Stress in Young Adults

Stress is a state of mental and emotional pressure or tension on a material object. A young adult is a person who has not yet grown up fully. That’s a person in their late teenage years and early twenties.

Causes of Stress in Young Adults

1. Academic pressure. Students experience high levels of school-related stress. For example, they do worry about getting poor results in exams. Many of these students do worry also about meeting academic expectations and impressing their teachers and guardians.

2. Body changes. Some teenagers develop fast and others slowly. This leads them to be terribly savage toward each other. These changes in bodies are most likely to lower their self-esteem, resulting in stress, overwhelmed, and feeling awfully awkward.

3. Problems with friends. Our friends may sometimes annoy us. How? Friends with bad habits, rude speech, and bad talk toward each other can negatively impact mental health. Others will always want to compete with you and try to change you. These behaviors cause stress.

4. Bullying. Being bullied by friends, classmates, and colleagues results in feeling unwanted, unrecognized, lonely, and having low self-esteem. These feelings may lead someone to suicidal ideas, hence becoming stressed.

5. Peer pressure. Finding and making friends can be hard and pressure to fit in. Sometimes, it may push them to do things that they didn’t want to do, leaving them in bad directions, which may result in bad outcomes, leading to stress.

6. Relationships. Youths may experience more stress on a daily basis than others when in relationships. This stress may be caused by differences in wants, misinterpretation in communication, arguments, and also wondering if a relationship will last.

7. Lack of work. Losing or lack of jobs can be devastating. Even if you didn’t like your work, it likely provided your basic needs and at least gave you meaning in life. Finding yourself jobless may leave you feeling stressed.

8. Lack of control over a situation. When you have control over certain situations, it increases your well-being. When you feel you aren’t in control anymore you may feel stressed.

Symptoms of Stress in Young Adults

These are some of the symptoms and signs that may occur to young adults when stressed.

1. Nervousness. This is the state of being worried and frightened.

2. Trouble sleeping.

3. Lack of concentration.

4. Feeling unwell.

5. Headaches.

6. Sweating.

7. Feeling low.

8. Dizziness.

9. Feeling exhausted.

10. Nausea.

11. Feeling sad.

Ways to Reduce Stress in Young Adults

1. Exercise. Being active in exercise is a stress relief method that would help you cope with the stress. Exercise not only reduces stress but also boosts your physical fitness and wellness. Exercise every day for better results.

2. Get enough sleep. Go to bed early and make sure you get the sleep you need. Enough and well sleep contributes to stress relief. Practice and try going to bed early and make it a daily sleep routine.

3. Go outside and spend time with friends. Create time and go out and have fun with friends. You can go to the beach, play games and watch funny films with your friends. This will help you relieve stress, and give you time to relax and feel stressed out.

4. Seek additional help. If you are still having trouble getting over stressful situations, you can try and reach out for help. You can talk to your mentors, parents, or doctor. With good guidance, you will be able to develop skills to reduce your stress levels.

5. Avoid unhealthy habits. Avoid taking alcoholic drinks, cigarettes, and drugs. These unhealthy habits will temporarily help you escape the stress and have negative long-term effects.

6. Eat right. Eat well-balanced meals throughout the day. Be mindful of what you eat. For example, eat fresh fruits and vegetables, which will help you prevent and reduce stress.

7. Relax and recharge. Take your time and take a walk, do some house chores, read your best novels, and do what you love doing the most. This will help you relax and recharge.

Stress in Older Adults

An older adult is a person who is more mature and commonly measured by chronological age.

Causes of Stress in Mature Adults

1. Divorce. Going through breakups in relationships and marriages may put one in difficult, stressful situations. When one loses a partner or someone they love may end up losing focus even at work and places of interest. Children may stop trusting their parents after a divorce, which results in parents becoming more stressed.

2. Financial problems. Being financially down and unable to afford the cost of care worries can negatively affect the physical and mental health of a body. It can make you feel ashamed of not meeting your family’s needs and expectations of your closest ones. This ends up putting someone to increased stress and depression.

3. Responsibilities. Parents and guardians feel under more pressure if the demands of their family are greater than what they could offer. Conflicts at work with colleagues and bosses and duties at the workplace lead one to a stressful situation.

4. Loss of independence. Being independent is good for your physical and mental health because everyone wants to be in control over their own lives. When you start relying on support from others so they may meet your daily needs, you may feel not in charge of your life anymore. Losing independence can cause one to feel hopeless and isolated, all of which can lead to stress.

5. Hate and abuse. Mistreatment can leave someone feeling fearful and stressed. Abuse and neglect towards an individual can result in early death, destroy family ties, and have financial loss, hence causing depression to the affected person.

6. Lack of social support. Getting support from family, friends, and parents reduces symptoms and signs of stress. If you find yourself not getting support anymore, you can feel frustrated and rejected, and this can, therefore, harm someone’s self-esteem, hence increasing stress.

7. Loss of a loved one. The death of a loved one, either a spouse, a child, or a close friend, can lead to stress. The grief period may affect your body, leading to loss of weight and feeling sad. This may further increase or cause depression and stress.

Symptoms of Stress in Older Adults

1. Feeling hopelessness.

2. Decreased interest in socializing and hobbies.

3. Pain and muscle tension.

4. Hard in making decisions.

5. Vomiting.

6. Indigestion

7. Poor concentration.

8. Heartburn.

9. Illness.

10. Sadness.

How to Manage Stress in Older Adults 

1. Meditation. The practice of meditation can help reduce stress because one focuses and pays attention to the thoughts of the mind that might be causing you stress. This process of meditation may result in improved mental health, and physical, emotional, and wellness of the body.

2. Breathing exercises. Regular and deep breaths reduce stress hence reducing blood pressure and tension. It also helps your mind slow down and think more clearly, and reduce feelings of stress.

3. Eat healthy and a balanced diet. Eating a balanced diet provides you with the energy to cope with stressful situations. Foods like carbohydrates will help you have a calming effect on the brain. It can improve concentration and reduce stress.

4. Join a support group. Participating in a social group will make you feel less lonely and able to share your personal experiences with your fellow group members who will emotionally comfort you and give you moral support. This will lighten your mood and make you feel less stressed.

5. Stretching. Stretching will help in the development and maintenance of strength, improve flexibility, and increase muscle blood flow. It reduces stress and causes a decrease in depression and anxiety, too.

The above-mentioned causes, symptoms, and prevention are the most likely to occur in young and older adults. It’s advisable to know when stressed and take the right measures.