Teenage Anxiety – Myth Or Reality?
Adolescent anxiety is something we have all experienced to some degree. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly makes this stage of life unique.
Adolescence is a period of development between childhood and adulthood. It is undeniably a difficult stage for most people.
Adolescence is quite long. The exact length varies slightly depending on who you are talking to, but it usually ranges from just before 13 years to a little after the age of 19. It is a transitional phase, which we will see below.
What seems quite clear is that teenagers are no longer children, but they are not adults either. They have to face many physical, social and psychological changes that affect them every day.
Adolescence represents the transition to adulthood
There are many different ways to evaluate the transition concept. That adolescence is a universal experience is why it is called a transition.
Transitions have different characteristics. Transition means:
- An enthusiastic expectation of the future.
- A feeling of loss due to the stage you are leaving.
- Anxiety about the future.
- An important psychological adaptation.
- Ambiguity about your social position during the transition.
All of these characteristics are surprisingly present in adolescence. The idea of adulthood attracts teenagers. They want the freedom and opportunities that come with being an adult. At the same time, they feel sad because they are leaving their childhood behind.
After all, in every teenager there is a child who struggles to get out. Young people are worried about what comes next. Therefore, this article is dedicated to teenage anxiety.
Psychological adaptation
Since jobs, living conditions and conditions are up in the air, it is no wonder that teenagers feel afraid for the future.
Teenagers undergo a significant psychological adjustment. This psychological adaptation affects all aspects of a teenager’s life. Things change with family, friends and adults. Not only that, but their own identity changes as well.
Therefore, it makes sense to consider adolescence as a transition. Teenagers also reach many meaningful milestones during this stage.
Teenage anxiety and identity
The way young adults understand and perceive themselves has a powerful effect on how they will react to life events later. During adolescence, teens go through an important dilemma. They believe that they must live up to the expectations of others while also deciding who they are.
During adolescence, teens struggle to decide who they are and how they define themselves. They have to make decisions that will define who they are as a person. A young person may experience depersonalization if they do not try to find out who they are.
Immature thought process
In many ways, a teen’s thought process is strangely immature. They can be rude to adults, have difficulty deciding what to wear every day, and often act as if the world revolves around them.
According to psychologist David Elkind, their immature thought process manifests itself in at least six characteristic ways :
- Idealism and critical character : Since teenagers imagine an ideal world, they blame adults when they realize how far the real world is from what they thought.
- A tendency to argue : Teenagers are always looking for an opportunity to test and demonstrate their new formal reasoning skills.
- Determination : Teenagers can keep many different options in their minds at the same time. They are inexperienced and, as a result, they lack effective decision-making strategies.
- Apparent hypocrisy : Young adults often do not know the difference between expressing goals and the sacrifices you have to make to actually reach them.
- Self-awareness : In adolescence, teens can understand their own thoughts as well as those of other people. Yet they often think that others think the same as they do.
- Assume that they are special and invincible : Teenagers believe that they are special, that their experience is unique, and that they are not subject to the rules that govern the rest of the world.
Teenage anxiety is a reality
In light of this information, it is easier to understand why we hear so much about teenage anxiety. Adolescent anxiety is a reality, not a myth. Adolescence represents the transition to adulthood, with all the uncertainty that it brings. Also, a teenager’s thought process is not mature yet, and they have not discovered who they are.
