Teenagers often feel stress due to the myriad of changes in their lives. (Source: Getty Images)
It’s common to feel stressed and anxious. But too much of it can be a cause for worry, and also affect one’s health. The most common reason for stress in teens is about their future and the hormonal changes in their bodies. Other sources of stress could be school pressure, negative thoughts, health issues, peer pressure, parents separation, family expectations, financial problems, betrayal from friends, and relationships.
Teenagers can start feeling detached and alone from their family and friends, and such feelings are very natural at this time. Emotions play an important role when our bodies experience stress. This stress not only makes us feel alone, but it also brings anxiety disorder, depression, suicidal thoughts, self-harming, personality disorders, and many other psychological issues. Teenagers often feel stress due to the myriad of changes in their lives both internal and external that come with growing up. And today’s fast-paced, technology-driven climate doesn’t help. The COVID pandemic has seen a rise in cases of depression and anxiety in teens and adults. According to the latest studies, due to the outbreak of coronavirus the depression cases have risen in 2020. There’s a 50 percent hike in distress calls from young children in 10 days of lockdown. In the initial stage, teens are not aware of what signifies stress. In most cases, parents are not even aware of what their child is going through.
Here are some stress-buster tips for teenagers that they can include in their lives.
A healthy lifestyle reduces stress
When adults are alone and depressed, they can hide their feelings and still carry a smile on their face. But, in teenagers it’s common to get bogged down and the last thing they want to do is to get out of bed. Youngsters suffering from stress and anxiety are seen all day at home in their rooms. They don’t socialise at all. So, teenagers need to have a healthy lifestyle, eat well, do exercise daily, get enough sleep, keep in touch with friends and family. These are some things that will help to maintain positivity. Engaging daily for two hours in exercise can be a really good stress-buster.
Coping with stress
There are more than 42 per cent of teens who don’t know why they are stressed and what they can do to get rid of it. This is the most crucial time when children need their parents the most. As parents, they should build trust with their child and then try to look after their behavior and actions. It makes a whole lot easier if we let others hold our hands. Talking is a solution for everything, if teens talk to their parents or friends or they can open up to someone they trust then they might find new ways to manage stress. Along with this, parents should make their children confident and teach them how to solve their problems or failures rather than being scared of them. Make them realize their strengths and capabilities and what they can achieve in their life.
Read| Watch: A parenting expert’s tips on raising teens in the age of anxiety
Helpful thinking
The way we think of ourselves and others affects how we get stressed. Teenagers can also develop unhelpful thinking like adults, which makes it harder to deal with stress. Unhelpful or overthinking can be a blowout of control on teenagers. Thinking about all things will go wrong, thinking about what others think of you is always bad, labeling yourself as a loser, etc, occur in the mind of a teenager who is stressed. The only way to deal with these kinds of thoughts is to speak to them or you can also counsel them along with doctors or counselors.
Meditation
Dealing with the current situation of COVID is sometimes challenging. It’s always good to take breaks sometimes from social media and get into “Me Time”. There are many things to calm our minds. Meditation is the best example of that, it calms your mind and inner soul and takes away all the negativity from your mind. It’s the best way to increase our focus and will help you deal with anxiety. It’s not important to do meditation, one can engage in some other activity too. Being physically active is another stress-buster and yoga, jogging or any sport are also some good options.
By Gaurav Tyagi
