Author: August Clarke
Teens get a lot of flack for all of the embarrassing stages that we go through during middle school and high school. This can be frustrating for many teenagers because it feels like people are trying to lessen the significance of things that are important to us.
Personally, I think that it is not only totally normal to go through phases (no matter how exasperating they may be to our parents or how strange they are to our friends) but also an important part in growing up for many people.
What many people don’t know – and what our parents may have forgotten from their teenage days – is that phases are often a way for teenagers to process their emotions. Teenagehood is a confusing time! If wearing quirky makeup and blasting unconventional music is something that helps you deal with your emotions, it can really suck when people shame you for it.
Phases are often a way for teenagers to process their emotions.”
As a teen, you are probably still trying to figure yourself out. Allowing yourself to experience different things and go through phases, no matter how embarrassing they may seem in future years, is actually a really effective way to learn more about yourself. What’s important to you? What are your values? What do you like? What do you want from life? These are all questions that time and various phases help us figure out.
For the most part, teen phases are pretty harmless.
Take it from a girl who has definitely been the “it’s not a phase, mom!” teen at various points in my junior high and high school days. No matter how important certain things may seem at the time, it almost always passes (it was indeed a phase, mom). However, what we learn from our experiences (about both the world and ourselves) don’t go away.
Phases usually only become a problem when you start to take up activities that are detrimental to either your physical or mental health. It’s important to stay in touch with yourself and how you are feeling and reach out for help if you need it. Sometimes we turn to odd places to deal with internal emotions that we don’t want to process.
If you feel like your habits are becoming dangerous or like they are a way for you to avoid some underlying emotional issue, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at ConnecTeen! We are here to help.
