Adolescence is the most crucial stage in the life of an individual. According to World Health Organization, adolescence covers 10 to 19 years of life. Adolescents form significant proportion of the population of any nation, and the care of adolescents is the need of the hour. The word ‘adolescence’ originated from the Latin word – ‘Adolescere’ which means – ‘to grow to maturity’.

Definition

Adolescence refers to the long transitional developmental period between childhood and adulthood, and to a maturational developmental process involving major physical, psychological and social transformations.

 Significance of Adolescence

 • Personality development is completed during this peiod

• It is the time for the deciding the future profession

• An adolescent is under lots of pressure from parents, teachers, peer group and the society

• Normal adolescence is viewed as a period of turmoil and stress.

• About to 10 to 20 % of normal adolescents experience severe emotional reactivity and disruptions in family relationships.

• Adolescence represents high risk period in human life cycle and hence requires special attention by everyone involved in health care.

Stress in Adolescence

Stress is a normal universal human experience . ‘Stress’ is either an external event or an internal drive which threatens the normal functioning of an individual, resulting in impaired health or altered behaviour. Since adolescence is considered as a stage of ‘stress and storm’, proper management of stress in adolescents is highly essential for success in adulthood.

Common causes of stress

Academic stress – Learning disability, Scholastic backwardness due to other causes, Failure in examinations.

Personal stress – Disappointment in love affairs, Sexual abuse, Low self esteem

Family related stress -Marital discord among parents, Conflicts among family members, Overambitious parents, Comparisons by parents, Sibling rivalry, Unempathetic attitude of family members

School related stress – Conflicts with teachers, Frequent school changes, Peer group pressures.

For adolescents with low coping skills, demands from society and even the daily hassles of life can cause significant stress.

Symptoms of Stress

Physical symptoms – (Investigations will be normal)

• Pain disorder – Stress will lower the pain threshold and the individual under stress can experience severe distressing pain anywhere in the body. The common symptoms are headache, backache, chest pain and abdominal pain.

• Somatoform autonomic dysfunction – Individual presents with varying physical symptoms related to cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, genitourinary or respiratory systems.

• Conversion disorders – Present with neurological symptoms like pseudoseizures, weakness of limbs, movement disorders, sensory disturbance etc.

Emotional responses to stress

• Deliberate self harm

• Forgetfulness

• Lack of concentration / deterioration in scholastic performance 

• Anxiety 

• Low mood

• Reduced sleep and appetite

Behavioural symptoms of stress

• Irritability

• Restlessness / Occasional aggressiveness

• Withdrawal from usual activities

• Substance use

Prevention of stress related problems – Role of parents

• Provide peaceful and happy environment at home. 

• Be empathetic with the adolescents and give love and support

• Be a role model and friend 

• Avoid undue criticisms and comparisons 

• Motivate to improve scholastic performance

• Provide encouragement to promote the talents

• Be firm, but allow some privacy

• Listen and discuss the problems of the adolescent and help to solve the conflicts

Management of Stress

An adolescent presenting with unexplained physical symptoms as well as with emotional or behavioural symptoms need immediate and individualized detailed evaluation by experts in adolescent guidance to find out the underlying stress. They need counseling to improve self esteem and motivation. Relaxation therapy helps to relieve stress. Through cognitive behaviour therapy the negative stressful thoughts can be restructured towards a positive outlook in life. After cognitive restructuring, stress is relieved and the physical symptoms related to stress will subside. Family therapy will be required in managing stress in family.

For Excellence – Role of Professionals in Adolescent Guidance

• Training to improve the emotional quotient (EQ) of the adolescent. ‘The inner beauty’ of an individual gets maximised on acquiring high emotional intelligence.

• Life skills training to improve the personality and increase the skills needed to deal effectively with demands and challenges of everyday life.

• Career guidance to enable the adolescent to choose the profession according to the aptitude and skills.

• Study skills training to improve academic performance and for success in examinations.

• Premarital counseling to prepare the adolescent for happy family life.

• Social skills training and communication skills training to improve the social performance.

Conclusion

Adolescence is the most fascinating as well as the most critical period in the life of an individual. Early and scientific management of stress in adolescents is necessary to improve the quality of life. Through professional guidance, we can maximise the talents and potentials of the adolescents, so as to lead them towards excellence in life.