STRESS AGAINST THE WORLD May 2014 | Page 26

Teen stress: Guys vs Girls

Teen stress is different for girls and guys. Teenage guys and girls have different ways of getting impacted and they have different levels of symptoms to stress. The results are not unexpected but there is something you probably wouldn’t have thought of.

Impacts

68 percent of girls stress about their appearance while 55 percent of guys stress about their appearance. This makes sense, society expects things from teenagers that are sometimes hard to accomplish. Everyone wants to wear the new trends. Sometimes society wants you to look a certain way which is why teenagers stress out so. 45 percent of girls 36 percent of guys get angry and irritated. A lot of people get changes in their behaviors when they’re stressed. It’s hard for most people to stay calm when they have a lot of things going on. 44 percent of girls and 30 percent of guys don’t get enough sleep. This is when time management joins in; you need to manage your time if you want enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep is bad towards your health. 39 percent of girls and 13 percent of guys are eating too much or too little. Stress eating is never the right thing to do, we over eat because it’s comfort and we see food as a reward. Some people don’t eat because they become too nervous to eat. 39 percent of girls and 29 percent of guys say that social media brings stress to them. This is likely to happen because your mind starts to believe that you should look like the model of that cover page. Some people strive to become the new look or trend when really you shouldn’t because you’re unique.

Symptoms

With stress in your life, teenagers become depressed as well. 37 percent of girls and 32 percent of guys report feeling depressed or sad. Being overwhelmed with stress can cause the same type of thoughts you think when you’re depressed. 35 percent of girls and 17 percent of guys are eating unhealthy foods. Some people tend to eat junk food when stressed. 34 percent of girls and 22 percent of guys say that they’re pressured to be someone they’re not; also known as peer pressure. 31 percent of girls and 15 percent of guys have reported that they’ve skipped a meal. 22 percent of girls and 8 percent of guys lose their appetite when stressed. When you’re busy catching up or doing last minutes work you’ll forget about the hunger.