Stress
Stress comes in all shapes and sizes. Stress can come from major life events or from daily hassles that add up over time. Dealing with a lot of small stresses can weigh you down and wear you out as much one large event that causes you stress. Some sources of stress for teens include:
- School demands and frustration
- Feeling bad about yourself
- Changes in your body
- Problems with friends or classmates
- Relationship problems
- Abuse
- Feeling unsafe
- Separation or divorce of parents
- Illness or family problems
- Death of a friend or relative
- Moving or changing schools
- Taking on too many activities or having too high expectations
- Family financial problems
The stress-smoking link
Many teens say that stress is one of the reasons they smoke. Does this sound like you? “Cigarettes help me calm down and relax .”
If most other people
can cope with stress without cigarettes,
you can too.
Stress is part of everyone’s life. It’s important to find ways to handle stress and take care of yourself without smoking. Did you know that most people in the United States are non-smokers? If most other people can cope with stress without cigarettes, you can too.