How to Overcome Stressful Adolescent Stage
Overcoming Stressful Adolescent Stage
“Adolescence” came from the Latin term ‘adolescere’ which means ‘grow.’ G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924), the so-called Father of Adolescence who coined the term “adolescence,” defined it as “the period of storm and stress of human life.” According to Hall, “this period is characterized by a teenager’s conflict with parents, mood disruptions, and engagement in risky behavior” (Hall, n.d.).
Adolescence is a drastic shift from childhood to adulthood. It implies a stage of extreme transformation and growth in an individual which encompass various aspects of development such as physical, mental, social, and emotional (Adolescence, n.d.).
Accordingly, adolescence is a period of numerous dramatic changes in the areas of physiological, behavioral, intellectual, social, and personality development.
The beginning of adolescence is signaled by puberty. The whole period of adolescence may be roughly divided into three stages, such as the early adolescence (approximately 11-14 years of age), middle adolescence (approximately 15-17 years of age) and late adolescence(approximately 18-21 years of age) (“Stages of Adolescent Development,” n.d.).
As an adolescent, your strengths, among other things, are your physical health, energy, youthfulness, optimism, bravery to try different endeavors, fearlessness, open-mindedness, good memory, and lack of cynicism.
On the other hand, your weaknesses are your lack of experience, un-established values and identities, low self-concept and self-esteem, sensitivity, and insecurity. You are subject to hormonal mood swings, confusion, expectations, and pressures from the people around you, especially the older ones.
Although your weaknesses seem to exceed your strengths, being conscious of what truly is an adolescent and the challenges that come with it may nonetheless help you to be cautious in your decisions and actions, so that you could smoothly and successfully pass through this difficult stage.
Having a clear self-concept may also help. Hence, in the activity below, you will be asked to mention and share something about yourselves such as your positive traits, weaknesses, interests, desires, wishes, observations, and your thoughts regarding your families and friends.
‘All About Me’: A Sentence Completion Exercise
This activity intends to enable you to have some awareness about yourselves, particularly your views regarding your family and friends, and your attitude towards school and future goals.
Complete the following sentences:
1. I can …
2. My negative traits are …
3. My positive traits are …
4. My career goals are …
5. I think of my family as …
6. I expect to …
7. I dream to …
8. My attitude towards studies is …
9. People around me are …
10. My interests are …
12. Sometimes I feel that I cannot …
13. In school, I …
14. My longtime wish is that …
15. I love to …
16. My friends are … continue reading
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