Indore: Forty percent of teens report feeling of irritation or anger, 36 percent report feeling nervous or anxious, 36 percent report fatigue or tiredness, and 31 percent report feeling overwhelmed due to stress' as reported by American Psychological Association for the Stress in America Survey.
Citing this, endocrinologist Dr Abhyudaya Verma explained that stress among teens is on rise due to over-usage of smart phones and online studies post coronavirus outbreak.
He was addressing a gathering of parents in a free seminar organised by Create Stories Social Welfare Society at Treasure Town.
“All teens experience some amount of stress, and some stress can even be healthy. Many teens, however, struggle with significant stress levels that interfere with learning, relationships, and other areas of functioning,” Dr Verma said.
He added that stress can manifest in different ways, and some symptoms of stress mimic normal teen behavior. “One essential problem seen because of this is increased stress that is on rise and affecting people with life-long issues is hormonal imbalance,” Dr Verma said.
Further, Dr Verma said, "The imbalance of hormones may result in symptoms such as dysmenorrhoea, irregular periods, sudden weight gain, acne, migraines, premenstrual syndrome, anxiety, fatigue, loss of sex drive, depression and impact every aspect of a teenager's life."
He added that lockdown has given us a lot of good and bad experiences when talking about hormonal imbalance in teenagers; where 3 patients used to come earlier in the month, now they have more than 6 i.e. double.
"Teenage, i.e. children between 13 and 19 years old, is a very important stage when children undergo hormonal changes, peak growth in the body, mental and physical development," Dr Verma explained. He added that this is a phase of change when children are becoming adults and developing the ability to understand the world.
How can you de-addict kids from smart-phones & support hormonal balance?
· Regular breaks can be an effective way to rebalance your body’s chemistry and regain your sense of control.
· To make your phone less stressful, start by turning off all notifications except for the ones you actually want to receive. Your kids get inspiration from you!
· Most importantly, spend quality time with them
· Become a friend and just listen to them
· Understand their problems
· Don't judge them
· Understand their psychology without your interpretation
· Observe their daily routine
· Do not leave them alone
