While we often look back at our teenage years with a sense of fond nostalgia, there’s no denying that this period in our lives is also stressful. For example, it’s during this time that we feel the responsibilities of adulthood start to kick in, all while dealing with rapidly fluctuating hormones and rollercoaster friendships and relationships to boot.
As such, if you’ve noticed that your teenager appears to be frequently stressed out, it’s easy to understand why. However, this does not make it any easier to watch. Fortunately, there are many ways in which you can help your teenager destress. Read on to find out more!
Let them know that you are proud of them. Teenagers are under a great deal of academic pressure, no matter what stage they are at in their educational journey. For example, they may have to get certain grades in order to be able to attend the college of their dreams, or simply to meet their own high expectations. As such, letting them know that you are proud of them can be incredibly useful during this time.
You should also remind them that there’s a lot more to life than test results. Exams do not show how nice a person they are, how quickly they can rise to challenges, or anything, really, beyond an answer to a specific question. This means that if they perform badly, the world will not end. Helping them to realize this will work wonders for managing their stress and anxiety moving forward, as they are then able to see the bigger picture.
Help them to take their mind off what is troubling them. Helping your teenager to take their mind of whatever is troubling them can also help when it comes to managing stress. For example, you may want to suggest that, whenever they are feeling overwhelmed, they spend some time outdoors, or even play online games such as minesweeper. This way, you’re showing them the importance of escapism from an early age!
Monitor their social media usage. Social media is a cause of stress for many teenagers (and adults). This is because the platforms consistently encourage users to compare themselves to others, whether that’s celebrities and influencers or their peers. As such, you should carefully monitor your teenager’s social media usage in order to ensure that their time online is not impacting their mental health. One way in which you could achieve this goal, without interfering with their privacy, is by installing timers on the apps, which means that they can only spend a designated amount of time on each platform per day.
Let them talk without worrying about being judged. When we reach our teenage years, the amount of details of our lives we’d like to share with our parents begins to dwindle. However, you can help to remedy this and continue to be a source of support for your teen by letting them know that they can talk to you without fear of judgment or repercussions. For example, if they are stressed out about having done something wrong, it is far better for them to tell you about it than to keep it to themselves. After all, it means that you can then help them to find a solution.
One way in which you could facilitate this kind of conversation is by having candid conversations about your own teenage years, including any mistakes that you may have made yourself. While you do not have to share every single detail, this kind of conversation puts you and your teen on a more level playing field, which means they are more likely to be honest moving forward. If they are still not willing to open up to you, you may want to discuss the possibility of them meeting a counsellor or therapist instead. Do not push them into this if they do not feel ready to do so, but be sure to discuss the many benefits in as much detail as you can.
Final thoughts. While stress can take its toll on you at any age, there’s no denying that our teenage years are particularly stressful. This is because it is a period of rapid change that it’s often hard to wrap our heads around, making emotional regulation feel like a thing of the past.
Fortunately, there are many ways in which you, as a parent, can show up for and support your child during this time, from simply listening to what they have to say to helping them find ways to relax.
