Stress continued...

Stress—and sometimes feeling anxious—is a natural and normal experience for everyone, including children and teenager, but when those feelings last a long time or occur frequently, that’s cause for concern.

 

According to Krystal Lewis, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist in the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, it’s important to know the difference between stress and anxiety.

 

Stress causes the body to release hormones that can raise blood pressure, heart rate, or blood sugar.

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Anxiety is the body’s or mind’s response to stress, even when there are no current stressors. Dr. Lewis said this often comes from the fear of a future outcome that may not even happen. For example, you may be worried about getting into college or an important exam: “You already had the test, but you’re still feeling anxious…You’re worried about the next test now.”

 

She said it’s important to remind adolescents that it is normal to feel pressure to be perfect or perform well. However, failure is a part of life. If a teen is so concerned with not making mistakes that anxiety gets in the way of them enjoying life or causes prolonged physical symptoms, that could become a clinical problem.