It's Not Easy Being Teen
Do you have days when you feel that everything is out of control? When you feel burned out, crabby, pressured, wired and panicky? When others comment that you are edgy, restless, wound up and moody? No mystery why. Every teacher you have thinks that theirs is the only class you're taking. Your best friend is having a nervous breakdown. The guy you like is sending you mixed messages. Your parents are after you to make out a list of the colleges you want to apply to. And then there's the news none of it vaguely comforting. Welcome to the overwhelming world of today's teen.
You know how you feel and you might even be conscious of why, but how much do you really understand about stress, the buzzword of this century? While the topic is chockfull of facts, crossing over into the fields of psychology, biology, sociology, even chemistry, we thought we'd just note a smattering of them. Our purpose is to reassure you that you are not alone in trying to find balance in your insane schedule. Rather than tell you to listen to music or grow a plant or take a long walk to alleviate the symptoms of too much stress (next month we'll get into all that!), the following facts should arm you with enough information to know you are in good company!
Stress is a mega-monster than can chew you up and spit you out if you let it. It is the tensions that develop in your mind and body as you react and adjust to the many changes, both positive and negative, that occur during an average day. The biochemical chain reaction we refer to as stress began as a way to jump-start our bodies in life and death situations (a charging rhino) without having to waste time thinking of our next move. Our hearts speed up, our muscles fire up, our stomachs stop digesting all in preparation for our fighting (or running away from) that rhino. Unfortunately for us, today's rhino might be nothing more than a red light we wanted to make or listening to a little sister's Barney record for the hundredth time. Still we react.
In a recent study, over 60% of teenage girls complained of feeling stressed. Three out of four agree that school is the number one stressor. The list of culprits includes lack of sleep, parental expectations, self esteem issues, sibling strife, boyfriends and dating, looking good enough and the old standby, peer pressure.
Experts suggest that the effects of stress stay with us and can trigger health problems many years in the future. Some compare stress to an allergy, saying once you're sensitized by a stressful event, just a touch of stress in the coming years may signal your body to repeat the same health-weakening chemical response. Believe it or not, girls handle stress better than boys. Hormones such as oxytocin and estrogen may be helpful in pushing us to seek support rather than handle ourselves more aggressively. This may be why fewer women suffer from hypertension, alcoholism and drug abuse as they grow older.
How best to destress? Over 50% of those polled said chilling out with their friends was the surest way.
Girls living in the cities were three times more likely than those in the suburbs to complain about feeling "really stressed." Almost three quarters believe times are way more stressful than when their parents were their age. This perception is backed up with research that shows normal children, ages 9 to 17, exhibit a higher level of anxiety today than children 50 years ago, when life was also far from perfect.
The most common symptoms of stress are irritability, headache, nausea, fatigue, increased heart rate and a pessimistic outlook. Your grandma's right when she says you're making yourself sick!
Sociologists blame the high divorce rate (nearly ten percent of families with children under 18 compared to 7.5% twenty years ago), and how much less community involvement there is now, for the increase in stress. There is also the Internet with its bombardment of information and temptations. Of course, they add that the world is a much more dangerous place.
According to a University of Michigan study, nearly two thirds of teenage girls feel stressed out at least once a week. Teenagers in Japan, by contrast, have lower levels of stress. Researchers think that's because Japanese teens concentrate on academic achievement over everything else, while American teens feel the pressure to do well in many different areas, including academics, sports, and social life.
Info from BeingGirl.com
