Page 42 - Waterfall City Issue 12 2022
P. 42
Waterfall City Today’s Child
DEMYSTIFYING THE
TEENAGE BRAIN
By Nicoleen Davies, Director: Life Talk Forum
Recent ground-breaking research
shows how brain changes that occur
during adolescence can be used to
help teenagers achieve their potential.
F or some adolescents,
the teenage years are a
breeze; for others, this
developmental phase is a
difficult journey; and for too many
teens, it is a soul-destroying period
dominated by feelings of low self-
worth, depression and anxiety.
These changes can be extremely
challenging. Teenagers may suffer
mood swings, which are often hard
to control or they may undergo an
identity crisis. Some teens rebel or
discover a taste for adventure and risk-
taking; this may be spurred on by the
need for peer approval, which becomes
paramount at this age.
By the same measure, they seem
incapable of considering the
consequences of their actions. And
all this happens while having to cope
with academic pressure. Given these
factors, coupled with the inner conflicts
and emotions that define adolescence,
many teenagers may not realise their
full intellectual potential.
In a bid to decode and understand the
brain’s evolution, scientists have been
charting the neural changes that occur
during adolescence. Insights from
this research are helping to explain
why teens behave the way they do.
40 Waterfall City Issue 12 2022
