Stress is part of normal life and can occur daily. Repeated stress can lower self-esteem, decrease academic performance, and create a cycle of self-blame and self-doubt. It is important to identify stress signals and find strategies to reduce the stress.
It’s not as if teenagers don’t care about their future or don’t understand that they must do well – quite the contrary. Children as young as 5 years old are experiencing performance pressure, and this is particularly so in adolescence. This has resulted in a rise in the number of college students having severe psychological problems. Of course, many children of poverty face the most basic of life stressors such as hunger, parental unemployment, homelessness, and everyday life in unsafe neighborhoods. teenagers reported stress that drove them to sadness or depression, and that their single biggest source of stress was school. It is not unusual for kids to attend a seven-hour school day and then have to do hours of homework, not to mention sports practice, band rehearsals, weekend events and assignments. adolescents do not get enough sleep and that adolescents with sleep problems are more reactive to stress, which can contribute to academic, behavioral and health issues. Other stressors could be related to family issues like divorce or separation or domestic violence. Much of the performance pressure that stresses young people today is the direct result of a culture, both in and out of school, that fails to recognize and encourage the value of real learning over grades and scores. We’ve developed a distorting “consumerist” view of learning. Private schools tout attractive and exclusive packages and bid them to the highest buyer, the parents. It then becomes a scramble to get these choice positions for their children, increasing the learning gap between the students from the rich versus the poor backgrounds. This leads to many children being denied access to a good education. It exacerbates the stress that is degrading the physical health and well-being of our students. It also undermines our very sense of what’s right and wrong. Students resort to cheating, falsifying grades, bribing school official on their own or with their parents’ knowledge and help.
Stress can lead to feelings of anxiety, irritability, fear, moodiness and embarrassment.
Stress can lead to thoughts of self-criticism, repetitive thoughts, fear of failure, forgetfulness or mental disorganization, a difficulty concentrating and a preoccupation with the future.
Stress can lead to altered behaviour like stuttering, crying, grinding teeth, being accident prone, jaw clenching, laughing nervously, acting impulsively, difficult speech, yelling at loved ones, increased or decreased appetite and increased drug use and abuse.
Physical symptoms of stress are tight muscles, fatigue, rapid breathing, dry mouth, stomach aches, headaches, sweaty palms, pounding heart, shaking hands and sleep disturbances.
Tips for stress management involves one to take a deep breath, talk it out, take a minute holiday, pay attention to physical comfort, move away from the stressor, take care of your body, laugh, manage your time, know your limits, must you always be right?, have a good cry and finally look for the good things around you,