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There is no doubt that the world is a stressful place. With all of the advances we have made in recent years that were supposed to make life easier, it seems that life has only gotten busier, harder, and generally more demandingly stressful. This is true for adults, but it is often more true in the lives of teens. As parents, we need to do all that we can to understand the levels of stress that our teens are living under in order that we can help to relieve at least a portion of it. This is one of the greatest gifts that we can give them, since most of us know that excessive stress can be a debilitating thing to live with.

Stress, in large amounts, can affect many areas of a person's life. There can be physical problems that occur, such as ulcers, insomnia, headaches, stomach aches, and others. There can be mental affects, like anxiety disorders, panic attacks, self-esteem problems, and learning problems. There can also be social/relationship problems as a result of stress in the lives of teens. These affects can last far longer than the teen years, continuing to wreak havoc well into adulthood and crush hopes and dreams.

The stress factors for teens are various, but they typically fall into three major categories. These are academic, social, and family life. These three areas of the young person's life tend to be the most important to them, even if they are quite resistant to admit it. Here is a brief breakdown of the potential stressors that can come about from these factors.

*Academic Stressors-Education is important and it is important for parents to encourage their children to do well in school, even to set a reward and consequence system. However, be cautious not to put so much pressure on your teen that it actually interferes with their ability to excel because they are feeling stressed and as though they aren't doing good enough for you, no matter how hard they try. It is also good to listen to your child when they talk about their goals and dreams for the future, even if they aren't always the ones that you had in mind for them.

*Social Stressors-As adolescence sets in, the social structure around your teen is changing. There are cliques and if they aren't fitting in quite as well as they would like to, this can cause great stress and worry for them. Don't make light of this, think back and try to remember how hard this was for you at that age. There are also new romantic feelings that your teen is probably dealing with and they may experience their first true love during these years. Unfortunately, most teens will also experience their first heartbreak at this stage. Be there if they need an ear to listen, or a shoulder to cry on.

*Family Stressors-There are also many teens who deal with family stressors, especially if their home life is not ideal. As parents, it is our job to make the home lives of our children as stress-free as possible. If there is abuse, divorce, parents who are too busy, or a number of other things going on, this can add untold amounts of strain in the already stressful adolescent life.

Give your children time and love, care for them, and be as understanding as possible during these years. They won't last forever, even if it seems like they are dragging by sometimes. Soon enough, though, they will be headed off on their own and believe it or not, you will miss these days when you were needed and able to help them out a bit.

Learn more about this author, Victoria Tiegert.
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