How Stress Effects Teen Health

Teen Health > How Stress Effects Teen Health

Pressured Tweens and Teens Turn to Alcohol and Drugs

Findings from a new study show that youth who are pressured to get into a top college or feel socially isolated are more likely to get involved with alcohol and other drugs. The news might not be as shocking if the study focused on high school juniors and seniors&dmash;after all, they are the ones competing for acceptance letters from the Nation's top universities. Instead, the study focused on 6th- and 7th-grade students in a wealthy Northeast suburb where the typical family earns more than $100,000 per year. Researchers found that heavy use of alcohol and drugs by these well-to-do 11- to 13-year-olds is triggered by social isolation and the pressure—even at such an early age—to get into a top college.

The study asked 6th- and 7th-graders about their alcohol and drug use, their family relationships, and their emotional well-being. Participants also were asked to rank how much their parents valued different achievements or qualities, such as getting good grades, securing a high income in the future, being an honest person, or giving to others.

Study authors found high levels of stress and substance use among tweens who reported the most pressure to achieve academically and in extracurricular activities. Distress levels also were high among those who had the least after-school adult supervision. Study authors say that their study shows that suburban teens use alcohol and other drugs to protect themselves from the stresses of life. Youth growing up in wealthy, suburban communities are at much greater risk for depression and substance abuse than most people might expect. In fact, teen substance use is on the rise in suburbia, and in many cases is higher than drug use in lower-income urban areas.

Parent involvement and support can help prevent you from using alcohol and drugs, but what can you do when your parents are too busy for you? Or when parents stress you out instead of helping you combat the stress in your life? Find a trusted adult like a teacher, coach, or youth group leader that you can vent to when the going gets tough. Being a teenager is not easy and it's OK if you need to call in some adult help when you need it.

You may also want to try some of these stress-busting ideas to help keep yourself healthy and happy:

Exercise and eat regularly.
Avoid drinking caffeine, which is found in sodas, tea, and coffee beverages, including your Starbucks frappucino.
Avoid illegal drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
Learn relaxation exercises. Try taking a few deep breaths and mentally telling your muscles to relax. You might even want to close your eyes.
Get assertive—tell people what you think. For example, state your feelings in a polite, firm, but not overly aggressive way: "I feel angry when you yell at me" or "Please stop yelling."
Rehearse and practice situations that cause stress. If you know that you're going to be stressed out when you have to take a big exam like the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), take a practice exam so you're better prepared.
Learn practical coping skills. For example, break a large task into smaller, more attainable tasks.
Stop thinking bad thoughts about yourself. Change negative thoughts about yourself into neutral or positive thoughts. "I'll never pass Algebra (or Science, or English)!" can be transformed into "I may not be doing well in this class now, but I'll do better if I work at it and get some help."
Learn to feel good about doing a competent or "good enough" job rather than demanding perfection from yourself and others.
Take a break from stressful situations. Activities like listening to music, talking to a friend, drawing, writing, or spending time with a pet can reduce stress.
Build a network of friends who help you cope in a positive way.

You may also want to set goals to help keep your stress level down and your spirits up.

Sources:

1 Child Development, "Privileged But Pressured? A Study of Affluent Youth," October 2002.
2 The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Helping Teenagers With Stress. Last referenced January 27, 2003.

Helping teenagers deal with stress can be an emotional roller coaster. Just like adults, stress affects the health of a teen. Some sources of stress that can cause stress is: a change of schools, school demands are too much to handle, problems at home, or problems with other teenagers within the school. Teen health can be affected by all of these aspects and can lead to depression, negative thoughts, insomnia, high blood pressure, ulcers, nausea, loss of appetite, muscle tension, severe headaches or migraines, teeth grinding which leads to TMJ, or

Stress can affect teen health by other means as well, like an increase of prescription medications or sleeping pills. High levels of stress could lead your teen to drinking, smoking or even drugs. Teen health is something that needs to be taken care of all the way until adulthood. Anything like drugs, excessive alcohol use or smoking can cause health problems later on down the road He or she may tend to be more accident

The physical signs of stress that a teen may show are lip biting, nail biting, tooth grinding, and palm sweating. These are just a few. They may tend to be more angry and restless than usual and easily frustrated. They may become withdrawn and stay by themselves a lot which is also a sign that your teen may be suffering from depression as

Some positive ways of dealing with stress is to exercise. Exercising releases tension and helps you to relax. Avoid caffeine, it can increase the anxiety of a teen or anyone for that matter and cause more problems. Try to keep everything in perspective. If you are nervous about taking a test in school, ask yourself, "what is the worst that could happen if I don't do well on the test?" Stressing over something so trivial is not worth compromising your health. If you are feeling overwhelmed by a big project, try breaking it down into smaller pieces. Don't look at it as a whole, look at it as sections and complete a section before moving on to the next section. This way you will feel as if you are accomplishing something even if it is in very small portions. Think about taking yoga and learning the breathing and relaxation techniques. These could come in handy in your teen years as well as later on in life.

Think of nutrition as well. Nutrition is also very important to teen health, and what you eat now could affect how your health is in the future. Teen health is a very vital part of growing up and stress is a very vital part of being a grown up. As long as you know some techniques of how to control your stress level, learn how to relax and avoid feeling overwhelmed, your health should be very well stable throughout your teen years.