Adolescent Anger
Adolescent anger is a disorder when it becomes destructive either to the adolescent or to those around. In a rapidly changing world (which is the world of the adolescent as they move towards adulthood) it is inevitable that there will be times of conflict between the adolescent’s demands and expectations and those who represent authority, and also confusion arising in the adolescent himself as a result of changing mental approaches: children think in a concrete fashion, while adults use a cognitive and analytical approach. The transition from one to the other can cause difficulties, and the hormonal changes that occur at puberty can induce uncertainties which may be difficult to deal with. This is a time when the adolescent needs to be reassured that these, though difficult, are not abnormal - and neither are they. Rejection and reciprocal anger are unhelpful (though God knows it can be difficult at times). A wise and experienced paediatrician once said that when someone discovered how to manage adolescence without trauma (either to the adolescent or parent) then perhaps they could let the rest of us know.
When the anger becomes self-destructive, manifesting itself in periods of self-harm, then psychological support may be of benefit. Frequent unexplained outbursts of anger may be a result of substance abuse, or a manifestation of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (see Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in this section).
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