The Thing Your Kid Can’t Tell You When They’re Struggling, with Enzo Narciso

The Thing Your Kid Can’t Tell You When They’re Struggling, with Enzo Narciso

What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol and drugs? This conversation between host Brenda Zane and her son, mentor and grad student in addiction counselling, Enzo Narciso, gives parents a rare look inside what a struggling teen might be trying – but unable – to say. Enzo shares the one sentence he keeps hearing from the young men he works with, and that he felt himself during heavy fentanyl and Xanax use: "I'm trying.

I'm trying." From a parent’s view, it can look like a child is actively blowing up their life; Enzo explains that, inside, many feel lost, ashamed and convinced that drugs and hustling are the only things they’re good at. He uses a memorable "fish love" story to challenge parents to ask: do they love their child as a person, or the feelings and status their child’s achievements bring them?

That distinction matters when a young person feels love is tied to grades, sport, university or a clean record. ADHD runs through the conversation as a key theme. Enzo talks about living with an unmedicated ADHD brain, how substances temporarily seemed to solve his internal chaos, and why kids with ADHD may latch onto drugs more intensely.

He shares everyday strategies that now help him stay steady – lists, whiteboards, environmental cues like keeping his toothbrush where he can’t miss it – alongside his belief that ADHD, when understood and supported, can become a powerful strength. Parents also hear how lessons from wilderness and residential treatment resurfaced years later, after two near-fatal overdoses, and why near-peer mentors often land where parents can’t.

The tone is honest, hopeful and surprisingly funny at times, offering both practical ideas and emotional relief. If your child’s choices feel senseless, this conversation might help you ask a different question: what might they be trying to say without words?