Stress=Teenage Depression #2
Submitted by Autumn Stephens on Tue, 03/25/2008 - 13:15.
Teens receive stress from three main groups; family, friends, and society. The most intense stress comes from their family. However, the most constant is probably from thier friends. But, society also has a large role.
Family stress is a problem for every age group. But, it seems to be especially bad for teens. This is probably because most teens parents have very high expectations for their children. This often overwhelms the teen and makes them feel worthless because of unmet expectations. Teens start feeling sorry for themselves. This could lead to depression.
Not only do teens face stress at home, they also face it while with their friends. Many face peer pressure. For example : Say you’re a teen and you have a group of best friends that all smoke, but you don’t. Your friends keep pressuring you into smoking when you know it’s wrong. However, you know if you don’t start smoking, they will ditch you and you will be alone. Once again, teens are placed in a stressful situation. Over time, this type of stress may lead to depression.
The last stress giving group is society. Society's expectations from teens are many times insulting. Society expects female teens to get pregnant and drop out of school. This is especially true in the case of minorities. Males, on the otherhand, are thought to be troublemakers and dropouts. How can anyone survive with this amount of stress. Teens feel people are always judging them. They feel like what's the point and are defeated. This final stress probably will lead to depressionh.
Teens need a break. Adults need to find a new way to encourage teens to be successful. They should try to remember when they were young. Friends, need to be there for each other. They should be more understanding and stop pressuring each other. And finally society, needs new images. More positive advertisements about teens would be helpful. Each group needs to more sensitive to what is happening to teens.
