Emotions and Life

As a teenager, you may be dealing with lots of emotional highs and lows. One minute you might feel great, and the next you feel sad and tearful. This kind of shift in your moods is okay!

Your life is changing, just like your body. These mood swings are not just hormones - you may be feeling a lot more pressure these days, and you are still developing the skills you need to deal with that pressure. You may be facing added responsibilities at home, tougher grading policies in school and your friends may be changing.

As you grow older you will develop the skills you need to manage stress, but for now, just remember you are in a tough spot and need all the support you can get. Reach out to adults and friends -- there is always someone there who cares for you. This section is devoted to issues involving emotions and relationships.

Emotions

Being human is an emotional experience -- we all have our moments of happiness, sadness, anger, depression, anxiety and a host of others feelings. How do we deal with those emotions? Why are some feelings harder to handle than others?

Relationships

Like emotions, everyone has some sort of relationship with other people. Unless you are a castaway on an island, you interact with people everyday. Relationships with parents, friends and significant others (like a boyfriend or girlfriend) can be rewarding and also frustrating.

Poll Results

The results are from all respondents who took the survey (found on the right hand column) in the period from October 2007 to August 2012. 999 completed responses were received to the survey during this time.

1. As a teen, what issue about your mental health most concert your parents?

Response - Count, Percent
Depression/loneliness - 219, 22.7%
Transition into middle school - 12, 1.2%
Transition into high school - 32, 3.3%
Transition into college - 42, 4.3%
Transition to adulthood - 74, 7.7%
Academic stress - 157, 16.3%
Violent relationships and/or bullying - 37, 3.8%
Home environment (setting a good example) - 53, 5.5%
Character development - 75, 7.8%
Developing a strong, healthy work ethic - 52, 5.4%
Sexual risk taking - 97, 10.0%
Developing healthy relationships - 46, 4.8%
Managing emotions - 7, 0.7%
Eating or physical activity habits - 4, 0.4%
Self-acceptance - 1, 0.1%
Other (please specify) - 58, 6.0%

2. As a teen, what issue about your mental health most concerns you?

Response - Count, Percent
Depression/loneliness - 324, 34.2%
Transition into middle school - 8, 0.8%
Transition into high school - 26, 2.7%
Transition into college - 27, 2.8%
Transition to adulthood - 43, 4.5%
Academic stress - 114, 12.0%
Violent relationships and/or bullying - 38, 4.0%
Home environment - 27, 2.8%
Character development - 63, 6.6%
Developing a strong, healthy work ethic - 26, 2.7%
Sexual risk taking - 79, 8.3%
Developing healthy relationships - 106, 11.2%
Managing emotions - 10, 1.1%
Eating or physical activity habits - 1, 0.1%
Self-acceptance - 5, 0.5%
Other (please specify) - 51, 5.4%

Last reviewed November 2012
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