Comment on Article on Teenage Angst

Angry teenagers? I would believe it could be better phrased as unexpressed teenagers.

Looking at the challenges teenagers have to face on their route to adulthood, one could feel intimidated by the pressure and stress weighing down on their shoulders, be it from school, home or friends. Things like academics, sports, arts and music together with other areas of talents, fills up most of the goals set by parents nowadays, goals they are determined to achieve, through their sons/daughters.

Leaving that aside, think about the peer pressure they face when they are isolated for one reason or another, be it obesity or a lack of good grades. Now we add in the coup de grace, with families and schools trying to come up with solutions, which started off from the right point but swayed off course. With all those factors in mind, would it not be human for them to produce some sort of reaction or to an extent, explosion? After all they are the ones with the raging hormones and unstable emotions.

Often enough those reactions surface in the forms of anger, frustration, sadness, and to some extremes such as rebellious attitudes, self-abuse and suicidal thoughts. And yet even more often, these things are wrapped up and hidden, especially to indifferent eyes that could not be bothered to look hard and close enough.

Ignorance breed misjudgment, people, and specifically parents, are usually unable to lower themselves to the perspective of their kids to look at their problems and to understand how their kids really feel.
As a teenager myself, I personally hate to be have my reactions towards given stress and unachievable standards labeled as “angst”. By letting the frustration of not being understood accumulate in the teenager, it would eventually develop them into a volcano; readily exploding at any small trigger. Dangerously enough, the trigger could be a wrong approach to the problem.

Addressing this problem of "angst" within the teens, many parents and schools try to look at things their way and find methods to help them solve it their way and not a manner comfortable to the teens. I have felt that my parents have at times selfishly resorted to a solution comfortable, convenient and foolproof method for my problems without consulting me about my views. Adults should try to put themselves in the shoes of the teens before attempting their problems.

The key to unlocking the inner worlds of teens is through communication and understanding, allowing teens to express themselves. The build up of "angst" material should be put to a stop at every point possible by letting it out in small portions and not neglecting it and letting it pass. Family rituals such as dinnertime talks have always been good methods to induce these talks and expressions naturally into the daily life routine without making them feel awkward and hesitant. As such, this kind of rituals should never be compromised at any cost.

As the saying goes, "Children, when they are babies, they cry a lot, when they are kids, they whine a lot, when they are teenagers, they angst a lot". Teenagers do angst a lot, sometimes about every other small thing in life, but adults and the society in general should stare harder. Their feelings don't normally come in transparent packaging after all. Rather be safe than be sorry, it might be worth the trouble to carefully unwrapped the parcel and comprehend the content before taking any further action. Should they decide to label the wrong parcel with a vague "angst" just because the parcel has a bad history back in the packaging center, the parcel might just be headed the wrong way. There is a reason for the sign "Handle with care", once it is sent out, it's irretrievable.

PS: We are not parcels.