TEEN STRESS + how to #bemoresloth S’up
a BOOKlet BY BETHAN LOUISE WORKMAN, 16 who knows what stress is all about
teen pregnancy lgbtq+ ANXIETY & depression exam pressures
ABOUT THIS bookleT
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 booklet
WHAT’S THIS ALL ABOUT? by Bethan (16)
I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety, and couldn’t find the advice I needed. 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 Fixers, the campaign that gives young people a voice. It’s full of real students and their personal experiences, to help you figure out what you think is best for you. I also want to help young people to realise that you’re not alone, and people do understand!
2
kelsey Makepeace-Lewis (former fixer)
EXAM
PRESSURE 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. There’s a lot of pressure around succeeding and setting up your future. 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! 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. How did it affect you? I didn’t get much sleep - I was too focussed
3
“
I didn’t get much
I was too
focussed on
sleep
-
STUDYING
”
on studying rather than looking after myself, which 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 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. Positive message Make sure you look after yourself during exam periods. Stress will only result in you becoming ill and that won’t benefit you at all.
david lloyd-morgan (friend of bethan)
ANXIETY & DEPRESSION
“learn to
you appreciate friends & family
...
you
appreciate
Who are you? I’m David Lloyd-Morgan, 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 more, mindfulness very helpful.
”
your own company
Positive message I would say 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 (former fixer)
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 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.
5
Positive message Just be yourself and don’t be afraid. 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 (former fixer)
Who are you? I’m Amy Blockwell, 21, 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. 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 career or family. I decided 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, but it was 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
TEEN preGNANCY 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 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.
6
need help? teenmentalhealth.org mind.org samaritans.org
7
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
8
Bye!