, inspire healthy coping mechanisms, and boost your teen’s wellbeing.
Start by modelling this type of communication, and encouraging your teen to join you. It may not happen overnight, but gradually, you will realise just how powerful vulnerability and authenticity are for your family dynamics.
