Handling Adolescent Stress
Everyone has a hard time in their teenage years to some extent. Adolescent stress is something which everyone experiences as a teenager. Many things can contribute to adolescent stress, such as the physical changes and hormonal shifts which are a natural part of puberty. Adolescents are also learning how to cope with their growing and changing bodies and emotions, even as they struggle with becoming adults and making important decisions for themselves. All of these factors can lead to adolescent stress.
The list which follows are some of the factors which can lead to adolescent stress:
- the separation or divorce of their parents
- moving
- starting at a new school
- a death in the family
- conflicts with parents, teachers or other teenagers
- beginning or ending their first romantic relationships
- having sex for the first time
- family problems, including an illness in the family
- their family experiencing financial problems
- living in a dangerous neighborhood
- the physical changes to their bodies which accompany 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.
In fact, all teenagers are sure to be stressed from time to time. This can show in a number of ways:
- becoming irritable or having mood swings
- anxiety and worry
- withdrawal from other people
- using alcohol or drugs
- physical illness
Here are some things a person can do to relieve stress. Some of them are immediate, for use when you feel most anxious, angry or panicky. Others are long term techniques that will help your hormones and emotions to stabilize.
- watch or read something that makes you laugh
- listen to music which relaxes you
- talk to a good friend or play with a pet
- get regular exercise
- eat healthily, including a variety of vegetables in your diet
- avoid stimulants and other chemicals (coffee, tea, cola, chocolate, sugar, tobacco, alcohol and drugs), especially when experiencing stress
- learn relaxation techniques, including deep breathing
- practicing meditation or yoga
- learn better communication skills; learn to tell people how you feel or what you want in a way which is assertive, but not threatening
- breaking down overwhelming problems or tasks into manageable pieces which can be completed one by one
- think positively rather than negatively
- don’t obsess on the negative
If you’re experiencing a lot of stress and you are finding your quality of life or even your physical health negatively affected, you may benefit from stress management training. This training will teach you some of the techniques listed above and help you learn to reduce stress almost as soon as it arises.
It is important to remember that some degree of stress is unavoidable. It’s how you cope with the stress in your life that matters; adolescent stress can be managed.