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Everybody experiences stress but teenagers experience it more than most given the rapid rate at which their lives and bodies change on an almost daily basis. All change results in stress, whether good or bad, and learning to handle it is vital to our health and happiness. Stress management for teens is therefore an essential skill set that needs to be learned. Read on to discover how to do this in simple steps.
The first thing a teen needs to do is to identify their stress limits. This can be done by asking the following questions:
1. What makes me explode?
2. How often am I angry, frustrated, nervous or frightened about something?
3. What do I do when things don’t happen the way I like?
Awareness is key to managing stress for teens. If you are a teenager, tell yourself that when you are aware of your actions you can control them before things get out of hand. It is important to know when you are stressed out so that you can deal with it. Here are some indicators that you may be stressed out:
ï You can’t seem to stop crying – everything hurts your feelings.
ï You hurt others with your words or actions.
ï You try things that seem like they might make the pain go away except they don’t work.
ï You are tired all the time.
ï You are too hard on yourself or too much of a perfectionist.
There are a number of emotional and physical changes that you need to watch out for as these are known signs of stress in teenagers. These stress symptoms can include:
ï Anger
ï Anxiety
ï Changes in eating or sleeping habits
ï Headaches
ï Irritability
ï Lack of energy
ï New or increased use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs
ï Decreased concentration
ï Sadness or depression
ï Feeling uptight or powerless
ï Stomach problems
ï Excess worry
There are a variety of ways that these symptoms, and the underlying stress that causes them, can be managed. These are particularly important for teenagers experiencing stress as they help to not only deal with the immediate problem but also to set up healthy stress management habits for later life. Here are some suggestions as to how a teenager can manage stress:
1. Don’t expect too much of yourself and ask for help when necessary.
2. Think positively and surround yourself with others who do the same.
3. Be flexible and understand that you cannot control everything in your life.
4. Break down large tasks into several smaller steps.
5. Take time out to relax – meditate, read, listen to music or do something else that you enjoy.
6. Eat healthily and get plenty of exercise.
7. Avoid alcohol, tobacco, drugs and excess sugar, all of which aggravate stress in the long term.
8. Remember to laugh and have fun.
9. Share your problems with family, friends or someone else that you trust such as a teacher.
10. Learn from your mistakes and don’t beat yourself up about them.
It is not easy being a teenager but knowing how to manage the stress involved can really help during those difficult teen years. A certain amount of stress makes life interesting but too much can lead to serious health problems. For the sake of future health, safety and happiness it is essential that every teen learns to recognize and manage stress before it does long-term harm.
