Does your child know about your addiction? Although you may not have formally talked to your child about your drug addiction or alcoholism, depending on your child's age, there's a good chance they already recognize there's a problem (Children See the Truth No Matter What We Say). If that's the case, you may be thinking, "How do I talk to my child about my addiction?"

Despite considerable effort by parents, professionals, and others to reduce stigma and enhance understanding of teen mental health issues, a troubling amount of misinformation remains (Youth And Mental Illness Stigma). This post is one humble attempt to dispel four unfortunately common stigmas about teens and their mental health.

Experiencing any type of trauma will inevitably leave a lasting impact on a person’s life. When children and adolescents experience a traumatic event, it can impact various stages of their development. Because of their young age and lack of life experience, children often do not possess the appropriate coping skills needed to deal with trauma in a healthy way. (3 Key Things to Prepare Children to Deal with Traumatic Events) For this reason, receiving treatment can be extremely beneficial in helping youth overcome the symptoms that may arise as a result of traumatic experiences. But the thought of seeking treatment for your child after he or she went through a traumatic experience can be intimidating because you know that he or she will inevitably have to talk about all of the things that happened to him or her. You may wonder if rehashing the events themselves will ultimately cause your child to feel more pain, leaving you to question whether or not it would be better to just let time heal the wounds.

The teenage years are never easy, but when you have a teen who is demonstrating a number of behavioral problems, being a parent during this time can be even more difficult. Having a teenager who is violent, engages in reckless behavior, or uses drugs and/or alcohol can leave you feeling at a loss for what you can do to correct these deviant behaviors. You may have many sleepless nights where you lay awake wondering what trouble your child is going to get into next, worrying that he or she may severely hurt him or herself, and trying to think of anything you can do that might help the situation.