Stress And Anxiety

At home, at school, at work, and with their friends, it seems like teenagers are under constant pressure. They are under pressure to succeed, to perform, to excel, and to fit in. And, after a while, all of the pressures and demands being placed on them can seem overwhelming.

Academic Demands

School can be a pretty demanding place. Not only do teens have to worry about getting good grades, and doing well on tests and exams, many suffer from homework overload.

College Aspirations

Now days, high school freshmen are already starting to worry about choosing the right career, being able to get into a good college, and being able to afford to go to college at all. By the time they are juniors or seniors, the pressures on a teenager to make the right decisions to ensure their future success is high.

Job Pressures

On top of a heavy school load, many teenagers also have to deal with a part time, or even full time, job. So much of their time is spent either working or doing school work that they have very little free time during which they can just relax and have fun.

Family Issues

A teenager's daily life is stressful enough, even when things are good at home. But, when a teenager has to deal with family problems (like abuse, parents who are constantly arguing, parents who are getting divorced, parents suffering from substance abuse, or a sick parent or sibling) the other pressures in their lives can be even harder to deal with.

Self Image

Many teenagers feel a great deal of stress over trying to fit a certain image. They feel like they have to look a certain way, wear the right clothes, have the right hairstyle, or drive the right car. And they believe that, if they don't fit that image, they will be the objects of scorn and ridicule.

Peer Pressure

When you're a teenager, it can be difficult not to go along with the rest of the crowd. For example, a teenager might have no desire to smoke but, fearing their friends who smoke might think they are immature or uncool if they refuse, might give in when they are offered a cigarette.

In romantic relationships, teenagers might feel the pressure to do things they aren't ready for in order to keep from losing their boyfriend or girlfriend.

What are the Effects of Teenage Stress?

As with adults, stress can cause teenagers many physical, mental, and emotional problems.

Physically, teens who feel stressed out might suffer from headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, weight gain, stomach aches, and skin problems like acne.

Teens under stress can also experience emotional problems like depression, anxiety, and low self esteem. Finally, teens under stress can also experience behavioral problems, like drug or alcohol abuse, eating disorders, aggressiveness, and social withdrawal.

Teenagers are under pressure every day. But learning to deal with teenage stress will make them healthier, happier, and better able to handle the challenges and demands of daily life.

For more information on how to deal with the stress in your life, visit Zap-Stress.com and sign up for Brian's free report and newsletter on managing stress.

Anxiety disorder generalized symptom sufferers know what its like to face monsters. They face them every day when they face each anxiety disorder generalized symptom that limits their lives.

An anxiety disorder generalized symptom is a symptom that results from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). GAD is a far too common condition that plagues many people.

Characterized by excessive anxiety and worry that are disproportionate to the actual event or circumstances in a persons life, GAD can be a crippling disorder. People with GAD find their lives taken over by fear and worry.

When an anxiety disorder generalized symptom begins to run you life, you have lost your power. These symptoms can include:

--Irritability

--Muscle tension -- shakiness, headaches

--Excessive sweating, palpitations, shortness of breath, and various gastrointestinal symptoms

--Restlessness or feeling keyed up or "on the edge"

--Being easily fatigued

--Difficulty concentrating

--Sleep disturbances (difficulty falling or staying asleep; or restless, unsatisfying sleep)

Anxiety is one of the five main misery monsters that keep people leashed to suffering. If you want to live unleashed from old patterns of negative behavior or pain like that caused by an anxiety disorder generalized symptom, you must find a way to slay your monster.

When you suffer from an anxiety disorder generalized symptom, youve allowed your thoughts to create an unreality in your reality. In other words, instead of focusing on whats going right in your life, youre focusing on whats going wrong.

Western Medicine often treats GAD with sedative-type medications. Anti-depressants are also used for GAD. Some treatment also includes the use of antihistamines, which have a side-effect of reducing anxiety.

Although severe cases of anxiety may require medication, it is far preferable to slay this particular misery monster with the use of your mind.

Your mind is the most powerful healing tool you have. To get your mind to work for you instead of against you (because when youre worrying excessively, your mind is working against you), you must take these four steps:

1. Become aware of your thoughts. Begin to monitor the way your mind works. Really notice how you allow yourself to spin out worse-case scenarios.

2. Every time you catch your mind creating a worry thought, stop, and say, Cancel that.

3. Do at least one complete cycle of a 1-4-2 breathe. A 1-4-2 breathe is breathing in through your nose for a specified count, holding the breath for 4 times the original breathing in count, and breathing out through your mouth for 2 times the original breathing in count. So if you breathe in to a count of 4, youll hold it for 16 and breathe out to a count of 8.

4. Consciously replace your worry thought with a thought about what you WANT to have instead of what youre afraid of having.

These steps may sound simple, but dont be fooled. Theyre incredibly powerful. If youll follow these four steps, you can remove any anxiety disorder generalized symptom.

Find out how to turn your problems into power. Get a free report on how to create outstanding results in your life at http://www.miseryslayer.com Ande Waggener, J.D., is an author and a motivational speaker who shows people how to remove misery from their lives.