Teenagers and Moodiness: How You Can Help
We get a lot of questions and messages here at SAM-e.com, and though we’d love to be able to answer them all with a personal touch, the influx is sometimes pretty high. I’m sorry if I haven’t been able to answer your question directly, but don’t fret, we’re working as much as we can to address the questions you send in with our updated F.A.Q. For now, though, one of the questions we keep hearing is: “Can my teenager take SAM-e? He/she is moody all the time!”
Well, the short answer to that question is:
Of course your teenager is moody: he/she is a teenager.
Life can be tough. It can sometimes be even tougher if you are 15 or 16 years old and everything seems to get under your skin. Nothing feels right and no one understands you. As parents, all you might see is a turbulent kid who sleeps all weekend and can’t get to school on time. This phase will pass, though—it’s called puberty, and your teen’s hormones are doing things to her brain that might be difficult to comprehend.
As you try to help them, consider these other natural ways that you can help put your teen in a better mood. Just have patience, though, and remember: you were not always a happy camper when you were their age, either.
• Listen – Teens can be tough eggs to crack, but don’t feel like you have to pry into their lives to find out what is troubling them. If you make yourself available for conversations and are a good listener, they will likely open up to you more easily than if you go digging for answers. Keep the conversations light—if your teen feels judged by you, they are more likely to clam up and not respond.
• Let Them Sleep – Growing up takes a lot of energy. That’s why your teen eats like a bottomless pit, and why they seem to be always sleeping or tired. According to this article on WebMD, though, letting them sleep might do a lot for their good mood. It might help to boost their self-esteem, too.
• Embrace Them – Sure, hugs are always helpful to comfort your ornery teen, but just finding ways to identify with them rather than battle them is a great step. Even if they reject you, don’t reject them back. Find what is driving them up a wall and help out by identifying with them rather than grounding them for their bad attitudes. For more on this, see YourTeenager.co.uk’s article on Dealing With Moodiness.
• Be a Good Example – Don’t forget that you are the parent, so you set the rules. That also means that you can’t use the old “do as I say, and not as I do” excuse with your teens. Your teen is probably paying closer attention to you than you might think, so don’t forget to show them that you turned out all right. This tip and others on How to 'Be There' for your Teen can also be found at the Center for Young Women’s Health.
Above all, don’t forget that you were a teenager once, but things have changed a lot since you were. Maybe by learning about what your teen is into, you might be able to find common ground and open those lines of communication. These tips are just a starting point, though, so I’d love to hear how you help your teen manage his or her moodiness in the comments.
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