Helping teenagers deal with stress

By Rachna Buxani, Counselling Services Coordinator, GEMS group of schools

Today’s adolescents are stressed about a lot of issues.  “What am I going to do in life? Who are my true friends?, What do I do about my falling grades?, How should I deal with peer pressure?, How am I ever going to live up to my parents expectation?” are just some of the stressful questions that teenagers have to find answers to. It is important to remember that stress is a natural part of your child's life. 

It only becomes harmful when the problems and hassles of daily life overwhelm your child. Parents need to be able to support their children so that they can cope better with this very complex phase of their lives. In this two part article I will highlight how parents can better support their teens during these stressful years.

Some symptoms that parents need to watch out for that are indications of their child being stressed include aggression, withdrawal, physical illness, sleeplessness, depression and drastic weight loss or gain. In addition to affecting health, stress also affects teenagers’ sense of well-being. They may get defensive, argumentative or impatient in their interactions with people and can become truant at school. They feel anxious and frustrated. They start making mistakes and having accidents. They lose their self-confidence and their sense of self.

What can parents do?

So, what can parents do to be more supportive? Firstly, it is very essential to keep the channels of communication open between you and your teen. If your child is not comfortable to talk to you about his worries there will be very little you will be able to do in order to help him. Many a times all they want is a listening ear and not someone to tell them what to do. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't express your opinions, particularly on important matters like values. But if every discussion turns into an
argument, you may need to spend more time listening, and to express your opinions calmly and quietly.

In addition to open communication, your teen probably needs you to help him/her with schedule. Some teenagers find themselves swamped when they add an after-school activity to an already full day. Also, is he expected to do too much at home? Although teenagers should be doing regular chores, some do become overburdened with them. Make sure your teenager has enough time to relax and play.  Also, help your teen learn to pace himself so that he does not feel overwhelmed.

To be continued …   

Photo courtesy: bbc.co.uk

Rachna Buxani, with an M.Ed in School Counseling from Suffolk University in Boston and a B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Child and Youth from Eastern Connecticut State University, USA has specialised in Middle and High School Counseling. Rachna's expertise is in assessment and management of problems related to adolescence. She writes regularly on parenting issues on womenone.or, and answers to readers' queries related to it.

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