Teenagers face a specific kind of stress. It could be problems at home--with parents, with siblings, an alcholic parent, divorce--or it could be problems at school--pressure from your teachers, pressure from your friends, or pressure from your parents to do well.

Other stresses teens face may include:

• High competition for jobs - the feeling that there are no jobs out there
• Education choices - after high school, paying for college
• Stress of living at home, but yet feeling old enough to be on your own
• Financial pressures - part time work is scarce and parents don't have as much money as they did 20 years ago
• Disfunctional families - teens from divorced families, alcoholic, or abusive families
• Blended families - teens may feel out of place

What can you do about stresses such as these? The number one way to prevent a lot of stress is to keep the lines of communication open.

1. Communication -- Keep the lines of communication open with parents, but if parents are the problem, then talk to somebody you trust - maybe a teacher, a friend, or a pastor
2. Peer support -- There are many peer support groups--either at your school, in your community, or even over the internet.