Troubled Teens Are Usually Aggressive
One possible outcome of a troubled teen heading the wrong direction manifests itself through increased physical aggression toward parent's sibling's, and fights at school. It is rare but a definite red flag when a teen takes his aggression out on a teacher, or another student at school. This type of aggression usually ends up in the legal system with the troubled teen facing legal charges, fines, and expulsion from school.
Teens today are frustrated and confused and many lack direction. This may be due in part to the family's lack of a cohesive set of common goals. Some family's are all on the same page as to what is expected of each member. In other words what is acceptable and what is not. Parents need to be bound by a set of ethics that they actually abide by. If a teen knows what is expected of him and the family works together on a common set of goals it may partially reduce some of the frustration and anger he feels. This is difficult when both parents work, or there are issues with divorce and mixed families.
One step below physical aggression is verbal aggression. This can be as intimidating and frightening as physical aggression. It can also bring legal charges, and lost time in school. The angry troubled teen is looking for help but can not find anyone that can relate to the anger that he is experiencing. It is very difficult to get a teen to express what he or she is really feeling. It may require helping them sort through the feelings they are experiencing, they may not really know what is bothering them. This is best established by a trained Therapist or Psychologist, but it requires a willing teen. The willing teen can be the most difficult part of the equation. If he or she will not participate with those trying to help it is useless to proceed. Until they feel comfortable enough to talk to you or whoever you hire, they will not open up.
Similar to defiance is a troubled teen that refuses to obey rules. They usually test the water with defiance to home rules. This is a challenge that if not checked at home will move on to the school. The troubled teen may even have good examples at home of parents that both obey all rules and laws in their lives. A child that has trouble obeying simple rules will obviously not make it very far in life. In today's society someone who fails to see the importance of obeying simple rules is not going to be very successful. We are not saying that it is important to teach children to learn to blindly obey orders from others. It is important for children to learn the proper way to challenge authority and how and when to pick their battles.
Uncontrollable Anger
Most troubled teens display fits of anger and sudden outbursts from time to time. There is another level of anger that will probably require medical attention. When a teen begins to exhibit uncontrollable anger he may have a serious diagnosis requiring therapy and medication. The problem with uncontrollable anger is the aftermath it can leave in its wake. It is almost like the teen loses consciousness when he goes into a rage. He may even suffer from lack of memory after he calms down.
Like any teen problem there are hundreds of different variables associated with anger. Just as everyone is different so is the way they process their disappointments and rejections. Even two siblings from the same parents will display anger in different ways. There is a danger of diagnosing a teen with uncontrollable anger when in reality they are able to control their anger but simply refuse to do so.
There are parents that have video taped an outburst from their teen to show to a professional. This takes the interpretation out of the equation and gives the professional a first hand look at the behavior. Medication may or may not help. The side effects of medication also need to be weighed as a possible remedy for an angry teen. It may be that the side effects are worse than the actual anger problem.