{"id":1322,"date":"2016-12-13T12:42:25","date_gmt":"2016-12-13T17:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=1322"},"modified":"2016-12-13T12:42:25","modified_gmt":"2016-12-13T17:42:25","slug":"whats-stressing-us-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=1322","title":{"rendered":"What’s stressing us out?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lois Biggs & Beau Hunsaker
\n<\/strong>Hawk Herald
\nForest Hills Eastern HS
\n1st Place
\nDivision 3, News Writing
\nIn-Depth Feature<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When faced with stress, high schoolers ask them-selves the same question over and over. \u201cWhat if?\u201d<\/p>\n

What if I fail this test? What if I trip on the great hall stairs? What if people vote for me on Twitter? What if the teacher calls on me and I don\u2019t know the answer? What if I don\u2019t get any likes on Instagram? What if I\u2019m not wearing the right clothes? What if my friends are talk-ing about me behind my back? What if I get a bad SAT score? What if I don\u2019t get into my dream school?<\/p>\n

Sometimes it\u2019s hard to silence these questions.<\/p>\n

For teenagers with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), these \u201cwhat ifs\u201d are constant. But based on American Psycho-logical Association (APA) studies show-ing that teenagers today report higher levels of stress than adults, many teens are familiar with self-doubt and worry. The high school years are a time full of uncertainty, but this expected uncertainty doesn\u2019t fully account for the high levels of stress and anxiety that teenagers report today. What causes teenage stress and anxiety, and why is it rising? Why do teenagers keep asking themselves \u201cWhat if?\u201d<\/p>\n

STRESS<\/strong>
\nIn psychology, stress is defined as a reaction to a stimulus that disturbs our mental and physical equilibrium, or sense of balance. Stress can be tire-some, but it\u2019s necessary. \u201cAnxiety or stress in itself is not a bad thing,\u201d said Dr. Frank Conner, head of Grand Rapids Community College\u2019s psychology department. \u201cStress motivates us, but if we have too much stress, it cripples us.\u201d If we don\u2019t feel any stress about passing a test, we won\u2019t put any effort towards studying. However, if we feel too much stress, we may freeze up rather than recall what we studied.<\/p>\n

In the APA study, 31% of teens surveyed reported feeling overwhelmed due to stress, 30% reported feeling sad or depressed due to stress, and 23% reported skipping meals due to stress. \u201cStress is an additive,\u201d said Conner. \u201cEverybody has the capacity to manage so much, but unlike other things in life, you reach a point where it starts to affect you emotionally and then physically.\u201d Janel Sweeney \u201816 talked about her own experience with this breaking
\npoint. \u201cWhen you reach a point of stress where you just want to stop and take a break, it\u2019s hard to get back into it once you do stop,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

EXPECTATIONS<\/strong>
\nSocietal expectations are an important factor in stress. Teenagers are expected to maintain decent grades, expected to participate in a variety of activities, expected to be individual and independent. Sometimes it reaches a point where these expectations are too much to handle. \u201cAnxiety is often the tension between what culture expects of you, which then creates what you expect of yourself, and the measure to which you believe you are meeting those expectations,\u201d said Conner. In this competitive academic society, there is little room for failure. The pressure
\nto be accepted to prestigious colleges and receive substantial scholarships is important, but might not be realistic. \u201cI don\u2019t care what your major is! I just want you to be successful,\u201d said Conner. In reality, all teenagers have different capacities for this pressure, and different abilities and talents. Stress is personal; different students approach it in different ways. \u201cUsually I set the expectations for myself before other people set them for me,\u201d said FHE
\nstudent Maddie Yaw \u201817. Students should take care in deciding whether or not these expectations are personal and viable or the product of unrealistic peer and societal standards.<\/p>\n

Since expectations often revolve around school and success, it\u2019s not surprising that 83% of teens surveyed in the APA study identified school as a significant source of stress. Students often balance classes, extracurriculars, and jobs while attempt-ing to maintain a social life and find time for relaxation. Licensed social worker and local therapist Merrill Graham emphasizes the importance of sleep for teenagers, especially in the midst of busy, stressful schedules. \u201cIf you\u2019re not getting enough rest, you are tired, your brain is tired, and it can contribute to anxiety and depression,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Teenagers need about nine hours of sleep per night, but most get seven or less. During adolescence, sleep cycles shift later, and it\u2019s often difficult for teens to fall asleep before 11 PM. Consider-ing this, some high schools have switched to later start times to accomodate teen sleep schedules and reduce student stress. Graham thinks that this is a smart move. \u201cIf they could move the school day back later, I think, ideally, students would get more rest,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

SOCIAL MEDIA<\/strong>
\nThis generation of teenagers is the first to grow up in an era where technology is ubiquitous and social media is an important part of social interaction. A 2015 study by the Pew Research Center found that 92% of teenagers go online daily, and\u00a0<\/span>24% of teenagers go online \u201calmost constantly.\u201d Peer\u00a0<\/span>influences and opinions don\u2019t stop when students\u00a0<\/span>leave school, they follow then home. Teenagers are\u00a0<\/span>exposed to vacation shots and prom photos on their<\/span>Instagram feeds, jokes and subtweets on Twitter,\u00a0<\/span>gossip and rumors on apps like After School. And\u00a0<\/span>because online text lacks a clear tone, it\u2019s easy to\u00a0<\/span>misinterpret people\u2019s words. According to Gra<\/span>ham, social media gives teens more things to worry\u00a0<\/span>about. \u201cYou are always aware of what people are\u00a0<\/span>thinking,\u00a0<\/span>and you\u2019re\u00a0<\/span>always see-<\/span>ing what\u00a0<\/span>their opinion\u00a0<\/span>is, and\u00a0<\/span>sometimes\u00a0<\/span>it\u2019s negative,\u201d<\/span>she said. \u201cWith social media, there is no break.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Dr. Conner described a modern psychological\u00a0<\/span>phenomenon known as \u201cFacebook envy.\u201d People of-<\/span>ten create false identities on social media, showcas<\/span>ing the best and most exciting parts of their lives.\u00a0<\/span>Facebook envy describes the comparison viewers\u00a0<\/span>make between their own lives and the exagger<\/span>ated lives of others. They\u2019re aware of their own life\u00a0<\/span>and the challenges and hardships, but when they\u00a0<\/span>see what look like \u201cperfect\u201d lives on social media,\u00a0<\/span>their self-esteem drops. \u201cSocial media is creating\u00a0<\/span>unrealistic expectations because often times people\u00a0<\/span>are engaging in self-presentation. We present the\u00a0<\/span>best parts of us and often accentuate them,\u201d he said.<\/span>\u201cUnplugging\u201d completely is out\u00a0<\/span>of the question for most teens.<\/span>But if social media is a negative\u00a0<\/span>influence on students\u2019 stress levels,\u00a0<\/span>they can try limiting the amount\u00a0<\/span>of time they spend checking it.<\/span>\u00a0Social media can have harmful\u00a0<\/span>effects, but in some cases, it can\u00a0<\/span>help teenagers relieve stress by\u00a0<\/span>giving them a place to talk about it with others. On\u00a0<\/span>platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, it\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>easy to connect with people going through similar\u00a0<\/span>situations and to contact friends for support and\u00a0<\/span>advice. Graham sees social media as a mixed bag,\u00a0<\/span>acknowledging its benefits as well as its flaws. \u201cAs\u00a0<\/span>much as we can criticize it, social media is bring-<\/span>ing anxiety to the attention of teenagers,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span>Social media can provoke anxiety, but it also can\u00a0<\/span>provide space to discuss it and find emotional sup<\/span>port.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\n
\nTHE TEENAGE BRAIN<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Expectations, school, and social media aside, the teenage brain itself is prone to anxiety. Teenagers are in the formal operational stage of brain development, meaning that they can think abstractly and consider the big picture. However, it’s often hard for them to be objective and deconstruct the societal expectations they face. “The problem is that the teenage brain is still new in that stage,” said Conner. “So to be able to engage in reflective thought, to be able to step back and say, ‘Well, these expectations are meaningless.’ They’re not good at that.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Biologically, the teenage brain is \u201cpruning\u201d itself, reorganizing itself in order to create newer, more efficient neural pathways. But this developing efficiency comes at a cost. \u201cThe problem is that in this pruning, the teenage brain hasn\u2019t solidified its newer, more efficient pathways,\u201d said Conner, \u201cso it leaves teenagers confused about the right actions.\u201d Due to brain development, some level of uncertainty is expected in teens, and due to societal expectations, busy schedules, and social pressures, high levels of stress and anxiety are common. But sometimes, stress and anxiety become physiological, a part of the brain\u2019s chemistry. When this happens, anxiety disorders develop.<\/p>\n

ANXIETY DISORDERS<\/strong>
\nAnxiety disorders are very real and have the potential to become debilitating. Conner defined three \u201cD\u2019s\u201d to determine if anxiety is just normal stress or if it has become an actual disorder. \u201cIs it deviant?\u201d Does it exceed the stress of peers or society? \u201cIs it dysfunctional?\u201d Is it starting to disrupt your life to a point where you can no longer function because of the level of stress you\u2019re experiencing? And finally, \u201cIs it distressful?\u201d Is there an internal worry about the stress itself?<\/p>\n

The difficulty of having an anxiety disorder in today\u2019s society is magnified by the way people talk about stress. Thoughtless comments and casual micro aggressions about anxiety disorders are prevalent. \u201cA micro aggression is an indirect phrase or an indirect communication towards an individual that communicates a kind of disgust,\u201d said Conner. These are so ingrained in modern expression that people often don\u2019t recognize the insensitivity of blaming orderliness on \u2018OCD,\u2019 or describing fleeting fear as a \u2018panic attack.\u2019 Despite the stigma, people should validate their anxiety. Personal health outweighs peer opinion, and sup-port is always available for those who seek it. \u201cI can\u2019t normalize enough that everyone worries. It\u2019s the way our brain is made,\u201d said Graham. She says that anxiety should be addressed as a disorder when it affects relationships, sleep and daily habits.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the \u201cwhat if\u2019s\u201d become too consuming, it\u2019s time to ask for help,\u201d said Graham.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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