Your Teen Feels Alone (Eminem’s Talkin’ 2 Myself)
Your teen wants to know they’re not alone. They need to know this. They think they are, but they aren’t. If you take a moment to think about and understand what your teen is going through when they feel this way, you might realize that maybe you’d feel the same way. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t parent your teen with guidelines and high expectations, but it does mean that you should respect that they feel alone against the challenges they are facing.
Eminem’s Talkin’ 2 Myself
Is anybody out there?
It feels like I’m talkin to myself
No one seems to know my struggle
And everything I come from
Can anybody hear me?
I guess I keep talkin to myself
It feels like I’m going insane
Am I the one whose crazy?
To be an adult as Eminem clearly is and feel so lost in what he is going through that he can have someone sing this refrain in one of the most honest songs on the CD is profound for a teen who is listening actually, anyone who is listening. Your teen acts stronger than they are because no one wants to be seen as a wimp, but what this does is encourages your teen to lie about the way they feel and then forget that you do want to know what they’re feeling. There are others who have and are feeling the same way. They need to know that they are not alone.
You’re lying to yourself, you’re slowly dying, you’re denying
Your health is declining with your self esteem, you’re crying out for help
Instead they fake it. They see you fake it. They see others at school fake it. You know we didn’t have sex. Why are you lying to all your friends? They can’t put these things together. It makes them irritable and moody and they act out because their world is unsettled. I want to tell you how I feel, but you aren’t honest about what you are going through and you are my role model. I will not burden you with my worries and I will figure them out alone. Be there so they tell you. Listen so they keep telling you. Do something so they know you heard them don’t become paralyzed in your helplessness, let them see you ask others for help.
So why in the world do I feel so alone
Nobody but me, I’m on my own
Is there anyone out there
Who feels the way I feel
If there is then let me in and let me know I’m not the only one
Let them know they’re not the only one. Find a support group, tell them your story, get them in therapy, find a group of peers who share the same experience, buy a book, go to a movie…There is absolutely someone out there who knows their struggle. They should know they aren’t the first and will not be the last to go through such an experience. This is how you teach them that it is okay to be vulnerable with someone so they open up about the way they feel and connect not disconnect with those around them.
Resources:
Suicide Hotline Numbers
1.800.SUICIDE
1.800.273.TALK
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