Addiction: Our theme for November
The first article I'd like to recommend from our latest issue is – I'll tell you straight away – not exactly light reading. For her feature on «Addiction’, author Virginia Nolan visited three people who have slipped into addiction in very different ways. One of them is 52-year-old Claudia. ‹Our son didn't get enough oxygen at birth; as a toddler, he had motor skills problems. The thought that I hadn't been able to give birth to a healthy child tormented me. I started drinking wine to calm myself down. Later, I numbed my pain with alcohol more and more often.›
What drives people to take drugs? Why do some become addicted whilst others do not? And how should parents talk to teenagers about drugs? You'll find the answers in our latest feature.
The great thing about my work is that I'm still learning. Or did you know why children tend to get bored particularly often during adolescence? Developmental psychologist Elizabeth Weybright explains it as follows: «The cognitive control system – responsible for thoughtful planning and rational decision-making – develops much more slowly during puberty than the socio-emotional system, which matures first. Young people experience feelings such as boredom very intensely, but are only able to regulate their need for more stimulation to a limited extent.» Find out how parents cope when their «teenager» is slumped on the sofa for hours on end in the interview with my colleague Ümit Yoker.
Her name was Margot; she had red hair and freckles. I was 13 and in love for the first time. Once, only a garden fence separated us. We stood facing each other for what felt like an eternity, wondering whether kissing could make you have a baby. Our romance lasted one summer; the heartache lasted many long winter months.
«When a child retreats to their bedroom, listens to sad music and loses their appetite, many parents feel helpless,» writes our author Nathalie Klüver. Coping with heartbreak has become even more difficult for teenagers than it used to be, as they are constantly confronted with their former great love: on social media, on their mobile phones, in status updates on WhatsApp. Still, the best thing about heartbreak is – and fortunately this hasn't changed – that it eventually passes. Read on to find out what can help in the meantime .
I hope you enjoy reading this – and that it causes you as little heartache as possible!
Kind regards,
Yours, Nik Niethammer
