My adolescent son: is he behaving pathological or is it normal?

It is possible that from time to time you think that your adolescent’s behavior is not normal and you may even think that he is bordering on the pathological … but, is it really something pathological or is he behaving in a normal way according to his age and developing? If your teenager is having problems, you may hear the term “pathology” and freak out. This can be confusing when used by medical or mental health professionals.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT “PATHOLOGICAL”

Medical health professionals use the term pathology to discover mental illness and other abnormal conditions to understand the causes or consequences of a behavior. By developing an accurate diagnosis for a teenager displaying strange behavior or hallucinations, a psychiatrist specializing in adolescents can speak in terms of brain pathology, which means that the doctor is looking for possible brain diseases that could be causing this condition.

Among mental health professionals who have no medical history, the term pathology is often used to refer to any variation in normal or healthy functioning, which can range from mild to extreme. In this usage, the term pathological refers to abnormal or non-typical behavior or thinking, caused by mental or physical illness. A therapist might describe an adolescent’s anger problems this way: “He has reasons to be angry, but your anger is pathological to the extent that you hurt other people because you cannot control it.”

WHAT IS PATHOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR IN A TEENAGER?

Truly pathological behavior in adolescents is abnormal behavior that actually affects the adolescent’s ability to function. In other words, throwing a tantrum is not pathological behavior unless it results in self-harm, hospitalization, expulsion from school, or other major consequences. In fact, teens who never have tantrums, never question authority, and never go outside the box are extremely rare, because typical teen behavior includes rebelling.

Behavior that is pathological has some signs to be able to recognize it in time:

• • Your child hurts himself or others constantly

• • Your child does not mind breaking the property of others, steals or hurts

• • Have an eating disorder (lose or gain a lot of weight quickly)

• • Abuses alcohol and drugs

• • Has risky or illegal behavior

• Lies compulsively

If you see behaviors like those described above in your child, you need to take action as soon as possible. You can begin to verify the impressions with other adults in your life and that way you are sure that it really is a normal behavior or if on the contrary, you should speak with a professional about the subject. If other people together with you think that your adolescent is having a behavior that borders on the pathological and that he needs professional help, it will be necessary to take action as soon as possible.

In some cases, pathological behavior in an adolescent is caused by biological changes: from a head injury to a mental illness or an illness that can lead to such behavior . In other cases, the pathological behavior may be the result of environmental stress, abuse, or anxiety. In many cases, once you understand the causes of the problem, you can begin to change the situation or provide medical intervention to help change behaviors.

In this sense, it is very important to work from when the children are young on good communication between parents and children, so that trust is an essential pillar in the relationship. In this way, if your child feels that he has some kind of problem, he will be able to comment on it as sincerely as possible, something essential to seek help as quickly as possible.