Stress has always been a part of our life. But in later years the stress has increased strikingly, the positive stress has developed into negative stress. The stress isn’t any more just in the adult world but the stress has also intruded in the world of the children and the youth world. Most of us have some times experienced stress in some shape. There are two different kinds of stress, the positive- and the negative stress. The positive stress is always in our weekday, that’s the one which secrete stresshormones and adrenaline which produce so called kicks when we succeed with something. The negative stress arises when we feel that we can't quite handle the situation. Then it secrete the stress hormone cortisol who make us become more liabilities and we achieving bad. Besides extands our stress state who injuries our health by that our immune protection impairs. It needs a balance between adrenaline secretions and cortisol secretion to get the right stress level so you feel all right. Increased stress among youths Since the beginning of 1890 the negative stress among children and youth has increased. Nowadays 8 of 10 youths suffer from stress. They have discovered that youth more and more suffer of headache and other suffering like stomach pains, back pains and stiff muscles. In the long run the working life will be affected negatively wheen youths feel bad even before they start working. The school has a big part in the youths high stress level, because the youths often make great demands on themselves to perform good in school. But the problem isn’t just with the individual but also in the society where the pace has increased considerably. The sociaty of today demand you to be available, you must have a mobile phone, you should be able to chat on the Internet and you should also be active in many different sports to create your beginning t your big social life. But also the work environment in the school has big influence on the stress level as well as the food in school and the noise level. The parents can set bounds and create a reasonable balance between activities and non- activities. The youths can learn to relax, plan their time and learn to have reasonable demands on themselves says Pamela Haga, welfare officer at Parkskolan.

The youths have nowadays make too big demands on themselves, says Pamela Haga.

Look carefully for these signs stress.

* You can easily be irritated. * You make mistake you usually don’t do. * You forget things easily. * You have less energy than usually. * You must work harder with questions you solved easily before. * You don’t think things are as fun as you thought before. * You find it more difficult to sleep. * You wake up many times during the night. * You wake up earlier than before. * You think more often about the problem than about the solutions. * You often have a headache and stomach problems. * You are often misunderstood. If you recognize yourself in many of these statements, you should probably change your lifestyle and slow down a little.

Consequences The most common diseases when you suffer from stress are: - Burnt out – it's when you are both physically and psychically exhausted. - Sleeping problems – you are very tired but you still can't sleep and when you wake up you still  don't feel thoroughly rested. - Dejected – You are depressed and you feel sad. - Headache – a continuous headache which you often tend to wake up with. - Eatingdisorders – You have a bad apetite and you don't eat like before. - Stomachache – The stomach gets out of balance and it's never peaceful. - Panic – You feel that the world is rushing by.

Get rid of your stress You can get rid of your stress with simple means. The best and the most tested alternative is to exercise. Scientists have also discovered that stressrelated diseases have been reduced with exercise. A good exerciseprogram is to run thirty minutes three times a week to reduce the stress and the following diseases. A trained person handles a stressed situation better than a untrained person and will come back faster to a normal position after a stressed period. There are also other exercises against stress, you can stretch it away, you can learn a three minutes relaxation in whichyou have to think about the breathing so it's calm and regular. Yoou can also get rid of your stress by eating right, by having a lot of fast carbohydrates and as little proteins as possible in your meals. You can get to know your own stressignals so that you can prevent the stress faster. You are not alone The majority of today's youths is suffering from stress. The biggest cause is school and the high pace in our society. According to Pamela Haga, welfare officer at Parkskolan, more students feel stressed in spring when they make the national tests and the pass judgements. If some of the stressigns fit onto you, you should think carefully about your life to see how you're really living it. Remember that if you suffer from stress you are not alone. There are some auxiliary means to get rid of the stress so that you can get back to a healthier lifestyle. 1.Are you stressed? 2.If yes: What makes you stressed?

	Emma Östman, 18 1.Yes. 2. The school and the national tests.			Jonas Andersson, 18 1. No
	Hanna Schütte, 17 1. Yes 2. The school and the pressure.			Martin Samuelsson,17 1. Yes 2. Schoolwork

© 1997-2004 Freeway
Writers: Katariina Heikkinen (sp06-11@park.se) and Caroline Lundquist (sp06-37@park.se).
HTML by: Joakim Strom Ramén (te05-02@park.se).