This subject should always be handled with great care. It is not unusual for a teenager to become sexually active during the grief process. If the teen has lost a family member. The need to be close to someone, both physically and emotionally, can be very strong at this time and sexual activity can also serve as a distraction from their pain. When teens are grieving, it is a very natural response to want to numb the pain - when someone is drunk or high, they do not have to feel.
Bereaved teens are at high risk for involving themselves in self-destructive behavior.
While these drugs may temporarily numb the pain, they very clearly prolong and complicate the grieving process. It is important to be open with the teenager in this area without pointing a judgmental finger. When we have been abandoned through death, anger can become very powerful. It is important that teens be given healthy options in expressing their anger. All of these expressions of anger release the physical energy that words alone cannot.