Internet Activities Activity 2

Stressed Out Teens

What happens when you feel stressed out? Maybe your stomach hurts the night before an important history test. Perhaps your palms get sweaty when you meet new people. Your heart might race when you have to give an oral report in class. These are examples of mild, temporary stress reactions.

Some situations, however, are much more stressful. For example, moving to a new town, attending a new school, and failing a class are life events that can cause a great deal of stress. The stress of these situations can have a negative effect your health, causing difficulty sleeping and even depression.

Not all stress is bad, however. Sometimes, stress can motivate you to perform your best when running in a race, acting in the school play, or working hard to finish a science project.

Stress can affect your physical, mental, and emotional health. This activity will show you how to use the Internet to find valuable information about stress.

After exploring these sites and completing the questions, you will be able to

• identify the causes of stress.
• recognize the effects of stress on health.
• understand how to manage stress.
• use your knowledge to write an informative article that will help other teens.

	Use information from the Web sites to write an article about stress for a teen magazine. Be sure to discuss both positive and negative stress as well as healthy ways to deal with stress.
	Health Links
	Stress and Mental Health Teens and Stress Visit these Web sites to learn about teens and stress. What are four examples of stressors? Name four mental signs of stress. What are four healthy ways to handle stress? http://www.mindspring.com/~wholistic/teens_stress.html http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/emotions/stress.html Managing Stress At this Web site, you will learn how to deal with stress in positive ways. What are four signs that you are feeling stress? What are four actions that help fight stress? http://www.familydoctor.org/handouts/278.html Stress and Physical Health Physical Causes and Effects of Stress At this Web site, you will learn how stress affects physical health. What are the brain's three "happy" messengers? What are three examples of substances that some people use to boost their happy messengers? For each example, list the substance's side effects that actually worsen stress problems. http://library.thinkquest.org/13561/english/physical.html Positive and Negative Stress Visit this Web site to learn about the body's response to positive and negative stress. What is the difference between distress and eustress? Give two examples of distress and two examples of eustress. What is the fight-or-flight response? http://library.thinkquest.org/25500/index2.htm

Once you have explored these links and answered the questions, you are ready to write your magazine article. Your article should

• incorporate information from the Web sites in a clear and organized manner.
• use language and tone appropriate for the topic and a teen audience.
• explain the causes and effects of stress on teens.
• identify examples of both positive and negative stress.
• provide information about avoiding and/or managing stressful situations.