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think2create
04-22-2007, 11:41 AM
This past year, our 15 year old daughter started smoking cigarettes, then drinking alcohol, then smoking pot, tried cocaine once and took prescription pills to get high. She was extremely moody. We didn't know what to do except ground her for life.

She ended up in ER one night recently from overdosing on over the counter and prescription drugs. We put her butt in adolescent behavioral health inpatient program, there she stayed one full week. Now she is in the intensive outpatient program and after that continuing care. She has gone to a NA and an AA meeting. I was making an extreme difference.

She is suppose to stay away from her using friends, but since she is having trouble with meeting the right kind of friends and gets depressed sitting at home not having any friends, we finally let her go out after 54 days of sobriety. She chose to go out on April 20th. Her father and I did not know anything about this date being National Pot day. She chose to go out with a couple of her user friends. We were worried, concerned, but needed to let her see for herself that she shouldn't just settle with these friends. We thought okay, she gets drug tested, so she is not going to use and these friends will think she is boring and won't want to hang with her; or that she would use and we could use that to restrict her from these friends. Well, we drug tested the next day, it was negative but by her behavior and the look on her face, we knew something was up. So, my husband told her it was positive and asked her to tell us what she tested positive for; that we wanted to hear it from here own mouth. She came clean and said she only took one hit from her friend's bong. We were mostly dissapointed that she kept lying about the whole thing.

How do I keep her from being isolated and depressed because she has no real good friends? She won't join anything or do sports. She is being treated for mood swings and depression. I feel so bad for here and want to help but I don't know how.

Any advise???

Mike Bradley
05-05-2007, 02:50 PM
Dear Think,
First of all, keep focused upon the wonderful gains you've made with your daughter. All in all, it sounds as if you guys are doing great.
A key at this point might be getting her into activities where she can meet more positive kids. Look into clubs, activities or volunteer programs (i.e. community service groups). Since she resists, "bribe" her by offering to pay her as if these were a part-time job where she can earn what she wants in the world by doing this "work."
Beyond all else, tell her over and over how incredibly proud you are of the efforts she's made. DO NOT focus upon her one "fall" but rather keep the conversations on all of the things that she's done right.
Keep us posted.