Teen Anger Issues

Normal Teen Anger

• Everyone gets angry when faced with unfair rules and treatment, or when frustrated with a difficult task or difficult people. Teens who begin to realize that sometimes life isn't fair will also have bouts of anger, frustration and depression and will need to learn how to cope with their anger and keep it under control. This is a skill that not all teens will master right away.

  Parents can help by being supportive listeners. They will also need to provide their teenagers with the tools necessary to control their anger. In particular, they need to help their teenager learn ways to calm down and think more positively. Using humor, breathing techniques, counting and other methods might be helpful. Avoiding getting into a power struggle every time an issue arises with their teenager will also be important.

Depression

• When a teenager has a depressive disorder, she will experience stronger than normal feelings of overwhelming sadness and may even have physical symptoms such as headaches, changes in appetite and insomnia. Extreme depression can also lead to irritability and anger, especially in adolescents.

  Parents will need to look out for depression in their teenagers. Symptoms like the ones previously listed may be present. Also, parents may notice that their child no longer hangs out with his usual friends or finds pleasure in the activities that he used to dislike. He may experience excessive fatigue, weight gain or loss, decreased energy and lower grades in school.

  When parents notice these signs of anger and depression, it is important to speak to the school counselor or the child's pediatrician and inform them of these concerns.

Mood and Behavior Disorders

• When conventional tactics to help control normal teen anger do not seem to be working, and parents notice that their teenager experiences rapid and extreme mood swings or defiance, they may want to consider bipolar disorder or oppositional defiant disorder as possible causes. These mood disorders can only be diagnosed by a medical professional, but parents can bring up their concerns during a doctor visit and have their adolescent tested if the moods are beginning to negatively affect their child's life.

  Bipolar disorder will manifest itself in adolescence as periods of high energy and euphoria punctuated by severe rage and depression. Although teenagers seem to experience more mood swings than either children or adults, the extreme mood swings of bipolar disorder are much worse, often leading to extremely risky and even illegal behavior as well as unrealistic feelings of invincibility.

  Oppositional defiant disorder is defined by excessive irritability, and often teens with ODD seem to seek out a fight, often arguing with adults and blaming others for their own behaviors. These teens will also engage in vindictive behaviors and deliberately annoy others.

Family Issues, Drugs and Other External Forces

• Excessive anger in teenagers can be caused by issues that the family is going through, such as divorce. In the case of a family crisis, teens need to understand that anger is a normal reaction. Parents will need to pay attention to their teen's feelings even as they struggle with their own, so that the anger does not spiral out of control.

  On the other hand, a teenager who is abusing drugs or alcohol will also exhibit excessive mood swings. Parents will need to have a heightened awareness of their child's behavior and know whom she is hanging out with. Make sure that there is adult supervision wherever she goes, and keep an eye out for any signs that she is drinking or doing drugs. Get professional help if necessary.