Being a teenager is way more complicated compared to being an adult. Teenagers deal with great amounts of stress, physical and emotional changes to their body, and the overwhelming feeling of peer pressure. Stress takes over the human body, making life hard for teenagers to study and focus on what’s important, like family, schoolwork, and everyday problems. Puberty affects teenagers daily because of the physical changes they are experiencing in their bodies. Peer pressure plays a big role in the lives of teenagers, making them feel trapped and insecure. So how can we make changes to the situations teenagers face so they aren’t so difficult or overwhelming?  

Stress is a very common factor in a teenager’s everyday life. Stress is the reaction of your body to any demand. Stress makes you feel submerged in a never-ending feeling of tension with everything you do. You may feel like the assignment or task in your mind may never get done or you may feel like it’s impossible to do. Stress causes you to feel this way. You overthink all the tasks and problems you need to deal with in your life. Something to think about is that if you’re stressing about something before it happens, you’re putting yourself through it twice. This is normal for teenagers to experience, yet it’s never good to let yourself continue to feel this way without taking any action to solve the problem. At the time, you may feel like there’s no way you could lift all this weight off your shoulders. But, there’s always a way to make life easier for yourself.  One way to relieve your stress may be to write down the things that need to be done and keeping track of when you finish them. This helps you see that you are making progress by checking things off. Another way you can help yourself feel better is to, spend time with your family and relax. This takes things off your mind, helps you laugh, and eases your thought about the stress in your life. All this may take up time, but never procrastinate when you have work to get done. Procrastination may cause you more stress by pushing what you need to get done aside. Always face things head on and never give up. Take things one at a time, and tell yourself that it’ll all pay off.

Puberty is the time in your life when your body changes from a child to a young adult. Many argue that it’s the worst time of their young adult life. Puberty is one thing a teenager can’t escape. It happens to everyone. Puberty is a part of your life that may get confusing and hard to understand. Things we don’t understand gives us stress and make us feel overwhelmed. When going through puberty, it may make you feel uncomfortable with your own body. You lack confidence and discomfort due to the changes in your own body because you are not sure how to understand the changes you are going through. Also, puberty causes drastic mood swings which have no certain explanations for. Teenagers at this time seem to be more impulsive with their decisions. Meaning, they do things before they think of the consequences. They think highly of their own advice and won’t pay attention to the advice around them. Teenagers also begin to ask themselves questions like, “why am I here?” or “what is my purpose?” They take so much time trying and searching for the definite answers to their questions and are left feeling lost because there really is no right answer because no one knows what’s planned for them in the future. Puberty is an inevitable, an annoying transition, but there are some ways to cope with it. One way to help is to talk to an adult, trusted friend, or doctor about what’s bothering you. You could also become an expert on puberty and figure out why it happens and what steps to take to help you with it. During puberty you should always have a positive attitude: stress can cause acne. Puberty is a confusing time in a teenagers life, but not all puberty is bad. After puberty, you are looked over as a new person and a mature young adult. Puberty gives you a new look and lets you have new experiences. You can go out on your own, shop for the things you like, have more freedom, and more trust from your parents. Puberty, you suck.

When you say “ yes” to others make sure you aren’t saying “ no” to yourself.

Peer pressure is the feeling that someone your own age is pushing you to make a certain choice, good or bad. Positive peer pressure can be when you encourage or are being encouraged to participate in a sport or a school activity that you have never done or thought about doing. Negative peer pressure is when your friends persuade you into doing something you hadn’t thought about doing or something that isn’t in your best interest. If you are being peer pressured by your friends, it may be hard to say no because you may not want them to make fun of you, or it may make you feel bad for not doing the action. Trying to fit into a group of peers can increase the stress in teens. One way you can deal with stress is just to get out of the situation. It will take a lot of stress off your back by not having to think about the situation, and you don’t have to think about if you’re making a good decision or not. Also, choose your friends wisely. If the friendship is toxic, it’s better to walk away. A toxic friendship is when your friend is constantly gossiping behind your back or is taking advantage of the friendship. Peer pressure in high school is both wrong and harmful. It can lead to depression, high-stress levels, and poor decision making. It’s better to walk alone than with a crowd going in the wrong direction. Just keep doing what you feel is right.

Adopting the right attitude can convert negative stress into a positive one. Being a teenager is difficult, and we can all agree. There are times in our life when we will experience stress, puberty, and peer pressure. We may feel like the worlds against us, but we can do it. We have the power to change our problems into lessons for ourselves. Don’t let your life get mixed up, your choices affect your life. If you tell yourself negative thoughts, it won’t get you anywhere. Positive mind, positive life. What you do to help yourself is in your hands. Always be better than the person you were yesterday. Good luck.