Adolescence arrives like an avalanche. Mental health risk factors for the adolescents are many. A hundred mad trains run in the mind of an adolescent simultaneously. An adolescent belongs to the combustible younger generation. Suddenly, he finds that he has to face many problems related to his health and sex urge. The problems could be mind-related or body-related. Some of them are, abuse, adolescent development, alcohol and drug addiction, Attention Deficit –Hyperactivity Disorder, autism, Bipolar Disorder(Manic Depression), Conduct disorders,
Depression, eating disorders, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, retardation, sexual abuse, suicidal tendencies, lack of support etc. Adolescence is defined thus: “The period of physical and psychological development from the onset of puberty to maturity. ” Erik Erikson identifies eight developmental stages through which a healthy developing human should pass from infancy to late adulthood. He agrees with Freud’s theory on many counts but is not deterred to take pots shots at him, in the areas where he has different views.
Hunter, Figueredo, Malamuth, and Becker (2003), observed that youth who sexually offend against prepubescent children display greater deficits in psychosocial functioning than those who victimize pubescent females. The offenders can be categorized thus; adolescents who commit sexual offences and those who are aggressive in non –sexual types. The former types have more negative self cognition than the later group. The non-sexual offenders nevertheless have some serious grudge against the society, and surroundings in which they grew.
The economic conditions also play a very prominent role with such adolescents. In some of the adolescents, the sexual aggression is not the dominant feature of their personality. They just got an opportunity, or coaxed and tempted by the opposite sex to behave thus. This single act later became the habit and the adolescent begins to explore the avenues sexual gratification. Then follow the short term and long term consequences of the regressive acts! . Sexual abuses by the adolescent or against the adolescents are prevalent in every society.
Adolescents are used for the sexual pleasure, which involves all types of perverted acts. This is done with or without the consent of the abused adolescent. The worst part of the situation is that such offences are committed by people closely related to the victims. Apart from the physical damage, the psychological consequences of the sexual abuse are shattering and at times, it could be a suffering of the lifetime. This untold abuse at the physical and psychological levels, in extreme cases, may result in death. Adolescence is the most critical period in one’s life. Identity crisis is the main issue.
Parents too are affected due to the suffering of the adolescent and it has been researched that suicide is the second leading cause of death between the age group 15 to 19 years. Chances of negativities sprouting are more. The clash between security and insecurity, the perspective of purpose and goal, the methods to achieve them, all these bother a lot. The shift is from parental support for advice to peer group. It is during this period when some of the adolescents take to wrong ways of life such as consumption of alcohol, drug addition, mob mentality, rash actions etc.
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Adolescence is a major problem all over the word. But mostly it is confined to the urban areas. The modern materialistic civilization creates such situations for them in life and their unstable state of mind leads them to the threshold of immature acts. Suicides again! Some do it quietly and some indulge in violent activities before ending their own lives. Lack of attention and neglect by the parents/guardians is the important cause of suicides among the adolescents. At the thirteenth year, a girl adolescent undergoes various biological changes in her body.
Mental stresses develop. She realizes she is no more a child. She is being checked by the parents often. She finds it difficult to understand why she is being crosschecked and cross examined. She feels her freedom is totally robbed. For the boy adolescents also, the pressure is even. More social responsibilities, and high expectations of the parents for achieving in life, cause them stress. The responsibility of the parents does not end with providing sufficient pocket money to their children. The working parents have the added responsibility.
Their absence from home for long hours provides ample opportunity to the adolescents to be involved in their mischievous ways. Talking about suicide and death is commonplace. Depression, dislike for friends and relatives, drug-addiction, uncontrollable anger, dislike for possessions that were the most prized once becomes order of the day. The reasons could be one or more. A family divorce, abrupt breakup of a relationship, serious problem with the teacher or senior students, death of a closed one in such situations etc. Medication is not going to work. Professional counseling is urgently required in such circumstances.
This is the stage when most of the adolescents wish to declare independence. The talk about the generation gap assumes much importance here. The adolescent has his own views, about his life and career. He is physically matured. The sex role and the occupational details bother him The period between ages 11-18 years is broadly the period of adolescence. It is the period of resolutions and many times disappointments. The areas of disappointments could be many. Mainly, they concern love and career. Tremors related to love make the heart never the same for ever.
One develops many high-pitched ambitions, and when they stand the test of practicability and one is unable to accomplish them, disappointments creep in. The adolescent tries to find desperate remedies for desperate situations in life. This is also a time, when you take mindless decisions that cause deep frustrations. “Every adult, whether he is a follower or a leader, a member of a mass or of elite, was once a child. He was once small. A sense of smallness forms a substratum in his mind, ineradicably. His triumphs will be measured against this smallness, his defeats will substantiate it.
The questions as to who is bigger and who can do or not do this or that, and to whom—these questions fill the adult’s inner life far beyond the necessities and the desirability which he understands and for which he plans. ” – Erik H. Erikson (1904–1994), U. S. psychoanalyst. Childhood and Society, ch. 11 (1950). Crisis of adolescence is the most difficult one to tackle. However, the different stages of life are not like water-tight compartments. The type of identity the adolescent is seeking is entirely different from the one that an individual seeks in the later stages in life.
But if one has tackled the early age problems successfully, the challenges of the later stages of life will be commonplace. “Growth consists of a series of challenges…. Each successive step is a potential crisis because of a radical change in perspective…. Different capacities use different opportunities to become full-grown components of the ever-new configuration that is the growing personality. ” Erik Erikson, Identity and the Life Cycle, 1910. Be at any stage of life, more particularly so, in the prevailing conditions around, the social disposition matters a lot in the growth factor of an individual, during adolescence.
The impact of the difficulties varies from stages to stage, as per the capacity of the individual to understand and face such problems. This is the formative stage of life and vulnerability matters most. The experience of the previous stage, the lessons that one has learnt, is the foundation stone for the future challenges. The shift goes from parental support for advice to peer group. It is during this period when some of the adolescents take to wrong ways of life such as consumption of alcohol and drug addition. They develop mob mentality and do rash actins etc. Adolescence is a major problem all over the world.
But mostly it is confined to the urban areas. The modern materialistic civilization creates such situations for them in life and their unstable state of mind leads to the threshold of immature acts. Suicides again! Some do it quietly and some indulge in violent activities before ending own lives. Lack of attention and neglect by he parents/guardians is the important cause of suicides among the adolescents. At the thirteenth year, a girl adolescent undergoes various biological changes in her body. Mental stresses develop. She realizes she is no more a child. She is being checked by the parents now.
She finds it difficult to understand why she is being crosschecked and cross examined. She feels her freedom is totally robbed. For the boy adolescents, the pressure is not less. More social responsibilities, and high expectations of the parents for achieving in life, cause them stress. The responsibility of the parents does not end with providing sufficient pocket money to their children. The working parents have the added responsibility. Their absence from home for long hours provides ample opportunity to the adolescents to be involved in their mischievous ways. Talking about suicide and death is commonplace.
Depression, dislike for friends and relatives, drug-addiction, uncontrollable anger, dislike for possessions that were the most prized once becomes common. The reasons could be one or more. A family divorce, abrupt breakup of a relationship, serious problem with the teacher or senior students, death of a closed one etc. In such situations, medication is not going to work. Professional counseling is urgently required. This is the period when most of the adolescents wish to declare their independence. The talk about the generation gap assumes much importance. The adolescent has his own views, about his life and career.
He is physically matured. The sex role and the occupational aspects occupy the centre stage. Conclusion: Every action, good or bad has the reaction and the intensity of the reaction is in proportion to the intensity of the action. Over this issue, there is no dispute between the spiritualists and the scientists. One of the rare agreement between the two contending forces; the two opposing forces that normally so not see eye with each other! If the adolescent were lucky enough to get the real dose of spirituality at the young age, most of their health and sexual problems would not have been there.
Many have a wrong notion that practice of spirituality is an after-retirement project, a succor for old age. This is a wrong notion. One serious wrong step, the adolescent has to suffer damage to his physical and mental health, and many times it is life long damage. If the parents are wise enough to detect the problem of the adolescent early enough, adequate treatment and follow up action can be taken. Proper evaluation of the improper relationship should be done immediately and any laxity on this part may result in serious repercussions. Pediatricians will be able to identify the symptoms of sexually abused adolescents.
Proper treatment should be given to such persons. Psychological aspects also need to be carefully analyzed and taken care of. Adequate legal knowledge and the social security benefits available to the adolescent to tackle such problems may be availed of. The brave adolescents are a treat to watch and to deal with. They are the combustible younger generation considered to be the future of any country. My friend’s son is one of them. When we talk and discuss about various issues, the father would say, “Life is to be lived n its trials, tribulations, its duty and its beauty”.
The son is one step ahead and he will add with fervor, something more brave and imaginative. “Having gone for the sea-bath, don’t be afraid of the oncoming waves. If he waves, are powerful, duck them, if the waves are friendly, dance with them. When the waves are normal, go on swimming, until the destination is reached. ” Such inspirational citations, are a wonderful ‘medicine’ for the ailing mind of the adolescent. The adolescents need to be trained by the parents both for responsibility and accountability. They need not be rebuked for their wrong decisions. But the reckless decisions must be certainly admonished. What is theory after all?
It is other man’s experience. So, the theory of the adolescents is the experience of their parents and elders. Adolescents instead of committing mistakes can learn from the mistakes their parents once committed. Recollection of the past, whether sweet or sour, is a good exercise, when the present states of affairs are sound. In retrospect, I have developed a philosophical attitude towards life. Over all, rights things happened at the right time, and I have no regrets for anything. In childhood, I enjoyed good health, and the parents took care of my diet, to the extent they could. Economic constraints were there but no love constraints!
Father was a strict individual, mother too was a disciplinarian, but the element of love was always present. Educational guidance was not their concern, they were not highly educated, could read and write, but in the College of Self-Education, both were masters. They were worldly wise. Our School was known for some of the strict discipline-maintaining teachers. The teachers were willing to teach, and the students were willing to learn. It is due to this reason, that the School produced some of the brilliant among brilliant students! The mutual love between the students was good and intimate. Trustworthy!
Right from childhood rituals and religion played the dominant role in molding my personality. Now, it is all spirituality in the real sense. This real transformation initiated by the Perfect Master, has changed my thought process. And as the wise saying goes, ‘When the thoughts are changed, the mind is changed; when the mind is changed, the man is changed; when the man is changed, the society is changed; and when the society changes for the better, we say that there is plenty and prosperity in the country! ’ The writing skills noticed by many when I was young, are paying dividends now. Future perspective:
Technologically, the world is fast changing. Technological advancement has a direct impact on human life, especially that of adolescents. Innovative gadgets arrive in the market, to make his life more comfortable as well as more complicated. When we were young, ‘small was beautiful. ’ Even now, small is beautiful. Good old days seem to be far better. The materialistic world of cutthroat competition has created many a problems for the present day adolescents. The aim of the essay: The picture of an adolescent destroyed and without proper destination in life, is the most pathetic sight and experience for the parents to bear!
Such an adolescent instead of being an asset to the family and the country, becomes the liability. The aim of this essay is to make the adolescent aware of the pitfalls of adolescence. The wise saying goes,” If wealth is lost, nothing is lost, if health is lost, something is lost, and if character is lost, everything is lost. ” What if an adolescent were to lose all of these- wealth, health and character together? It is the total ruin for the adolescent. In brief, the aim of this essay is to give the adolescent, not what he wants, but what he needs! Awareness about his health, morals and moral courage!