Teen Stress 101:
Tips and Strategies for Success
Objectives
Following completion of this training, you will be
able to:
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Define stress and the various types of stress
Identify sources of stress
Evaluate sources of stress in your life
Identify positive strategies for coping and
managing stress
What is Stress?
How would you define stress?
Stress can be defined as…
…a normal physical response to events that
make you feel threatened or upset your balance in
some way.
Basically…the point when things appear to be too
much to handle
Stress…Does this really apply
to me???
Many medical and health organizations have
conducted studies on teen stress and found the
following…
The American Psychological Association found that:
• 49% of teens reported having experienced stress
• 43% of these teens reported experiencing fatigue,
headaches and other physical ailments
• 39% of teens admitted that stress negatively impacts their
eating habits
More than one type of
stress…Yikes?!
Did you know there are different types of stress?
The three types of stress include:
• Environmental
• Physical
• Psychological
Environmental Stress…
What is Environmental Stress?
…pressure on the environment caused by
human activities or natural events
What are some examples of Environmental Stress
you can come up with?
Examples:
Pollution
Droughts
Smog
Physical Stress…
What is Physical Stress?
…a biological response to factors which can
negatively impact your overall health
What are some examples of Physical Stress you can
come up with?
Examples:
Malnutrition
Heat
Inactivity
Psychological Stress…
What is Psychological Stress?
…a biological response to factors which can
negatively impact your overall mental and emotional
health
What are some examples of Psychological Stress you
can come up with?
Examples:
Relationships
Deployment
Loss
Stressors…What are those?
Stressors are defined as…
… stimuli that cause stress
Basically…those things that cause you to get
stressed out
Stressors can be both positive or negative depending on
the event or situation
What are your stressors?
All of us have things that cause us to feel more stressed;
those things that cause our hearts to pound, palms to
sweat and butterflies in our stomach.
What are some stressors in your life?
What other teens have to say
about stress…
Often times we can feel alone when dealing with
our stress. Many teens report experiencing stress
in their everyday lives. Listen to what other teens
have to say about causes of their stress and what
they do to cope with things.
Watch: Teenagers and Stress video
Physical Reactions to Stress
Since stress is a natural biological reaction, when we
experience stress we may also experience physical
symptoms.
Physical reactions to stress can include:
Headaches
Sleeplessness
Stomachaches
Loss of Appetite
What are some other physical reactions you can
think of?
Emotional Reactions to Stress
Just as our bodies experience physical reactions to
stress, we can also experience emotional reactions.
Emotional reactions to stress can include:
Depression
Increased Fears/Worry
Difficulty Concentrating
Greater Anxiety
What are some other emotional reactions you can
think of?
Stress in Others: Warning Signs
Everyone is impacted by stress at some point in their
day…week…life. Being able to recognize stress in
others can help us as we learn to communicate with
them, collaborate with them and help them.
Those around us may exhibit the following signs of
stress:
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Being very quiet/withdrawn
Easily aggravated or quick to anger
Oversight of assignments, tasks and/or duties
Appearing to be very worried or anxious
Crying or having feelings of hopelessness
Complaints of headaches, stomachaches or general tiredness
Team Activity
Now that we have a better understanding of the
physical and emotional impacts stress has on our
lives, your mission is to work as a team to create a
poster or visual representation of what stress ‘looks
like’ to you.
Some things to keep in mind as you work:
1.
2.
3.
4.
This is a TEAM activity…everyone participates
What do I feel like when I am stressed?
What do I look like when I am stressed?
Once every group has finished, we will share with the other teams
Stress: It Won’t Control Me!
Since avoiding stress is not practical in life, learning
positive stress management strategies allows us to
cope with stress.
-> Managing our stress, not our stress managing us!
How do your peers cope?
In this next video, you will see how two teens
implement positive stress management strategies
to cope with things in their lives.
Watch: Teenagers and Stress – Part 2 video
Stress Management Strategies
There are many positive strategies for managing
stress. Some of those strategies include:
Exercise regularly (at least 60 minutes of moderate activity each day)
Get proper amounts of sleep (est. 8-9 hours each night)
Eat healthy
Avoid illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco
Decrease negative self-talk
Learn to accept compliments; feel proud of achievements
Set goals – break tasks into smaller segments
Don’t be afraid to ‘walk away’ and take a ‘breather’ during challenging
situations
• Find a trusted individual to talk with
• Utilize deep breathing and positive mantras: “I can handle this…” or “I will
not let this get me down…”
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Stress: Lifelines for Others
In addition to practicing our own positive stress
management techniques, we can also help others
experiencing stress by:
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Encouraging them to talk about things
Suggest they listen to their favorite music
Recommend they help others; volunteer to help others
Encourage them to eat healthy and get plenty of exercise
Partner up with each other and work on fun projects or activities
What additional strategies would you suggest?
Stress and Military Life
While being a part of the military community is definitely
something to be very proud of, it does come with unique
challenges your civilian peers do not experience.
What are some challenges you have experienced as a
result of being part of the military community?
Are there specific stressors you have experienced that
your civilian peers have not? What are those?
How did you cope with those stressors or overcome
those challenges?
Team Activity
For the following activity, you will be working in teams.
Your team will need to complete the following tasks:
• Share copies of the book My Story: Blogs by Four Military Teens
• Read the blog about your assigned teen
• Answer the following questions (on your activity sheet):
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What stressors could you identify for this teen?
What positive management strategies is he/she using?
What additional management strategies would you suggest?
What is your team’s biggest ‘Take Away’ after completing this
activity? Why?
Team Activity – Report Out
• What stressors could you identify for this teen?
• What positive management strateg(ies) is he/she using?
• What additional management strategies would you suggest?
• What is your team’s biggest ‘Take Away’ after completing
this activity? Why?
• Additional team thoughts??
Session ‘Take-Aways’
Stress is something everyone experiences in life…while
we can’t escape it, we CAN learn to positively manage it.
Important things to remember include:
• Stress is a normal, biological function
• Stress can be positively managed with practice and
persistence
• Everyone reacts differently to stress – that is okay
• Being proactive, living a healthy lifestyle and learning to
accept those things we cannot change are all examples of
positive stress management strategies
Objectives
Following completion of this training, you will be
able to:
•
•
•
•
Define stress and the various types of stress
Identify sources of stress
Evaluate sources of stress in your life
Identify positive strategies for coping and
managing stress
Questions
What questions are there at this time?