Health Quests

Stressed Out Teens

Objectives

After completing this activity, students should be able to

• identify situations that can be stressful for teens.
• discuss the mental and physical effects caused by stress.
• provide tips for dealing with stress in healthy ways.

Ask students to list situations or events that typically cause stress. What might be some common mental or physical reactions to these situations? Then ask students: Why do some people always seem stressed out while others remain calm? How can a person's thoughts and feelings about a situation affect the level of stress he or she feels? Why might a certain event, such as a test, cause stress in one person but not in another? Have students discuss their answers as a group.

Suggestion

Have students work in pairs or groups to exchange articles. Ask students to evaluate one another's articles. Were the articles interesting and informative? Was the information presented in a concise and organized way? Were the writing style and tone appropriate and appealing to a teen audience? Did the articles contain information that would be helpful to teens? How could the articles have been improved?