Help Your Teenager Handle Anger

Anger is a natural human emotion that your teen will experience as they grow up. There is nothing wrong with it as a fitting response or an expression of disappointment, hurt, sadness, or helplessness. However, if your teen is just letting the sparks fly with no good reason and losing control much of the time, these can be inappropriate expressions that deserve a second look. It is important to pay attention. Intense and frequent outbursts can be your adolescent child’s way of shouting, “Help!”

Dissecting Normal Teen Anger

Your teen child may behave and talk like an adult, but they don’t have the brain functions of a grownup. Their brains are still developing until they are in their mid-20s. They perceive things in a different light, and they may resort to anger as a defensive reaction to emotions or thoughts they don’t understand. Like small children, they may release their emotions onto other people around them, engaging in yelling and shouting matches with you or their siblings. Because teenagers’ thinking is immature, arguing with them can be a futile and stressful activity for you and them.

When Anger Deserves a Second Look

When your adolescent child’s outbursts happen often and they are prolonged, destructive, and illogical, it may not just be a case of immature thinking. Losing your cool and screaming back to stand up for yourself as a parent will not help your teenager. On top of the raging hormones, neural changes, and other social/familial factors, there may be deep-seated emotional issues confusing them. If so, your teenager will not just pass through this stage or learn to handle anger without help.

Finding and Providing the Right Help

A teenager who has difficulty handling anger, whether it is a passing stage or related to troubling emotional issues, deserves to be helped and learn how to prevent and address issues themselves for the future. It is important to remember that engaging in screaming or name-calling matches won’t help. Preventing adolescent children from making decisions and choices may not help them become independent and responsible adults either.

The above scenario often requires the expert assistance of a counselor independently contracted with  Carolina Counseling Services – Fuquay-Varina, NC. If you call and request an appointment, the counselor can help assess the source of your teenager’s anger and determine what will be of the most assistance. You can also work with the therapist to address your teen’s emotional issues and adjust your parenting style to better help them manage anger.

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