Stressed Teens

Does your teen seem super stressed lately?

It’s no surprise. The stress on teens these days is extraordinary.

The academic demands placed on kids in middle school and high school are greater than ever before. When you were young, school was easier, and there wasn’t such enormous pressure to be amazing at everything. And when it was time for college, you just picked a nice school and that was the end of it.

Peer relationships are also harder.

These days, with social media, teens are constantly reminded of who is hanging out with who, ways in which they are excluded, ways in which…they don’t measure up. When you were young, it was easy to leave school issues at school. Now there’s no break from the comparisons, from bullies, from the pressure to look a certain way, convey a certain image, and otherwise measure up.

Stress at home can also add to the mix. If there’s family fighting or physical or mental illness in a family member, teens can become sad, stressed, or anxious and not know how to cope.

Teens also don’t always know who to go to for support.

We know you wish it could be you, the parent, and we agree. It’s just that teens have a tendency, as they get older and are trying to become more independent of you, not to open up as much.

We get it. And we’d like to help. If your teen seems stressed—they’re irritable, withdrawn, or on edge—we can help figure out what is going on and give them tools to set things in a new direction so they feel better quickly. And you’d be giving your child some invaluable lessons: that when life is hard, there are people who can help, that getting help is a smart choice—something to be done sooner rather than later—and that there’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Learn more about anxiety in teens and depression in teens.