Teenagers Need to Have More Leeway

I don't think that teenagers have ever felt this bad. Mental health issues & stress levels have increased by far too much in current teens. It's harder than it ever has been. We have pressure to do well in school and to get into a prestigious University, to come out and find a good job and then to get a well-paying salary. On top of all of this pressure, the media puts a ridiculous amount of pressure on teenagers (especially females) to have certain name-brand clothing, be the "correct" weight & be the "ideal" body type and to make everyone want to strive for absolute perfection. Well there's the obvious fact that perfection is literally impossible to achieve. So when teens are trying to reach perfection and they obviously can't, it causes an immense frustration. This builds anxiety levels, stress levels & can create an overall low self-esteem and sadness. Along with mental health issues, Canadian families seem to just keep on going downhill. The divorce rate in Canada is still on a rise. No child EVER will handle a divorce between their parents well. Some kids may deal with it or come out of it more calmly than others, but I can guarantee you that at some point in the midst of all of the intensity there was some sort of negativity going on inside of them. According to Psychology Today, the 10 signs that a teenager may be stressed are: 1. Poor sleep 2. Frequent headaches and/or gastrointestinal problems 3. Anger outbursts 4. Lack of concentration 5. Increased levels of anxiety and/or panic episodes 6. Overeating/Under-eating 7. Increased sadness 8. Social withdraw 9. Irritability 10. Lack of motivation I can easily say that out of all of my peers that I have been around for the past 3 and a half years (currently in first semester of Grade 12), all of my friends have experienced all 10 of these more than once. That's definitely not normal and something needs to be done about it! Psychology Today also states that teenagers are expected to being doing too much at once. Signs are: 1. Teen doesn't have time to have a social life. 2. Teen is staying up late a lot, just to get schoolwork finished. 3. Teen is constantly saying things that indicate they're overwhelmed, such as "I've got too much to do." or "I can't get it all finished." 4. Teen is an overachiever and freaks out if things are not done "perfectly". 5. Teen has a schedule that is busier than yours (school, sports, clubs, jobs, church, etc.). I can easily say that I no longer have a social life (I don't talk to my friends anymore and I've lost all of my bestfriends), I stay up until about 1 AM or 2 AM every night just to finish homework and then have to get up at 6 AM the next morning to be ready for school, I'm constantly having to brush people off with the statement that the article clearly stated, "I've got too much to do.", I'm a COMPLETE overachiever (I rewrite all of my notes, make extensive study notes & practice tests for all of my tests/exams at school that MUST be typed...) and my schedule consists of waking up, working out, going to school, doing homework, going to dance, coming home and doing more homework and then going to bed. There's literally NO TIME for any kind of leisure activities, which is definitely not right for a 17 year-old! I realize that everyone's life is different and that doing all of the extracurricular activities I do are not mandatory, but those extracurricular activities are proof that are going to help me get into University; there's pressure to stay in them even though it's close to over 20 hours of dance a week. Then there's the pressure to have good grades or else you won't even be considered by the Universities you're applying to. The rising pressure on teenagers needs to STOP. I know multiple...actually, TOO MANY people at my school with depression, anxiety disorders and an extremely high amount that self-harm. None of these feelings or actions are okay to deal with. Relieving at least some of the pressure off of them will help them feel better and achieve better things within their life time. In reality, relieving pressure will only help them do better!