As adults and parents, we often forget that our kids suffer from stress like we do. We tend to think, “What do they have to worry about?” However, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
This article is a short guide to understanding what teens stress about, the signs of stress, and how you can reduce stress.
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), cited in this Time article, 30% of girls and 20% of boys, ages 12-17, have had an anxiety disorder, amounting to 6.3 million children. That number, due to the pandemic, is up dramatically. To be clear, we’re not talking about children and young adults being a “little stressed.” No. The NIH states that over six million children have severe mental or physical symptoms due to stress. That should startle everyone.
According to Psychom.net, there are six known triggers of teen stress.
1. Academic Stress: getting good grades and getting into a respected college.
2. Social Stress-things like bullying, cyber-bullying, and peer pressure play a critical role in a teen’s psyche.
3. Family Discord: unrealistic expectations, marital problems for their parents, strained sibling relationships, family illness or death, and family financial issues.
4. World Events: school shootings, terrorism, war, climate change, natural disasters, political upheaval, and the current pandemic.
5. Traumatic Events: personal sickness, a friend’s illness, emotional and physical abuse, dating stress.
6. Significant Life Changes: moving, new school, new grade, and inner turmoil about sexuality.
Some of the signs associated with prevalent stress include:
1. Agitation
2. Anxiousness
3. Depression
4. Moodiness
5. Lack of focus
6. Forgetfulness
7. Carelessness
8. Headaches
9. General aches and pains
10. Ill more often
11. Sleeping issues
12. Avoidance of normal daily behavior
13. Stomach aches
14. Changes in eating behavior
15. Drug use
These are some of the common, less dangerous signs of stress. More grim outcomes manifest once stress takes hold and persists for extended periods. So, nipping stress in the bud is crucial for our youth’s mental and physical health. It also allows them to live happy and normal lives and establish a positive platform for adulthood. And isn’t that what is essential?
We’ve outlined the scope of the problem, what can cause it, and its symptoms. Knowing is half the battle, but solutions are paramount. Here are some basic things that teens, or anyone for that matter, can do.
1. Vagus Nerve Stimulation: The vagus nerve is the body’s prime mechanism for managing stress, producing oxytocin and acetylcholine, which counteracts adrenaline and cortisol. Your vagus nerve must work properly if you want to control stress consistently. Unfortunately, our always-on world can overwhelm the vagus nerve and become dysfunctional. Gentle stimulation of the vagus nerve can calm the body naturally. No matter how it is achieved, vagus nerve stimulation is like a friendly reminder for the body to do the job it was designed to do.
2. Exercise is critical for optimal mental and physical health. Daily exercise is known to increase energy and decrease stress. The only issue with physical training is it is not always convenient or possible. Nevertheless, everyone should have some training routine.
3. Deep Breathing, when done systematically, can help change your blood chemistry and reduce stress. There are many different techniques that doctors and trainers suggest. Try several kinds and see what works best for you.
4. A diet of whole foods can be critical to mental, physical, and emotional health, providing resilience and hormonal balance.
5. Positive Thinking and Visualization provide a platform and procedure to reform brain pathways, creating mental resilience.
6. See the bigger picture when you start to obsess or focus on the negative implications of a circumstance. When you feel yourself spiraling, take a deep breath, close your eyes, and clear your mind by focusing on your breath, the wind, or a bird chirping. Realize that not all paths lead to failure or disaster; that kind of thinking creates tremendous self-pressure and demoralization. If you’re a person of faith, calm yourself and pray. If you find this difficult or impossible, you might consider talking to a professional.
Stress is a looming threat to our kids, so we better get a handle on it, or the consequences will be dire. The good news is that there are solutions that can make a huge difference. Do we sit back and see where it goes or take affirmative action? The choice is ours.
Somulis is simple to use, effective, and safe, useable by anyone, anywhere, and anytime. It’s a change agent gently stimulating the vagus nerve located behind the earlobes, giving your mind and body the tap on the shoulder it needs to do its job. That tap creates a parasympathetic reaction, releasing oxytocin and acetylcholine, decreasing stress, increasing focus, and enhancing sleep. Be proactive, incorporate a healthier living style, and use Somulis as an essential ally in your journey to be at your best.
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