YOUNG PEOPLE ASK . . .How Can I Stop Worrying So Much?

"One of the most stressful things for a young person can be the future. You worry about yourself.  Should I leave home? Go to school? Take up the full-time ministry? Get married? You have so many options that it's scary." -Shane, 20 years old.

DO YOU worry a lot? Many youths do, and for a variety of reasons. A newspaper published to offer guidance to parents reported:  "A recent worldwide survey of teenagers ages 15 to 18 in 41 countries revealed that getting a job is the top concern among today's teens."  Next in line was worry over their parents' health.  Fear of losing someone they loves was also high on the list. 

A U.S.Department of Education survey found that  "the pressure to get good grades" was a major concern of many youths in the United States.  The same survey revealed that more than a few young people feel the same way Shane did (quoted above) Another youth, named Ashley, says:  "I'm worrying about my future." 

Yet, other youths worry about their physical safety. According to a 1996 survey, almost 50 percent of youths  in the United States felt that their school was getting more violent.  Over eight million teens (37 percent)  reported  that they knew someone who had been shot! 

Not all worries are quite so grim, though. For many youths their biggest worries  involve their social life.  Says an on-line magazine directed to parents;  "Teens do worry about having a boyfriend or girlfriend, but more often they worry about having no friends at all." A teenage girl  named Meagan laments:  "How do you look and act cool?  I need some friends." Along the same lines, a 15-year-old Christian youth named Nathanael observes:  "The kids at school worry about style.  They worry about how they walk, talk, and look to others.  They're afraid of looking stupid."

Next time: YOUNG PEOPLE ASK . . .How Can I Stop Worrying So Much?/Problems -A Part of Life

From the Awake!  magazine