Stress is often uncomfortable, but sometimes necessary. A healthy amount of stress helps us navigate difficult situations, identify potential emergencies, and keeps us alert, focused and task-oriented.

Negative or excessive stress can wreak havoc on the body and mind. Like adults, teens experience stress when they perceive situations as dangerous, painful, and overwhelming. When these situations arise, immediate chemical and physical changes occur.

To protect themselves, your teen will likely go into “fight, flight, or freeze.” Physically, this manifests as increased heart rate, clammy hands and feet, upset stomach, headaches, low energy, ringing in ears, and trouble breathing. What can be even more overwhelming are the changes that happen in your child’s brain. During “fight, flight, or freeze,” your child’s ability to access the decision-making part of the brain is impaired, making it almost impossible to use logic and reasoning to process the situation they are experiencing. A prolonged exposure to this overload of stress can cause mental and physical symptoms such as anxiety, depression, withdrawal, aggressive behavior, stomach ulcers, changes in sleep patterns, or dependence on unhealthy coping strategies such as drugs and alcohol.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

As a parent, it can be very difficult to watch your child suffer with anxiety and stress. Helping your child name the trigger and develop coping skills and relaxation techniques can help break the vicious cycle. The first step is helping your teen assess their current level of stress and identifying the cause of activation. The most crucial step is to then validate their feelings by empathizing and providing support. Listen to your teen and do your best to help create a space in which they feel safe and supported. One way to help provide this support is by helping them create a stress management plan.

STEPS FOR A STRESS MANAGEMENT PLAN

Step 1:

Have your teen write down everything that is currently bothering them or what they feel could be causing their negative stress. Some common triggers include:

• Grades/test anxiety

• Relationships

• Family needs

• Fear of failure

• Bullying

• Performance pressure

• Athletics

• World events

• Peer rejection/acceptance

Step 2:

Help identify the items from your teen’s list that are actually in their control by highlighting those triggers and crossing off the rest. This step provides a visual that allows your teen to see where they are focusing.

Step 3:

Design the plan around the items that are highlighted or circled, shifting the focus to what is in their control, such as thoughts, feelings, choices, and behaviors.

Step 4:

Help your teen identify activities and practical coping mechanisms that help control their emotional response to the designated trigger. Specifically label which coping skill will be used for a particular event to reduce any potential ambiguity. Examples include:

• Monitoring mental chatter for negative thoughts and/or “all or nothing” thinking

• Focusing on solutions rather than how unfair the current situation seems

• Taking a mental break

• Journaling

• Deep breathing, meditation and/or yoga

• Regular exercise and time outside

• Participation in extracurricular activities

• Making time for hobbies and interests

• Seeking social support

By using these and other techniques, teenagers can begin to manage stress. If a teen talks about or shows signs of excessive stress, a consultation with a qualified mental health professional may be helpful. PPCD is here to help. Contact one of our mental health professionals today to get started.

Pediatrics Plus Counseling & Diagnostics
Little Rock - Main Office: 12921 Cantrell Road, Suite 105, Little Rock, AR 72223
Conway - Testing Center: 2740 College Ave., Conway, AR  72034
Phone: 501.891.5492 | Fax: 501.747.2149
PPCD@PediatricsPlus.com | PPCDAR.com