Deciphering Teenage Stress

You, as a parent, need to be aware of the peer pressure, physical and emotional changes, and academic stress that cause your child to suddenly seem like a stranger.

A universal affair

Anusha desperately wants to attend the weekend get-together organised by her high school friends but something is holding her back from doing the same. She feels really awkward to share her problem with her mother. Mohit has suddenly become sullen and irritable after attending the football camp. Kunal is peeved because he has to commute daily to his college in a local bus instead of going there on a motorbike like most of his peers do. Deepika was a topper in her school but she finds that things are completely different in the university campus. Nobody seems to be interested in academics anymore.

Beset with worries

What’s really going on here? The bigger story is that Anusha is suffering from acne which generally occurs in teenagers and troubles them a lot. She is worried that this might prevent her from being the most sought after face in the party. She wants to look better than all her friends. Mohit’s frustration is directly rooted in the fact that all his friends but him made it to the school football team. To him this is a personal failure. Kunal feels worried and let down as he does not have a motorbike of his own. He believes that the group he moves around with will respect and treat him better if he has a bike of his own. For Deepika, the realisation that good looks and communication skills can get you far more friends in college has come as a rude shock. She is struggling to come to terms with it.

Physical and intellectual stress

Now for a deeper analysis of the situation.

• Academic Competition – Academic expectations are simply overwhelming to handle. The ever increasing burden of studies, the intense competition amongst teenagers to outdo each other, and the high expectations of parents create a nerve-racking lifestyle for teenagers. To top it all this is also the time they have to figure out what they want to do for the rest of their life.

• Sports – Winning and losing in the sports arena causes great stress. The fierceness of competition amongst teenagers is not just confined to academics but also spills over to competitive sports. Teenagers actively take up sporting activity keeping pace with the physical changes brought about by the onset of puberty. The pressure to outperform fellow competitors and the fear of losing are main contributors of teenage stress.

• Acne – Teenagers are worried by problems arising out of acne.  This might seem funny and even an odd reason but it is true that acne is an important cause behind teenage anxiety. The magic wand of hormonal changes brings about a flurry of changes in the psychosomatic constitution of teenagers. Acne is a direct spin-off with no way out. You not only look bad, you also feel inferior with these ugly eruptions all over.

Emotional stress

• Peer Pressure – Peer pressure often leads to stressful situations. Teenagers are neither children nor are they adults. They are in the midst of an identity crisis. To evolve an identity of their own, teenagers generally bond with like-minded individuals and often inculcate their bad habits such as smoking, drinking, substance abuse etc. Peer pressure can also force teenagers into antisocial activities such as drug pedalling, stealing, disruptive behaviour, getting bullied, and/or unrestricted sexual activity.

• Relationships – Teenagers have great difficulty in forging stress free relationships.  The hormonal changes in teenagers also have a strong bearing on their relationship with parents, classmates, friends, relatives and other people around. Teenagers want to be independent and to be in control of their life, which brings them in direct conflict with their parents and people around them. Emotional conflicts amongst friends due to fierce competition and broken budding romances also add to the woes of teenage life.

By and large, teenage is that stage of life when a person is neither a child nor an adult. This period of life is marked by radical changes in the mind and body. Unable to fully adjust with these changes, teenagers often lead a stressful existence. Thus it makes sense for parents to be supportive and patient. This will lead to significantly effective parenting than negatively reacting and isolating the child in this sensitive phase.