SPRING 2018
maskmatters.org
41
educate
J
Generation Stress
TEENS
TALK
STRESS
In 2014, NPR asked teens to share their experiences
with stress on Facebook. Here’s a sampling of what they
had to say:
“
Academic stress has been a part of my life ever since I
can remember,” wrote Bretta McCall, then 16, of Seattle.
“This year, I spend about 12 hours a day on schoolwork.
I’m home right now because I was feeling so sick from
stress I couldn’t be at school. So as you can tell, it’s a big
part of my life!”
“
At the time of writing this, my weekend assignments
include two papers, a PowerPoint to go with a 10-minute
presentation, studying for a test and two quizzes, and
an entire chapter (approximately 40 pages) of notes in a
college textbook,” wrote Connor West of New Jersey.
“
It’s a problem that’s basically brushed off by most
people,” wrote Kelly Farrell in Delaware. “There’s
this mentality of, ‘You’re doing well, so why are you
complaining?’ ” She says she started experiencing
symptoms of stress in middle school, and was diagnosed
with panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in
high school.
“
Parents are the worst about all of this,” wrote Colin
Hughes of Illinois. “All I hear is, ‘Work harder, you’re a
smart kid, I know you have it in you, and if you want to go
to college you need to work harder.’ It’s a pain.”
that although we clearly want what is
best for them in their future lives, what’s
best doesn’t necessarily have to equate
to what we want. We should hear what
they have to say and consider how they
envision their future.”
J
Giving unconditional love.
“Our teens also need unconditional love,
acceptance and support, and we should
be explicit in communicating this to
them. We often assume that they know
this (and they probably do), but they
really need to hear it.”
J
Setting realistic expectations.
“Parents should also help their teens
to set realistic expectations and keep
things in perspective. No, it’s not the
end of the world as we know it if our
teen, for example, has not decided what
she is majoring in during her freshman
year of college. Nor does it make you
a horrible parent to think that it is
OK for our teens to fail at something.
After all, failure presents an opportunity
for growth! If we allow our children to
fall, they can learn from their mistakes
(called natural consequences) and pick
themselves back up.”
