10 Causes Of Stress In Teens

To be fair, not all stress is bad. Certain level of stress can be good for one’s overall development, because they will give a healthy rush that gets the individual to perform above average in situations like deadlines or important events. But abnormal levels of stress are proved to be highly damaging leading to chronic diseases like depression, stomach ulcers and even certain nervous disorders.
In this article, we have covered the possible causes, solutions and precautions of various stress found in teenagers.

Reasons Behind Teenage Stress:

As a responsible parent, if you learn these reasons of stress then you can definitely help your teen cope up and overcome these better. We have defined such stress types below:

1. Academic Stress: 

One of the topmost reasons for stress in teenagers is the constant pressure to do well academically. They often find it difficult to live up to their parent’s aspirations. If your teen is academically strong, then there is a normal pressure to maintain performance, at the same time for if he/she is not good in studies, the pressure increases in order to perform well. All these expectations add to your teen’s unending woes causing stress.

2. Social Stress: 

Reaching adolescence, teens learn to interact socially and adjust in this highly complicated world. But slowly your teen may realize how important it is to gain social acceptance- be it with family, relatives, friends or peers. Thus inviting stress through this constant struggle to become viable for everyone.

3. Financial Stress:

Agreed that there is no burden on teenagers to earn and fend for themselves. But if there is any financial strain in family, it sometimes becomes difficult for a teen to handle. The thought of losing the current standard of living may affect your teens mind in a negative manner. As he/she is aware of the dependency on you regarding monetary requirements and can do nothing to change the situation. This feeling of helplessness also brings stress in teens.

4. Stress Due to Family Problems:

Yes Indeed! Sometimes family can also pose as a stress for your teen. Constant fight between parents, differences with siblings (including sibling rivalry) and disagreements with parents can highly distress a teen. Many a times, parent’s stressful jobs, lack of your attention span also pose threats of teenage stress. Any small change in family equation may have a negative impact on your teen, so stay careful to avoid such trivial matters

5. Romantic Relationships:

Adolescence is the age when most teen feels the need to be loved. To desire a particular boy or girl as their love interest, negative reciprocation’s and breakups with their lovers may become a significant aspect of your teenager’s life. He/she might find it really hard to overcome such painful instances resulting in high stress.

6. Stress Due to Physical or Physiological Changes:

A lot of changes in the form of hormonal fluctuations take place in your teen’s body. Therefore if your teen is obsessed with looks, may easily get highly stress to find unwanted pimples on his/her face or changes in physical appearance. He/she may find it too difficult to cope up such changes and thus feel stressed. Sometimes, the duration of physical growth makes a teen stressful.

7. Unhealthy Competition:

Nowadays, the latest trend among teenagers is to have competitions – which most of the time turns out fierce or unhealthy. A teenager is always faced with the urge of ‘’perform or perish’’. Be it academic, sports or any extra-curricular activity your teen may be under severe pressure to excel. Severe competitions are another source of stress.

8. Low Self Esteem:

Buried under the pressure of doing n number of things and also excelling at them makes teenager anxious all the time. If they fail in anything, the feeling of self-doubt invades them which is considered as one of the greatest stressor. If your teen is a victim of low self-esteem, he/she may turn friends with depression.

9. Traumatic Events:

While anybody can feel stressed due to traumatic events, a teenager often gets affected more because he/she lacks the maturity that comes with grown up experience. Certain incidents like death in the family, relocating to a new house, end of a friendship/relationship or dealing with some chronic illness causes stress.

10. Changes in Routine:

Any change in daily routine, brings stress for a teen. Change of school, moving to a new house or change in family dynamics are enough to bring a teen under stress. Your teen feels good only when things work in tandem. Change something and you earn their wrath.

From Parent to Their Teens:

Being a parent, once you identify that your teen is struggling with stress, you can make your teen aware of the below mentioned corrective steps to help him/her alleviate stress. As precautions, you can start advising gently the followings:

• Eat regularly and exercise regularly. Missing diet can lead to unhealthy body and mind, while exercise helps in keeping you active.
• Stay away from alcohol, drugs, caffeine. Idea is to not get addicted by harmful things.
• Always stay close to people who bring positivity in you. Such people can reduce your stress levels to a greater extent.
• Develop a hobby, which can help you feel good and relax your mind. It can be anything like painting, writing, reading, etc.
• Learn meditation and relaxation techniques. Anxiety causes stress and a calm mind makes you stable.
• Don’t over stress yourself with perfection. Take pride in any work done properly and correctly.
• Make your mind strong and try to avoid any negative or conflicting thoughts. Replace them with positive assertions.
• Always smile and have a positive attitude.
• Proper sleep is very important and under no circumstance should be avoided. A good sleep is considered as a cure for chronic stress
• Find out the causes of your stress and try to be proactive in dealing with the same. Planning in advance for the ways to deal with a stressful situation can work wonders.

Always encourage your teen that it is important to be true to oneself. Caution him/her not to buckle under the pressure of expectations and tell them that they will always be loved and accepted for what they are. Teach your teen that “Failure is not the end of the world”, avoid regretting on the past and look positively towards the future.
We hope you enjoy cruising through our interactive article. Do share your experiences and feedback in the comment section below.