We're sure that we are not alone in the fact that most of our teenage memories are filled with embarrassing anecdotes and humiliating experiences. You may be under the impression that all that embarrassment has been left well behind us in our adult life, right? Wrong! Many of those same problems are still bothering us all regularly and so to help we've compiled the worst teenage-style problems with some handy tips to make life just a little bit less cringe.
Hang-Ups - When you're a teenager, boy or girl, you are constantly worried about your body. Specifically about whether you're too fat, too thin, too flat chested, too hairy, not hairy enough… the list goes on. Unfortunately for everyone these hang-ups don't disappear when you hit adulthood, no matter how mature you try to be. The thing is, everyone is body conscious and everyone worries about how they look so you're not alone, and there are people out there who would probably kill to look like you, so relax. However, if you really can't get over it then try some healthy eating and light exercise to make you feel better about yourself - it seriously can't hurt.
Frenemies - at school she was the 'cool' girl who you had to keep on side lest you be thrown out of the 'in' crowd. Now she's the colleague who constantly undermines you, the BFF from university who only contacts you when they need something or the friend of a friend who you simply can't stand. Frenemies can be tricky as sometimes you'll share a drunken evening pouring your hearts out over too much rose wine, but other times you'll be staring daggers at each other whilst being your most passive aggressive selves. The thing you really need to ask yourself in all these situations is - do you really want them in your life? By the time you've reached your mid-twenties you're far too old to be playing these games and really you only need true friends so our advice is to just let go and move on.
Sweating - you're body has started to go through changes and suddenly you're perspiring uncontrollably and you also smell pretty bad. Puberty is great, isn't it? This fact of life doesn't go away and for some, it really doesn't go away. Fortunately there are many deodorants that can help and even a new product on the market called Dandi Patch (www.dandipatch.com) that has been specifically designed to come to the aid. Dandi Patch is an underarm perspiration shield that absorbs sweat and neutralises odour for up to eight hours. The patch is paraben free and ergonomically designed to move with the human body, plus it's been shown to absorb up to 1000 times the amount men sweat on average and 2000 times the amount that women do too, what's not to love?
Faux Pas - All teenagers are slaves to the trends, they jump on the latest 'must have' products and spend all their pocket money making sure they keep up with whatever is fashionable at the time. This attitude is something that a lot of us have struggled to let go of. At the moment you're probably starting at a pair of high-top trainers that you bought 3 or 4 years ago with the idea that 'heels on trainers are so cool and I'll definitely wear these all the time'… but you didn't did you? No. Our advice is to have regular clear outs and give as much as possible to charity - don't hold on to anything you don't wear. Also, invest your hard earned cash in stylish staples that won't leave you filled with regret in six months' time.
Flirting - The person you like is talking to you; it's very exciting, in fact it's all too much. Sound familiar? Flirting can be an emotional minefield when you're a teenager and, of course, for most adults as well. The key is confidence if you have that you're golden, so just calm down and act cool!
Spots - It's the school disco but you've got a face full of acne and concealer just won't cover it. Traumatic as it was, spots do calm down a bit once your hormones have stopped trying to ruin lives. However, breakouts still do occur and foundations, concealers and the likes can often only make them angrier. The main tip we can offer here is to wash your face. Every day. Without fail. There really is no magic cure-all solution here because leaving make-up on overnight will lead to oil building up and clogging your pores and then of course, spots.
Body hang-ups are one of the teenage problems that still effect us as adults
Tagged in body image Teenagers