STRESSED OUT TEENS what the research shows

I've been asked to speak to a parent group at a local high school regarding Adolescent Stress. What stresses teens out? Well according to the research done by Johns Hopkins in Baltimore there are 5 big ones:

1) school work 2) parents 3) friends' problems 4) romantic relationships and 5) dealing with younger siblings (#5 changes to 'drugs in the neighborhood' for kids in poor and working class communities).

What is Stress? Researchers define stress as a physical, mental, or emotional response to events that causes bodily or mental tension. Simply put, stress is any outside force or event that has an effect on our body or mind. Sometimes stress may be hard to define, but we know it when we feel it (as long as we are paying attention). Stress is not 'bad'; Stress helps us to deal with life’s challenges, to give our best performance, and to meet a tough situation with focus. When we are feeling excitement, whether it's because we are giving or watching an artistic performance, playing sports, watching a movie, skiing down a slope, we are feeling a type of stress. We seek some stress out.

The body’s stress response is important and necessary. However, when too much stress builds up, we may encounter many physical and emotional health problems. If we don’t deal with stress, the health problems can stay with us and worsen over the course of our life. Riding a roller coaster is fun once or twice, but what if you felt like you were unable to get off?

What are the signs and symptoms of stress? They can be seen in 5 domains: 1) physiological problems like aches, pains and fatigue; 2) emotional problems like depression, tearfulness, increased fragility, rage and anger, acting out and even violence; 3) relational problems like increased isolation, conflict and arguing with family and friends; 4) cognitive problems like forgetfulness and confusion and 5) spirituall problems such as feeling alone, disconnected, forgotten, empty and even suicidal.

When stress becomes a problem how do teens cope? The Baltimore study looked at this too.

1) They may give up sleep. This is especially true with high achievers or students in demanding schools. The problem is that teens really do need their sleep and studies have shown that lack of sleep has a direct effect on academic performance and testing. 2) They may try to escape their stress through avoidance, sleeping too much, drugs, entertainment and partying. 3) They may (we hope) seek out supportive and non judgmental peers or siblings. 4) They may act out by being more oppositional, argumentative and rebellious (in some cases we see teens resorting to self harm as a coping strategy) or 5) They may engage in increase physical activity, sports, and exercise.

The problem is that we (Parents, Counselors, Authority figures) are out to lunch. We tend to focus purely on the 'goals' of immediate or long term achievement; projects due, tests to study for, college prep etc. What we often do not do is non judgmentally listen, pay attention, listen, resist giving lectures and advice. And yet these are what can benefit stressed out teens the most.

In schools, even though these types of problems are recognized it is rare that stress management and coping strategies are woven into the curriculum. Or that parents are encouraged to learn more about how to handle their stressed out teen. Indeed, parents themselves are often under a great deal of their own stress without a clue of how to deal with it. (Part II will be Effective Stress Management Skills)