" Many people find themselves leaving old friends to join new groups. It is not unusual for two children to go into high school inseparable, labeling themselves as "best friends forever," and then find that those same two people barely know each other by the time they graduate. The friendship of others is very important during the teenage years. A person needs to have someone else to talk to and to relate with. However, as people grow they change: what they enjoy changes, what they believe in changes, and the things they have in common with other people change as well. Dealing with these changes, and finding ways to remain strong friends with one another is not an easy thing by any means. As one friend gets into drugs, the other one might find a way to stay on the straight and narrow path. The two finally grow apart and eventually have little, if anything, to do with one another. .
While trouble with friends and school might cause someone to become overly stressed, it is also easy for stress to push someone to another extreme. Many teenagers deal with their stress by drinking or doing drugs. They think it will take their mind off of it and help them to relax when in reality, it only gives them one more reason to become more stressed out. The cycle continues, until someone who cares hopefully steps in to help. .
Along with the social problems that teens encounter, more personal problems can cause stress for teenagers as well. As a person grows up, their body changes. Their hormone levels fluctuate and change constantly, and they are forced to come to terms with their "new self," and the way that they, and other people, perceive themselves to be. Outward appearance is a huge concern for many teenagers and a huge contribution to their level of stress too. Everyone has heard the story where, on the morning of the big dance, a teenage boy wakes up to find a gigantic, throbbing, red zit on his nose.
