The Peak Deal

“Never has he disobeyed me!”, said the parent, “Now he also rebels against most of my decisions”. Yes, things have changed, the emotional relation is disrupted. Te seventeen year old boy has new interests. He has a diferent set of friends. And most of his friends seem to have low self esteem and are unnecessarily argumentative. Tey wish to discard most of the social norms. Tese set of boys and girls want to be with their own clique. Tey tell the pusher “I want more, can you arrange”? Teir seventeen year old does not wish to bring home his friends. Well, may be these teenagers are limited by generation gaps. But, then parents should be wary of the behavioural disorders and mood swings in teenage children.

- Vinod Menon

Many teenagers simply want to grow up fast into adulthood. And then it’s mostly about machismo. They want to experience power over and above their own mental experiences. They need an escape from low esteem and failures. The teenagers seek help from their peers. And peers inside the classroom link them to the pushers. Yes, the pusher is the professional who makes a living by selling narcotic drugs. Beware! The pusher is very competent at his job. He ensures that his customers are soon addicted to the use of his drugs. Legality cannot stop this menace. A teenager begins as a user, without realising the criminality. The user is not aware of the illegitimacy of drug abuse. Yet, experiences severe guilt in the first few fixes. Later on, the user will go to any extent to procure the next fix. The user is now, an addict, and can even graduate to becoming a criminal. Does your son or daughter seem to want to spend much time away from you? Are they enjoying being lonely and cut of from academic activity? Look for tell-tale signs in their mannerisms. Identify the smell of cigarettes, lighter and other tools which they are likely to use to get the next fix.

Addiction to pornography, total negligence to personal hygiene, reluctance to wash dishes, to launder their clothes are also indicators. Sudden weight loss and reluctance to eat well, can also be clues to the behaviour of an addict to psychedelic drugs.

The teenager addicts develop good skills to hide their addictions. They are capable of telling lies without batting an eyelid. For parents, the warning is clear. If you have discovered that your teenager has too many parties and sleepovers and pyjama parties, then begin your investigation.