Despite what we often believe about stress - short term stress can be ok for many children and young people. For some it can be a motivational factor that helps them to prepare for something that is coming up e.g. a competition, exam or music grading.
But…
Chronic stress (a prolonged and constant feeling of stress), can contribute to more long-term ongoing health challenges if it’s not dealt with effectively.
Sources of stress:
There are many sources of stress for young people but below we explore the main 3 that individuals tend to discuss in sessions.
School
The school environment can come with a variety of challenges.
These can be social challenges such as making friends, dealing with bullies, or not getting along with their teachers.
They might also be anxious about getting homework done on time around all their other commitments (e.g. sport), upcoming exams and what grades they are going to get. .
Peers / friendships
These can be a positive for some individuals and act as a buffer for stress, but as we all know they can also be a source of it.
Social relationships are especially important in adolescence. Many teens worry about fitting in.
Sport
Any extra activities such as sport can be a potential additional source of stress for young people.
What begins as a fun activity for 1 or 2 hours a week can become a source of stress for many young people as their commitments to the sport increase and they aren't too sure whether it is what they want or not.
As these activities increase they may not always be the direct source of stress but they may limit the time available for other things e.g. homework, time with friends and therefor exacerbate the feeling of stress.
Check in with commitments and stress levels:
If you are a young person reading this answer these questions / share the responses with a parent or guardian. Parents if you are reading this have a think about your responses for your child and have a chat with them about it.
What does a typical week or month look like?
How much downtime is there?
What do evenings and mornings look like and how might this impact sleep?
How many commitments are there outside of school?
Is there much time to connect with family and friends?
Is there space in the plan for homework / revision amongst everything else?
Is there commitment to one sport / activity outside of school or are there multiple commitments?
If it's only one sport how many commitments do they have? e.g. club age groups, club seniors, school, regional, national. How does this look on a weekly / monthly basis?
Are there certain times in the week that are more stressful or more difficult to manage?
We aren't saying that a specific amount of commitment is too little or too much for each individual (this will be different for everyone, and will vary at different stages of life). We are simply encouraging you to pause and check in.
Have things snow balled and got a little out of control or are you content and able to cope effectively?
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