Handling Adolescent Stress
Adolescent stress can have many causes. The teenage years are a difficult and stressful time for anyone. Hormonal changes, the pressures of growing up and making life choices, having to learn to deal with adult relationships and emotions: all of these can cause anxiety and feelings of being unable to cope.
All of the following situations or events are stressful for adolescents:
- parents separating
- moving to a new town or a new home
- new school
- death in the family
- conflicts with their teachers, their parents or their classmates
- starting or ending boyfriend/girlfriend relationships
- having sex for the first time
- family illness (physical or mental), alcoholism or other troubles
- financial troubles within the family
- living in a neighborhood which is dangerous
- the physical and emotional changes caused by puberty
- being pressured to succeed atcademically (by teachers, parents, peers or themselves)
- low self esteem and a poor self image
Of course, all of these things could cause stress in adults too. Adolescents, however have less control over their lives and tend to cope with stress differently than do adults.
Every teenager experiences stress. They may show this by:
- irritability and mood swings
- anxiety, worrying
- becoming withdrawn
- using alcohol or drugs
- physical illness
There are methods which adolescents can use to control stress. So0me give teens near-immediate relief from stress but others are a long term strategy to achieve stable hormonal levels and emotional balance.
- watching or reading something humorous
- listen to relaxing music
- talk to friends or play with your pets
- get regular exercise
- eat healthily, including a variety of vegetables in your diet
- avoid stimulants (coffee, tea, cola, chocolate, sugar, tobacco, alcohol, drugs) especially when feeling stressed out
- learn deep breathing and other relaxation techniques
- practicing meditation or yoga
- learn to be assertive (to say how you feel or ask for what you want in a way that is not threatening to others)
- breaking down overwhelming problems or tasks into manageable pieces which can be completed one by one
- stop negative thinking in its tracks and replace it with positive affirmations
- do not indulge in imagining all the bad things that might happen
If you are experiencing a level of stress which is compromising your health or your quality of life, then you may find that stress management training can help. You’ll learn some valuable stress management techniques such as those listed above ? even to the point of eliminating stress as it arises!
Finally, do not feel bad if you get stressed from time to time. Remember, everybody does. The difference is only in how we deal with it. Adolescent stress does not have to take over your life.
