As the holidays approach, daylight savings kicks in, and people spend more time inside. At this time of year, your teen might experience an urge to spend extra time on their smartphone. With your teen home from school and with fewer social activities, they may spend hours a day on their phones. This may seem like an annoyance as a parent, but it actually may be a sign of a teen process addiction. If you’re concerned about the time your teenager spends on your smartphones, take this holiday season to ditch their phone and seek smartphone addiction treatment.

If your teenager is spending too much time on their smartphone, call Foothills at Red Oak Recovery today. Learn more about teen process addiction and coping tools for adolescent men by calling us at 866.300.5275 or visiting us online.

What Is a Process Addiction?

Process addiction is a type of compulsive behavior. Today, many teenagers and adults develop process addictions involving video games, social media, and smartphones. Process addictions also can co-occur or lead to substance use/abuse. Warning signs your teen might struggle with a process addiction include:

• Using their smartphone to avoid responsibilities, relationships, and negative emotions
• Engaging on social media despite adverse effects it can cause on their performance at school or home
• Obsessing over a video game, what to post on social media, or having their phone on them at all times
• Experiencing anxiety and withdrawal symptoms when their smartphone, video games, or other compulsions are taken away

Smartphones have become a necessity for modern communication and they can also keep people connected with loved ones that they don’t see often. However, they can easily become addictive. You or someone you know may joke about your teenager’s obsession with their phone as an addiction. In reality, smartphone addiction is very real. However, with the support of an addiction treatment therapist or program, it is possible to treat this condition.

Ditch Your Smartphone for a Happier Holiday Season

There might be many personal reasons to put your phone away during the winter months. Whether you’re struggling to set your phone aside or want to support your teenager on a phone-free holiday, here are three reasons to ditch your smartphone:

• Less stress: The holidays are stressful enough. Both parents and teens can struggle with seeing others’ holidays on social media. Perfect pictures, gifts you can’t afford, and the nature of social media can lead to depression, sadness, and the feeling you’re missing out on someone else’s holiday. Time without your phone can remind you of just what you have in front of you.
• Better sleep: During the winter months, many people suffer from seasonal affective disorder, also called SAD. Less natural light can cause changes in melatonin, the chemical that helps you fall asleep. The artificial light from your smartphone, especially at night, can make this worse. Excessive smartphone use can decrease sleep and increase the effects of SAD.
• Experience mindfulness: Smartphones let you escape to other realities and leave the world in front of you behind. They may help you escape negative emotions and distract you. Sometimes, this can feel good, but in reality, it can be harmful to our mental health. By letting go of your phone this holiday, you’ll practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is a tool to bring awareness to the present moment and your body. It can decrease stress, physical and emotional pain.

If these reasons aren’t enough to convince you to give up your phone for the holidays, try going for a few hours or one day a week. At first, it may not be easy. Engage your teen in a project like baking or decorating or winter sports to get their mind off of what they’re missing on their phone. Rather than limit just your teen’s phone use, put your phone away too. This builds solidarity and helps your teen feel seen.

Treat Your Teen’s Smartphone Addiction at Foothills at Red Oak Recovery

If you can’t imagine limiting your teenager’s phone use on your own, call Foothills at Red Oak Recovery today. Our comprehensive, holistic treatment center helps adolescent men recover from process addictions, substance abuse, and co-occurring disorders. Whether your son struggles with video games, social media, or can’t seem to put down their phone, Foothills can help. Call us at 866.300.5275 today.