The problem of stress can and does surface in anyone from young children through to fully developed and even older adults. In between this enormous age gap are the adolescent teenagers. The causes of teenage stress are often very different from the ones experienced by stressed out aadults but the symptoms remain much the same. With teenager stress being rather different from adult stress, different approaches are common in tackling their stressors.
The total population consists of an estimation of 20% teens. Yet teens are sometimes that neglected group of the population. Teenage or adolescent is the intermediate group between dependent childhood to independent adulthood and this transition is never easy. The teenage group is very vulnerable to physical and emotional stress.
Their stress may come from everywhere around them from their families, peers to their education. They may be compelled to follow the footsteps of an elder sibling to avoid comparison from their parents, or teens can be stressed from determining their role and image to the society.
Stress From Exams
A lot of stress in teenagers is generated from pressure from parents and teachers as well as self imposed stress from the expectations of great results in exams and course work at school. Some teenagers deal with this better than others but some general tips are to reduce the pressure and the stress by time management and planning your workload for revision in preparation for the examinations.
Proper planning and prioritizing enables you to feel confident you have done as much as you can in the proper way. Unplanned revision often leads to the discovery that you have missed significant parts that you should have covered. Even if you have left things late prioritizing on the areas you believe are important will build confidence and make you feel more relaxed. Stress stifles your thinking processes so breathe deeply and try to relax so your mind can work the best it can. List out your priority subject areas and work your way through the list making sure you cover all the work but concentrating on your weaker areas.
Molding And Stress
The teenage or adolescent stage of life can cause major changes both in the physical and mental aspect of a person. These changes are significant in molding and shaping a person.
Physical changes in a person during adolescence include; increase in weight and height, change in voice, the development of secondary sexual characteristics, and for girls the menarche or the beginning of menstruation. On the other hand mental changes may involve; attraction towards the opposite sex, the feeling of independence, aggressiveness, experimentation.
All of these changes can cause stress to teenagers. It was surveyed that one third of teenagers undergo at least one episode of stress every week. The stress factor or stressors are different for teens and it may be due to; puberty, peer pressure, school demands, safety issues within the community, family responsibilities, negative feelings or thoughts, divorce or separation of parents, holidays, financial problems, or a death of a loved one.
The fact is that teenage girls are more affected or prone to stress than boys. Teenage girls tends to seek help from others for help with their stress while boys respond to stress by dealing with it alone and refuse help from others or by engaging themselves in activities that would help them focus on things other than the stressor.
The family members and friends are usually both the cause and support for teens. Without proper guidance, teenagers use healthy and unhealthy ways to cope with their stress.
Tackling Teenage Stress
Teenage stress can be handled both inside and outside of house. The first step in tackling teenage stress is to identify what caused their stress. The notion that there is no earthly reason for teenage stress should be avoided.
The teens should be allows to talk freely about their problems and they should be supported. Older people around them should help and teach the teens by teaching them stress relief methods and setting realistic goals for them in both curricular and extra curricular activities.
Parents or teachers must ask the teenager to define stress taking an example of an incident and ask them for their natural response to that stressful event. Advice about normal stress response and ways of tackling stress must be explained to the teens. Teach them that different stress can have different responses to different persons. Also, advise the teens to avoid unhealthy methods of relieving stress like aggression, alcohol or drug use.
During the time that a teenager feel stressed, full support must be given by the people around them. Teenagers, like children and some adults, are not ready to face major problems by themselves.
