October 10, 2025 Newport Academy

Life isn’t getting any slower for today’s teens. With academic pressure, extracurricular activities, social group dynamics, relationship ups and downs, family commitments, and the added dimension of physiological changes, teenagers may become easily overwhelmed.

So how do you help a teen learn how to slow down, operate within their limits, and become resilient when they are feeling the endless pressure to perform?

Learning how to respond to overwhelm is an opportunity for teens to build healthy habits and discover how to utilize positive coping skills that will serve them throughout their lives.

What You’ll Learn

• How does overwhelm affect a teen’s mental health?
• What are the signs that your teen is overwhelmed?
• What are some good coping strategies for teens?
• How can I help my teen feel less stressed?

Quick Read

Today’s teens face immense pressure from academics, extracurricular activities, and social dynamics, often leading to feelings of overwhelm. Factors like smartphones and social media contribute to distractions and stress, impacting their mental health. Overwhelm can manifest as anxiety or depression, with symptoms including irritability, sleep issues, and emotional outbursts.

To help overwhelmed teens, parents can encourage healthy coping strategies. This includes teaching them to observe their emotions without judgment, prioritize commitments, and seek support through open communication.

Additionally, counseling can also be beneficial, providing a safe space for teens to express their feelings and learn effective coping mechanisms. Programs like those offered at Newport Academy aim to support teens in managing stress and mental health challenges, fostering resilience and overall well-being.

What Is Overwhelm?

The Merriam-Webster definition of overwhelm, or the state of being overwhelmed, is to be “overpowered in thought or feeling.” It has a connotation of being defeated, buried, or inundated with something.

Teenagers who are overwhelmed are experiencing high levels of stress; they can’t carry the mental or emotional load that has been placed upon them, or that they may have unwittingly taken on themselves. Additionally, when parents are overwhelmed, it can have a trickle-down effect on adolescents.

Common stressors for teens include:

• Schoolwork/academic pressure
• Extracurricular commitments
• Sports performance pressure
• Social group changes
• Romantic relationships
• Family dynamics or challenges, including divorce

How Overwhelm Affects Mental Health

Because overwhelm is connected to stress, it can have a genuine impact on a teen’s mental health. School-related stress is no exception, from starting a new school to getting back into a school routine and adjusting to more demanding classwork. According to the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, many studies have found an association between academic stress and the development of mental health issues.

For the human body, stress is a natural response to threats in our environment. Stress can create a level of hyper-responsiveness and focus that may be needed when something serious is happening. Teen stress is not unusual or unhealthy. However, a surplus of stress becomes distress, which has a negative effect on the mind and body.

Chronic stress can produce a number of problems, such as:

Anxiety

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), anxiety is the most common mental health issue among adolescents between the ages of 12–17, affecting 16 percent of the teen population in America.

Our bodies were not designed to run at a high level all the time; constant exposure to stress hormones makes your body think that you are frequently in danger, and it will react accordingly. Soon it begins perceiving lots of benign things as threats.

For your teen, this can be anything from a dismissive text message from a friend to an unexpected pop quiz, a band teacher’s critical feedback, the dog chewing up his or her cleats, and even practice for tomorrow’s big game. They may overreact, have an emotional outburst, or tire quickly because of stress.

Here are common symptoms of anxiety:

• Intrusive negative thoughts
• Sleep problems
• Elevated heart rate
• Frequent crying or fits of anger
• Excessive worry
• Panic attacks

Depression

In response to overwhelm, some teens may become depressed. Teens are already subject to hormonal shifts that can create feelings of lethargy, apathy, and irritability.

Depression can deepen those feelings and cause sleep problems, lack of motivation, and emotional numbness. It can be life-disrupting and may lead teens to try to cope in unhealthy ways. According to the 2025 State of Mental Health report, 11 percent of US teens ages 13 to 17 experienced a major depressive episode (MDE) with severe impairment in the past year, meaning it severely impacted their functioning at work, school, or home.

Here are common symptoms of depression:

• Persistent sadness, feeling down, or hopelessness
• Irritability, anger, or mood swings
• Loss of interest in activities once enjoyed
• Withdrawal from friends and family
• Neglecting personal hygiene or appearance
• Increased risk-taking behaviors (e.g., substance use, self-harm)

Other Mental Health Issues

Mental health issues are often connected to stress and trauma. Other factors such as genetics, background, personality, and environment play a role in whether mental health issues will actually develop, but overwhelm and negative experiences can certainly set the table for a volatile state of mind.

Teens may try to cope with their stress through disordered eating, obsessive behaviors, or using substances, all of which lead to a further deterioration of their health. However, with support, they can learn new coping strategies, manage symptoms, and learn how to thrive in life again.

Signs of an Overwhelmed Teen

The following are some signs that your teen is overwhelmed:

• Shutting down or isolating
• Oversleeping or insomnia
• Lethargy
• Apathy
• Memory issues
• Inability to focus
• Excessive worry
• Hypersensitivity
• Frequent emotional outbursts
• Persistent negative attitude
• Fits of rage
• Outsized responses that are not appropriate to the situation
• Inability to keep up with commitments
• Skipping school
• Elevated heart rate
• Frequent irritability
• Disruptive behaviors
• Obsessive behaviors

Coping Strategies for Overwhelmed Teens

What are some good coping skills for teens? Stress management is vital for teens, especially because they will be dealing with other types of stressors as they become more independent and learn how to live as adults.

Here are some ways that teens can break free from overwhelm and thrive in school, sports, and their social lives:

Observing Emotions

Learning how to observe your emotions without judgment is an important skill. If your teen is responding inappropriately, a reprimand can only do so much. You can discipline your teen while also asking them to discover and discuss why they are feeling that way. This isn’t something that is likely to happen in the heat of the moment but in a follow-up conversation.

Help your teen become aware of the pressures they are experiencing, the they have, and what the real problems are. Then you can solve them together.

Essential vs. Nonessential Priorities

Teens live in a sea of competing priorities. They may believe that everything is equally important, especially because they may be dealing with consequences if they don’t perform. Help them sort through their commitments and recognize what is essential and what can be more flexible. They need to have an internal gauge of what matters most so they can manage their time, filter the responses they get, and learn how to move in the direction they want.

Support and Connection

Overwhelm makes teens want to shut down. They may feel like performance is the only path to acceptance, and it isn’t. Remind your teen that you can help and support them. Listen to their hopes and fears. Discuss a plan of action or a way that they can decline or delegate some of the responsibilities they’re carrying. Show your solidarity and divide and conquer together.

Counseling

Your teen can benefit from counseling whether or not they have a mental health condition; in fact, good counsel can go a long way in preventing one or helping your teen cope in healthy ways. They may need someone else to talk to who can be a sounding board or even validate the good advice you give them.

If you find that your teen may be dealing with mental health issues or substance use, a structured treatment program can give them appropriate time away and teach them the skills to adjust and enjoy more of their life experiences, both now and in the future.

Mental Health Treatment for Teens

At Newport Academy, we provide support and treatment for teens ages 12–17 who are dealing with anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. We understand the needs of teens, the impact of stress, and how to give them the tools they need to cope in healthy ways.

Mental health issues can be life-disrupting and difficult for teens, their parents, and the whole family. We want to help your whole family recover, support each other, and flourish. Contact us today to learn more.

Sources:
J Child Adolesc Psychiatr Nurs. 2025 Feb;38(1)
The State of Mental Health in America 2025
Newport Academy