Teen Stress Today, society misconstrues the idea that people can complete 50 million tasks with dignity and balance. Unfortunately that is next to impossible even if that is what is perceived (Saunders). “Ask teens what stresses them out and they’re just as likely to list “competition for college admission” in the same breath as “competition for couches at Starbucks.” It’s not because they’re shallow, unable to discern between real angst and too much caffeine. It’s because today’s teens are truly stressed to the max” (Krackower). Teens and stress seems to come hand in hand nowadays because of the many different circumstance that increase responsibility. Early adolescence is said to be a major developmental stage in a childs life. The child …show more content…
Saunders says that “Stress really does exist in our lives.” Psychologist, Mary Alvord, with The American Psychological Association stated in an interview that, “a little stress is a good thing. It can motivate students to be organized. But too much can backfire.” An example for the backfiring side would be Colleen Frainey. Frainey was a well rounded productive student. So well rounded she decided to take all advanced courses her sophomore year of high school. She was so stressed out to the point where all of the work and stresses correlated to school was making her sick. Frainey said, “I didn’t feel good. And when I didn’t feel good, I felt like i couldn’t do my work - which stressed me out more.” Another path tells a story about a girl who was very capable of completing her work but not it the way that she felt satisfied. This girls name was Nora Huynh. Nora’s mother shared with an interviewer that when Nora got her report card back she saw that she was just shy of a 4.0. The academic pressure now a days is pushing kids to strive for the best grade possible (A’s) and therefore that may result in the child not learning to their full potential, because if you do not get an A, life is over and you will never get into college (Neighmond). To continue with the interview, Jennifer, Nora’s mother said “When she saw that …show more content…
The teenage years are as strong developmental period which may send hormones and emotions in a whirlwind and that can make it extremely difficult for the teen to function normally and comfortably. During this day in age teens are expected to do so much, and it all must be approved so it can be the most perfect it can be. Unfortunately it is just not possible and people need to start realizing that. Teen stress is a real thing, and it can be controlled, it just needs to be done in a proper way and avoided a little more than it
Minkewicz, Robyn, and Kathryn Minkewicz. "How Stress Can Effect Academics in Multiple Grade Levels." Telephone interview. 12 May 2014.
To begin with, high expectations from family, friends, and academics beside family issues are two of the most common causes of teenage stress. Let’s begin with the high expectations issue. Some parents might not understand that putting an excessive amount of pressure on a teen to be perfect will damage their self-esteem. It results in stress called “Hyperstress which occurs when an individual is pushed beyond what he or she can handle” (“Teen Stress-Types”). Parents need to avoid setting impractical expectations. For instance, straight A’s for several kids may not be easily attained, instead they should decide to try for A’s and B’s with noth...
Stress is an important problem faced by many college students, especially first year students, and it can have some large impacts on college freshmen. For example, according to Hirsch and Keniston (1970), about half of first year students do not graduate from college due to dropping out (p. 1-20). Also, David Leonhardt (2009) agrees that the United States excels at putting “teenagers in college, but only half of students who enroll end up with a bachelor’s degree” (p. 1). In addition, the level of stress seems to increase each year. For instance, the National Health Ministries (2006) claim that many college students have become “more overwhelmed and stressed” than the student generation of the last fifteen years (p. 2). Also, the percentage of first year students feeling stressed is greater than thirty percent (National Health Ministries 2006). If the problem of stress is not resolved properly, th...
Teenage Depression. Everywhere you look these two words appear together as one, in newspapers and magazines, as well as in scholarly reports. Teenage depression is one of today's "hot topics" this among other teenage mental health problems, has been brought to the forefront of public consciousness in recent years after several incidents involving school shootings (CQ 595). The environment that teens grow up in today is less supportive and more demanding than it was twenty years ago. Not only are the numbers of depressed teens rising, but children are also being diagnosed at younger and younger ages. Studies have found that, "There is an estimated 1.5-3 million American children and adolescents who suffer from depression, a condition unrecognized in children until about 20 years ago" (CQR 595). This increase in depression is due to social factors that teenagers have to deal with everyday. A recent study found that, "About five percent of teenagers have major depression at any one time. Depression can be very impairing, not only for the affected teen, but also for his or her family-and too often, if not addressed, depression can lead to substance abuse or more tragic events" (NAMI.org). Gender roles and other societal factors including the pressures on girls to look and act a certain way, the pressures on boys to suppress their emotions and put on a tough front and the pressures on both sexes to do well in school and succeed, all contribute to depression in teens today. Depression is a growing problem which crosses gender lines and one that needs to be dealt with with more than just medication.
“Teens Feeling Stressed and Many not Managing it Well.” usatoday.com. 11 Feb. 2014. USA Today. 1 April 2014.
Every teenager deals with stress, some teenagers stress daily, weekly even monthly. It’s just stress; it’s not a big deal right? Wrong. Studies have shown that stress over a long period of time can damage our body’s immune system and cardiovascular system.(G. Neil Martin, pg.188) this proves that stress can hurt our body. High school students deal with more things than just homework in today’s generation: ‘’Many teens today deal with the death of a classmate by murder, accident or suicide.’’(Gwen K. Packard, pg. 33) These every day worries contribute to teen stress. High school students deal with ridiculous amounts of stress every day, there are many ways to relieve this daily stress.
Adults repeatedly refer to their high school as the “best four years of your life” with students cheering on their favorite football team, bright eyed couples in the hallway, and friends spending time together. However, this generation of students experience so much pressure to do well in school that their worlds revolve around their grades and extra circulars. Along with the increased workload, high schools in 2014 have placed an enormous amount of pressure on admission to colleges and standardized testings. As a result, severe depr ession caused by stress has greatly increased among high school students today. Organizational change should be made to schools to decrease the anxiety of college admission and workload as well as addressing mental health issues; by adjusting their curriculums and excluding high stake tests, schools can reduce stress on students and, as a direct result, decrease depression rates.
Adolescence is the period of life between childhood and adulthood. “The process lasts from roughly 10-13 years of age and ends at 18-22 years of age. However, defining when adolescence ends is not an easy task. It has been said that adolescences begins in biology and ends in culture” (Clark, 2010,
High expectations from peers, teachers, and especially family along with family problems are some of the most common causes of teen stress. Some parents may not realize that putting too much pressure on their teen to be perfect can end up damaging their self esteem. This problem could be solved easily; parents need to avoid setting unrealistic expectations for their children. For example, straight A’s for many students is not easily come by, instead parents should maybe opt for A’s and B’s with nothing lower. Parents should provide plenty of encouragement and should not overreact if their children are not perfect. However, it is definitely not only parents who are guilty of doing this. Teachers can be to blame, as well, especially during high school when students have five different classes and many assignments to do. Many teachers believe that their class should be first on a student’s list of priorities, and can give as much as 2 hours worth of homework to a student, without thought of any other classes. By the end of the day, students have an unbelievable amount of homework to get done for each class, and ...
Information can be provided about teen stress and parents can be taught how to help their teens. A school counselor can provide individual support and help to teens struggling with stress and teach coping methods. Stress management classes can be organized and taught along with coping skills. Small group stress management sessions could also be offered to adolescents.
Anxiety has a main definition; a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease. Although, it has its single definition, each person diagnosed with anxiety has different symptoms. With that, some have more severe cases of the actual diagnosis. It has been noted that anxiety has had an increase in teens recently. In the last 30 years, the statistics for anxiety in fifteen to sixteen year olds have doubled for both girls and boys (“Increased Levels of Anxiety…” 1). It is said, “in societal moments like the one we are in…it often feels as if ours is the Age of Anxiety”(Henig 1). Anxiety affects teenagers profusely because the emotions of a teenager are more vulnerable than those of an adult. The brain of a teenager is not fully developed and the stress put on teenagers to start putting their life together takes a toll on their emotions. The daily life and activities are interfered with by anxiety when the amount of stress put on a teenager becomes unbearable. Unfortunately, the effects of anxiety become so intense that the mental health is eventually toyed with. So many different components of life contribute to anxiety and cannot be prevented.
“I will be so glad when this semester is over because school is stressing me to the max.” This is a quote that quite a few college students are familiar with and have probably said themselves. College can be a fun but also stressful time for students. They are focused on making sure they attend class and get passing grades so they can be successful and hopefully succeed in the next chapter of their life. Researchers at Columbia University and the University of San Diego conducted a study conducted a study to determine how stress negatively affects academic performance and enrollment. They were surprised by the nearly 25% of students polled in the National College Health Assessment that said they experienced poor grades or dis-enrolled from a class as a result of stress. (College Students Report Stress Affects Academic Performance, 2011).
There are multiple causes when it comes to stressed out students. First consider where the pressure is coming from for students to get good grades. Parents and teachers tend to be the main suspects. Parents want to see their kids succeed in everything they do and grades are no different. Some students see a bad grade as them failing their parents because their parents believe in them so much (Weissbourd, 2011). Teachers have multiple reasons why they want to see their ...
Teen stress is a big issue in today's society. Recent studies have shown that teens may develop more stress then adults. Few adults can remember the truth about adolescence. "Their minds "censor" their memories, and have them believe that being a teenager was was one big party, free of cares and responsibilities"( ). There aren't that many adults around who realize what adolescence was really like. The anguish, the fear, the anxiety, the stress. People don't remember those problems because they want to forget them. Stress is a significant problem for teens. There are many factors that lead into teen stress, such as school, drugs, peer pressure and relationships.
Adolescence is a time of challenge and change for both teens and parents. Teens are at a stage in life where they face a multitude of pressing decisions -- including those about friends, careers, sex, smoking, drinking, drugs and parental values. At the same time, they are confronted with profound physical, social and emotional changes.