Five ways of managing Mood Swings among Teenagers

Parenting&nbsp;isn’t an easy task. It is even more challenging&nbsp;if you have a teenager to manage.&nbsp;Kids are at a critical juncture of life in their teen years when their&nbsp;cognitive and&nbsp;emotional development&nbsp;do not go hand-in-hand and they experience a lot of&nbsp;hormonal changes, making it difficult for them to handle their mood.&nbsp;All these biological factors, along with their newfound sense of&nbsp;independence and individualism lead to frequent mood swings in teenagers.&nbsp;Their frequent&nbsp;emotional&nbsp;ups and downs may be difficult for you to handle&nbsp;as a parent. But the good news is&nbsp;that all of it will calm down as your child advances towards adolescence.&nbsp; A study featured in the journal&nbsp;Child Development&nbsp;observes that mood swings are most volatile in the initial years of adolescence. They&nbsp;stabilise&nbsp;as your teen grows older. However, the findings of this rather reassuring study&nbsp;don’t&nbsp;make&nbsp;life&nbsp;easier for parents&nbsp;who have to put up with the mood bouts of their kids&nbsp;on a regular basis. Here are some practical tips for you to help your child&nbsp;cope with her&nbsp;emotional&nbsp;ups and downs.&nbsp;&nbsp; Allow them some space&nbsp;&nbsp; Sometimes all we need to set our mood right is a break from our surroundings, a little bit of time with the self. While it is&nbsp;natural for you to be anxious about the sudden outburst of emotions, give your teenager some privacy to cray alone or lash out his anger. Do not intrude into his space when he needs time.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Discuss about it&nbsp; After your child calms down, initiate a conversation with him&nbsp;about&nbsp;her mood swings.&nbsp;&nbsp;Encourage&nbsp;her&nbsp;to identify&nbsp;the triggers behind&nbsp;her emotions.&nbsp;Once&nbsp;the reason is identified, it will be easier for your teenager to&nbsp;cope&nbsp;better. However,&nbsp;if&nbsp;she&nbsp;is unable to figure out the cause behind&nbsp;her sadness or anger, let her know that it’s okay to feel&nbsp;so and she will be able to overcome it with time.&nbsp;Also, you need to assure her that you are there for her, come what may.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Don’t be&nbsp;judgemental&nbsp;&nbsp; While discussing with your teenager about his mood bouts, make sure that you stay neutral. This may intimidate him closing the lines of future communication. For example, if your son shares that he had a spat with a friend and you think he was at fault, hold yourself from blurting it out. Instead, advise him to think through the whole issue sort it out through a mature conversation. Remember, your teenager doesn’t always expect solutions from you. He may simply need you to hear him out.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Help with coping mechanisms&nbsp; The ability to cope with one’s own emotions isn’t easy for adults and it is all the more challenging for teenagers. You need to help her with coping mechanisms. Working out, maintaining a journal,&nbsp;practising&nbsp;deep breathing exercises, spending time with pets and pursuing a hobby are some effective ways of uplifting mood.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Consider therapy&nbsp; In some cases, a frequent outburst of emotions signals an underlying mental health condition. The warning signs include self-abortive&nbsp;behaviour, lack of sleep, and withdrawal from the surrounding. If you find any of these symptoms then your teenager may be experiencing something more than a developmental phase. Consider taking professional help from a reliable therapist under such circumstances.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Various biological and psychological factors trigger frequent emotional fallouts in teenagers. 

5 practical ways to help your teen manage mood swings

Various biological and psychological factors trigger frequent emotional fallouts in teenagers. Read on to know how you can help your child.

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