One of the most common emotional characteristics of junior highers is
their moodiness. They can run the gamut of emotions in a very short period of time. It is not uncommon to hear a distraught and angry junior higher say, "I absolutely hate you!" this minute, and then five minutes later smile and say, "You're not mad at me, are you?
This roller coaster ride of emotions is usually attributed to hormonal changes that accompany puberty. As the body attempts to adjust to the presence of increasing amounts of hormones, the uneven secretions affect the emotions of early adolescents, causing them to be unstable.'
Kids who seem happy one hour can be
miserable the next, sometimes because of some seemingly insignificant event, and at other times for no reason at all.
It is important to remember that
junior highers are not very skilled at dealing with their emotional ups and downs. They often overreact to them, and display behaviors that can seem rude, insensitive, sarcastic, and hurtful. While there will be times when these behaviors are intentional, most of the time they are not.
Junior highers are so focused on themselves and their own needs they don't always realize they are being rude or that they are hurting other people's feelings. When a junior higher says didn't mean anything by it, "he is probably telling the truth. It's not always helpful to attribute bad motives to every bad behavior. As kids react to the emotion they are feeling at the time,
they often act before they think. As they mature they will hopefully learn to keep their emotional outbursts under control.
This kind of behavior is not limited to junior highers, of course. We all know people who continue to struggle with this well into their adult years.
How can we help junior highers deal with their emotional ups and downs? One way is by remaining calm. Junior high workers are well advised to keep an even keel in the midst of the storm. Adults who work with junior highers need to provide a semblance of stability when
junior highers are exhibiting distressing behavior. Junior highers are
not helped when their adult leaders respond to them with emotional
outbursts of their own.
We can also assure junior highers that their faith in God is not
dependent upon how they are feeling at the moment. They may be on a
roller-coaster ride, but God is always the same-he loves them and
stays close to them even though they feel far away from him.
@Orchidaceae
