Stress Management Tips for Teens

July 31, 2009 | By Belinda Bison In stress management tips |

The teenage years are always a stressful time in a person’s life. One of the reasons for the multi-billion dollar success of the Spider-Man movie franchise is the clever way the movies use the fantasy device of super-powers as a metaphor for the very real changes that occur in a teenager’s body and emotional state. If you are a teenager wondering how to manage this stress, these stress management tips for teens are designed to help you.

Stress Management Tip for Teens #1: Breathe

Breathing exercises and muscle relaxation techniques can be valuable weapons in the battle against stress. Here’s a simple breathing exercise that can help induce feelings of well-being: breathe in slowly through your nose for a count of six, hold the air in your lungs for a count of six and then breathe out slowly through your mouth for a count of six. Repeating this two or three times helps to oxygenate your blood and when this oxygenated blood reaches the brain, it can trigger the release of chemicals that help to relax you – no drugs required!

You can also try lying in a darkened room with relaxing music playing and progressively contract and relax the muscles in your body. Start with your toes and gradually work your way upwards to the top of your head. It helps if you think of a place where you felt particularly happy, thus inducing a positive frame of mind.

Stress Management Tip for Teens #2: Communicate

As a teenager, you will often feel that no-one understands what you are going through, and that you are all alone in the world. The fact is that everyone was a teenager once. This is bad news for your sense of uniqueness, but good news in that you may find parents, teachers or other adults more sympathetic than you might expect. If you don’t want to talk to an adult, try an older teenage friend or relative.

A word of warning, though. A minority of adults abuse positions of trust to prey on teenagers sexually. One should always be wary of being alone, unsupervised with an adult, however well you think you know them.

Stress Management Tip for Teens #3: Keep it Real

For many teens, a major cause of stress is the pressure to be one of the cool kids. This, ironically, is usually achieved by sublimating your own identity and copying the dress, behavior and musical tastes of your peer group, with all the attendant fears of making a faux pas. The realization that true happiness comes from being yourself and not caring what other people think of you comes too late for some teens. Don’t be one of them.

Back to main page…