TEEN STRESS S’up
a BOOKlet BY BETHAN LOUISE WORKMAN
teen pregnancy lgbtq+ ANXIETY & depression exam pressures
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
1-2
6
About this project
Teen Pregnancy
Bethan Louise Workman
Amy Blockwell
3 Exam Pressure
7 For more information
Kelsey Makepeace - Lewis
4 Anxiety & depression David Lloyd - Morgan
5 Being LGBTQ+ Louie Greenwood
8 Why a Sloth?
about this project 1
ABOUT THIs PROJECT
My name is Bethan and I’m 16
I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety, and that’s what gave me inspiration to create this booklet – it’s here to help you make your decisions on what to do next. I feel that many other advice booklets are often just facts and statistics. For me, they don’t have the right vibe about them! That’s why I’ve made this booklet with the help of Fixer, the charity that helps give young people a voice, full of real students personal experiences, to help you figure out what you think is best for you. I also want to help young people to realise that they’re not alone, and people do understand!
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kelsey Makepeace -Lewis
EXAM
PRESSURE
I didn’t get much
sleep
-
I was too focusssed on
STUDYING
Who are you? My name’s Kelsey and I’m 20 years old. I found that when it came to stress, my teenage years were the worst years. There’s a lot of pressure around succeeding and setting up your future.
on studying rather than looking after myself, which only made it worse. I didn’t get much support from teachers either, as they had 30 students to deal with each day. Sometimes, I even missed school just to cope with the work load.
What is your issue? My GCSE and A-Level years caused me the most stress. With only 24 hours in a day, it felt like the teachers expected you to revise for 26 hours! Of course that’s an exaggeration, but on top of the eight hour day of school or college, they expected two hours revision per subject, every night.
What did you do to overcome it? I decided to balance my time, spending one hour studying then one hour resting. Although I was still behind on revision, I found this to be more manageable.
How did it affect you? I didn’t get much sleep - I was too focussed
3
“
Positive message for people reading Make sure you look after yourself during the exam periods. Stress will only result in you becoming ill and that won’t benefit you at all.
”
DAVID LLOYD - MORGAN
ANXIETY & DEPRESSION
“
you appreciate your friends & family
...
more, you
learn to
appreciate
”
your own company
Who are you? I’m David, I am 20 years old. What is your issue and how did it affect you? I have anxiety and depression due to personal issues. What do you do to overcome it? I burn incense as it calms me, and I use different scents for different reasons. I also listen to music, and I have different genres, which I like to listen to according to my mood. Playing games helps, and I also find mindfulness very helpful. Positive message for people reading I would say to people that while it is horrible to have anxiety and depression, it can actually have some positive outcomes too - for example you appreciate your friends and family more, you learn to appreciate your own company, or simply some quiet time. If you’re out by the sea or in a forest, you learn to appreciate the scenery as well. They’re all real positives.
4
Louie greenwood
LGBTQ+ Who you are? My name’s Louie, and I’m 20 years old. What is your issue? The stress of being LGBTQ+ in school. How did it affect you? The fear of being judged or bullied stopped me from being able to be myself at school. I was always really scared that people would find out and treat me differently, so I distanced myself – but I lost friends because of it. It affected my standard of work, and the stress of it all caused me not to reach my full potential. What did you do to overcome it? I joined my local LGBTQ+ group, and that helped me to surround myself with people who
5
understood what I was going through. The other members helped me to figure out who I am, and they taught me that it’s okay to be myself. Positive message for people reading Just be yourself and don’t be afraid of who you are. There are always people who will accept you and who will support you. It gets better!
“
...the
stress of it all caused me
not to reach my
full potential.
”
AMY BLOCKWELL
Who are you? I’m Amy Blockwell and at 19, I fell pregnant with my first child. What is your issue? For me, teenage pregnancy was quite a stressful time. I’d never imagined having a child so young - at 19, I was just starting out in my career as a mental health support worker. I was enjoying life, and regular nights out having fun with friends. Although my partner and I were over the moon to find out I was pregnant, I felt I had to choose between either career or family. So although I was only just starting out in my adult life, I felt I had to give up my career and settle down. It was also very stressful, realising how expensive everything was and how much my life would change. How did it affect you? When you think about having a family, you don’t necessarily take into account the levels of stress involved. Having a newborn baby at such a young age was physically exhausting, from night feeds and just generally getting used to a small person’s life being in your hands. But it was
TEEN preGNANCY also mentally and emotionally exhausting, constantly having to guess what your baby wants. Although my son was an amazing gift, and I am so grateful that he’s in my life, I wasn’t prepared to be a parent, and as a result, I was under a great deal of stress. I was so worried about doing things right, it affected my social life, as I worried about everything I did, and how it would affect my child What did you do to overcome it? Having a supportive family network was extremely helpful, as they had my son if I ever needed time to myself. It was important to me for people to know that although I was a mother, I wasn’t only a mother – I was a person with feelings and views and interests too. Although it took me a long time to overcome my worries and insecurities, I can happily say that I’m now a more confident and self-aware person. Positive message for people reading I think this is a very common issue for first time and new mums, we feel guilty for having time to ourselves. But I think it’s extremely important to do so, in order that things don’t get too much.
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FOR mORE INFORMATION teenmentalhealth.org mind.org samaritans.org
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WHY A SLOTH? Sloths live life at their own pace, and don’t let outside problems stress them too much. I’d like more young people to take this approach. BE MORE SLOTH
#BEmoreSLOTH
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Bye!