Teen stressors are overwhelming our kids, and they need help. In the past, learning to manage and cope with stress was unique to grown adults. Today, stress affecting teenagers is rampant, and it is important for their mental health that they learn the best ways to manage and cope with teen stressors. These stress-managing methodologies need to be ways that are realistic for their lives, routines and ages.
Stress Affecting Teenagers Is Real
The stress teens feel today originates from any number of sources, including school, parents, teachers, peers, the future, society, the environment, politics and themselves. If you leave teen stressors without a diagnosis or treatment, teenagers can begin to act out in dangerous ways. Parents should carefully examine the stress and behaviour in the lives of their teens. It is important to understand that help for teens with stress is available, and many teens need help to cope in a healthy manner.
How Dangerous Stress Is Affecting Teenagers
When teens do not learn to use healthy outlets to manage their stress, they can begin to act out in troublesome ways. Such ways can include drug and alcohol abuse, prescription drug abuse, anger, lies, deceit and a general lack of respect for everyone, everything and themselves. Stress in teens, just like in adults, can also be detrimental to their health. It can lead to obesity, high blood pressure, irritability, anxiety, fatigue and heart disease.
Teens who feel overwhelmed will often look for ways to avoid and escape reality. Often, this manifests in risky or dangerous behaviour, such as social isolation, electronic dependency and promiscuity with strangers. Such behaviours can have lifelong consequences, such as sexually transmitted diseases, eating disorders and criminal records. In some cases, it can lead to severe depression and even suicide. It is highly important to seek out stress management assistance for your teen when they need it.
Treatments and Programs for Teen Stressors
To begin, you might incorporate behavioural changes at home to help reduce stress. It is essential for teens to get exercise to manage stress and to stay healthy. Many people struggle to incorporate exercise into their lives. As a parent, you should make the time for your teen with high stress. You will also want to limit the amount of screen time they have daily. Perhaps you can swap screen time with exercise. And make sure your teens do not have access to devices during the night. Sleep is essential to stress reduction. This is true for adults as well. Many families benefit when they do not permit screens in bedrooms, including phones. And do not underestimate the power of a counsellor.
If these home remedies are not enough, it may be time to consider finding the right help for troubled teens with stress. You can find such help through various treatments and programs specifically for teens with high levels of stress and troubling behaviour. These treatments will vary based on the individual, such as behavioural therapy, educational programs and group activities. These treatments and programs will provide your teen with the tools and coping techniques necessary to manage stress in a healthy, safe and constructive manner.
You can find highly effective treatments and programs to improve the quality of life of your teen at Venture Academy. Call us at 866.762.2211 to help bring joy back to your entire family.
