| "I need help!" | |
You are in crisis! Someone or something in your life is not right and you want help. But where can you go? Who can you turn to?
It is the biggest barrier to teens in crisis who decide to seek help - not being sure where to turn or what to expect. The reality is that
your own fears often keep you from turning to the people who can help you most. It is very humbling to ask for help, it is very
difficult to turn to somebody when you know that they won't like what you are saying. But if you feel like you need help, if
you are ready to reach out to others, you need to let go of your fears. You need to reach out because it will save you in the end
AND because it is the right thing to do. No matter what your crisis, be it school yard harassment, domsetic abuse, drugs or alcohol,
feelings of suicide, thoughts of harming others or involvement in criminal activities, there are places you can turn for help.
YOUR PARENTS - It is a popular myth of teen life that parents can't or won't understand
the pressures you are under and the difficult choices you face. This myth has persisted since "teenager" became a part of
North American pop culture after World War Two. It has always been the misuderstood teen with a heart of gold up against the
establishment known as "parents". This myth has persisted to the point that it makes teens consider parents the very last place
they can go for help when in fact, parents are your safest and most reliable bet. A degree of guilt feeds the idea that parents
do not make reliable confidants. Teens in crisis who want help often feel guilty about letting down their parents or about admitting
to them what it is that they have been doing (and most likely hiding). Between guilt and fear teens have a great emotional barrier to
get past when turning to their parents for help. But your parents (unless of course the problem is a family problem) are the
people who are going to be most willing and able to help you when you sincerely reach out to them. Although parents do have
nightmares about what might happen to their babies when they become teens, just because you are certain you have been living their
nightmare is no reason not to turn to them. The parents who fear for you in this manner are exactly the sort of parents who would
want to help you out. Don't let feelings that you will let them down stop you from getting their help. It may mean putting up
with an expression of their outrage or disappointment, but in the end, 99.9% of the time your parents will come through for you.
They may be upset, but they won't leave you hanging. If in crisis (any crisis that does not include your parents) turning to your parents is the best life line you have.
YOUR GRANDPARENTS - It is a sad fact of life that some people aren't fit to be parents. Families
fall apart and teens often can get caught in the cracks. If there is abuse or neglect in your family it is obvious that you can't
turn to your parents. You can't go to them if they are, in part or in whole, the core of your problems. But that doesn't mean
you don't have other options. Grandparents love you as much as parents and they have the luxury of being able to seperate what
you may be involved in from that love.
OTHER ADULT FAMILY MEMBERS -
SCHOOL OFFICIALS -
ANONYMOUS HELP LINES -
PSYCIATRIC PROFESSIONALS -
MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS -
ADVOCACY GROUPS -
SUPPORT GROUPS -
FAMILY OR YOUTH JUSTICE WORKERS -
POLICE -
Bottom line if anything is going to be done to change statistics like these, an honest dialogue is going to have to be entered
into by both sides. Teens will have to tell it like it is and adults will have to listen. Adults will have to be brutally
honest about choices and consequences and stand behind their warnings with action. The truth is
that both sides have to work toward change and the only way this is going to happen is if they listen to each other!
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