Shantanu let out a long sigh as he looked at the textbooks piled on his desk: science and math test tomorrow, Spanish test the day after and two essays due in English by the following week. His family had gone to bed two hours earlier and had no idea he was still awake studying. Grabbing another energy drink from under his bed, he took a long drink hoping it would kick in quickly.
After only two hours of sleep, Shantanu stumbled out of bed and was dropped off to school. “You look terrible!” his friend, Manan said as they walked from the parking lot to class.
“I only got like 2 hours of sleep,” Shantanu mumbled.
“Ya! With how many energy drinks you have every day, I’m surprised you slept at all!” Manan said.
“Even if I don’t drink them at night, I still can’t sleep,” Shantanu said with a yawn. Since this semester began, he found himself tossing and turning at night, not being able to quiet the voices in his head. It always felt like there was a stampede of horses where his heart should have been.
“That sucks. You should try sleeping pills or something. My sister takes them sometimes when she can’t sleep around finals and she’s out cold for like hours,” Manan offered.
“Ya maybe I have to,” Shantanu sighed.
“Dude, are you sick again?” Manan said when he saw Shantanu pull out a cough drop.
“Yup. I keep getting these colds and they won’t go away. Can’t wait until winter is over!” Shantanu said.
“I need to stay away from you then. I haven’t gotten sick yet so far. You just have bad luck or something!” Manan said laughing at his friend.
Shantanu felt like that statement truly summed up his life. No matter how much he washed his hands, he kept getting sick. No matter how much he studied he wasn’t getting the grades that he expected in most of his classes. Just last night, he got into a big fight with his parents. He snapped at them for their incessant questioning during dinner about his tests coming up. His father became very upset and told him to change the tone of his voice but that just riled Shantanu up even further and the argument escalated.
He left the dining room in the middle of dinner because he was so frustrated with his family. His sister made a comment as he left that it seemed he was PMS-ing. This infuriated him more and he turned around to pick a fight with his sister too. Emotions were flying high and everyone was angry so his mother sent him to his room to cool off.
Shantanu had never made everyone in his family angry before. He felt guilty for his behavior but also felt like he could not control it. Everything seemed to be falling apart for him. Bad luck, he thought, was the best explanation.
What the teens didn’t know is Shantanu was exhibiting normal signs of stress in teenagers. His recurring colds were signs that his immunity was compromised due to chronic stress. Hostility toward family members, negative change in academic performance, low mood and irritability as well as sleep disturbances are all red flags that the teen is experiencing high levels of stress.
Stress, especially during the adolescent years, can have serious and permanent repercussions on their physical and emotional wellbeing. Because of the numerous changes that are occurring during the teenage years, the brain is especially susceptible to stress. The neural connections can be permanently altered, physical growth can be impacted and stress can be the precursor to future mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and others.
Parents, teachers and other adults who spend a significant amount of time with teens should be well aware of the signs and symptoms of stress in adolescents. In addition, they should take a preventative stance on stress by reducing it before it creates long-lasting problems.
What do you think about teen stress? Please leave your comments below.