Why Teens Run Away

What kind of complication drives a teenager to run away from home? When a person is in their teen years it is difficult to have complete control over emotions. Dangerous decisions are made as a result from the lack of control. There are many actions teens make to cope with their issues. The majority of adolescents turn to running away as their only option to distance themselves from difficult home environments, seek independence, or suffer from depression. First of all, arguing parents can make a home environment scary and difficult to endure. Teens usually cannot tolerate when their parents argue especially when the parents take out their anger on the children. One way that parents are triggered into abusive roles may be from the death of a spouse or family member. For example, a teenager looses a mother and they are left in the care of the father or stepfather. In this instance the father may not know how to channel their grief so they resort to abuse. Transferring that kind of negativity to the teen is more than a serious enough reason to make them want to run away from home. Secondly, many adolescents today believe that they have life all figured out. It is normal for teenagers to feel this way especially when they have more responsibilities, jobs, and boyfriends or girlfriends. Teens see independency as freedom into a new and exciting life that does not revolve around mom and dad. For instance, responsibilities that teenagers have range from room cleaning to yard work. When these chores are neglected a punishment is usually a result. The teen then feels belittled and this becomes a “wash rinse and repeat” scenario. Then when the adolescent is vexed enough they decide a life on their own is their easiest solution. Lastly, depression is a severe mental condition that can make someone feel hopeless and inadequate. Teenagers are susceptible to some form of depression and greatly affect their actions. Someone does not have to be in a difficult situation in order to be depressed. To exemplify, there are teens that are well-mannered, go to school everyday, and do everything their parents tell them to do. Even though they find themselves in a drained and lonely state of emotion. Since there are no signs of being troubled and if the teen does not speak out, in time the negative emotion would build up until the depression determines the actions they make. From the lonesome feeling running away may be the first option that comes to mind. In conclusion, the majority of adolescents turn to running away as their only option to distance themselves from difficult home environments, seek independence, or to deal with depression. Teenagers that do run away learn that the streets are no better than their previous situation. There is always an alternate solution whether it is talking to family members, friends, or the police.