The Role Of Self-Awareness
Stress is not only about having too much to do.
It is the way pressure is carried in the mind, body, and relationships. Stress can affect sleep, concentration, motivation, mood, physical tension, communication, intimacy, and the way a person sees themselves.
Teens and adults may carry stress differently. Teens often face school pressure, social comparison, and identity or friendship concerns. Adults may face work and financial demands, caregiving responsibilities, and relationship stress or burnout.
The American Institute of Stress reports that teens often rate their stress higher than adults, with teen stress averaging 5.8 out of 10 compared with adult stress at 3.8. The CDC reported that in 2023, 40% of high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. The American Psychological Association’s 2024 Stress in America survey reported that 77% of adults identified the future of the nation as a significant source of stress, followed by the economy at 73%. These numbers matter because stress is not rare, and it is not simply a personal weakness. It is part of many people’s daily lives.
Engage
Before reading further, pause for a moment:
- What does stress usually look like in me?
- What do I tend to do when pressure builds?
- What have I been carrying longer than I realize?
When stress builds, people respond in different ways. Some push through. Some shut down. Some avoid, overwork, become irritable, people-please, or stay busy so they do not have to feel what is happening.
Therapy can help with stress by strengthening self-awareness.
The goal is not to become stress-free. The goal is to understand stress more clearly and respond with more awareness.
What is Self-Awareness?
Self-awareness is the ability to notice what is happening inside before reacting automatically.
This includes thoughts, emotions, body sensations, needs, limits, and patterns. It is not the same as overthinking. Overthinking often repeats the same worry without creating much clarity. Self-awareness helps a person pause and observe what is actually happening.
Self-awareness may include asking:
- What is happening in me right now, and am I responding to this person, or to something old that this moment has stirred?
For teens, this may mean learning to recognize the difference between anger, anxiety, embarrassment, sadness, and overwhelm. For adults, it may mean noticing when stress is becoming resentment, shutdown, irritability, or exhaustion.
Awareness does not solve everything by itself. But it can help a person see what stress has been covering over.
How Self-Awareness Develops
Self-awareness is not built all at once. It often develops through repeated moments of listening to ourselves more honestly.
This can happen through:
- conversations with a therapist
- sitting in silence with a notepad and pen
- reading history books
- sitting and looking at the lake, ocean
- creating art, doodling, or making a collage
- doing Sudoku, a lot
- staying with and listening to feedback from colleagues, friends, and others
- noticing and moderating people-pleasing tendencies
In therapy, self-awareness can develop through slowing down and becoming curious about what stress may mean. The work is to discover this thoughtfully, together. As awareness grows, a person may also become clearer about others – what can be talked through, what cannot be received, and when the same conversation no longer needs to be repeated.
To schedule a consultation, contact Ivana Moore Therapy.
Sources & Further Reading
American Institute of Stress — Stress in Teens and Young Adults
https://www.stress.org/who-gets-stressed/teens-young-adults/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Adolescent Mental Health / Youth Risk Behavior Survey
https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-youth/mental-health/index.html
American Psychological Association — Stress in America 2024
https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/stress-in-america/2024
Kristin Neff — What Is Self-Compassion?
https://self-compassion.org/what-is-self-compassion/
Harvard Brain Science Initiative — Emotional Awareness and Mental Health
https://brain.harvard.edu/hbi_news/emotional-awareness-and-mental-health/
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
https://988lifeline.org/
Books
Kristin Neff — Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
Robert M. Sapolsky — Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers
Marc Brackett — Permission to Feel