by: Wendy Rogers
Help for troubled teens in San Diego (including Carlsbad, El Cajon, La Mesa, La Jolla, San Marcos, and Chula Vista) is not far way. When a parent begins to see changes in their once precious child, they may ask themselves if those changes are due to the negative influence of his or her peers, the media, or possible drug use. When it comes to drug use many parents from El Cajon have no clue as to why their troubled teenager is acting out. But help for parents of troubled teenagers in Oceanside can be found at Abundant Life Academy. While it may be difficult to pinpoint where or why the negative changes have occurred, but it is obvious to the parents from La Jolla that they have a troubled boy or girl in need of help.
Teenagers in Carlsbad need to connect with a group, even a sub-cultural group, even if it means that they compromise their own values and beliefs. Troubled teenagers in El Cajon join sub-cultural associations, or connections to a group of peers that rebel against the culture of adults (sometimes referred to as the sub-culture), making the sub-culture the most important thing in their life. The sub-culture provides what the family once provided (sense of belonging). It is the need to belong, even if it means they belong to a sub-culture causing the troubled teen to “act out”. This happens in San Diego all the time, with dozens and dozens of sub-culture groups of troubled youth.
A San Diego sub-culture is a group of troubled teenagers believe they are “cool” and totally different (separate from the adult world), when in reality their group is based on “conformity”. Their intentions of being non-conformists lead them to conform to their own set of values within the new conforming group. What they don’t realize is that they must conform to the sub-culture in order to belong, and the belonging is based on the conformity, even when they are rebelling by being non-conformist to the larger culture. Thus, the reason it is called a sub-culture.
In San Diego, when a group of troubled boys or girls begin to participate in destructive activity, each individual teen may feel guilty. San Diego teens sub-culture by joining a group of “skaters”, “Emo’s” or “surfers”. These kids may dress differently, adopt their own language and icons, but the truth is that they are really conforming to a rigid set of rules created by the sub-culture, and they are in an illusion of non-conformity. These sub-culture groups usually get into drug use and other forms of illegal rebellious activities. They often come to the place where their behavior is in direct violation with the values of their family and their upbringing. They feel guilty. One way of dealing with the guilt is to begin the process of withdrawing from the family, even blaming his/her family for feeling guilty. They will find themselves doing whatever they need to do in order to stay within the sub-culture even if they must lie, sneak out, or come to ultimate stalemate displaying the “I don’t care” attitude. Most of the time these troubled teens in San Diego know in their hearts that what they are doing is wrong.
Parents from San Diego find Teen Challenge as the answer to stopping the out of control behavior of their troubled child. ALA has successfully helped parents and troubled teens from San Diego since December 2000. For immediate enrollment contact Teen Challenge at 888-494-9077.
Carlsbad, Del Mar, Escondido, Lemon Grove, Poway, Santee, Chula Vista, El Cajon, Imperial Beach, National City, Solona Beach, Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Coronado, Encinitas, La Mesa, Oceanside, San Marcos, Vista
To be continued…