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Puberty
and Adolescence
Growing Pains
When people talk about puberty, teenagers
and adolescence, the things that come to mind are: raging hormones, cracking
voices, budding breasts, menstruation, cranky, rebellious teenagers, sprouting
hair, acne, wearing bras for the first time, and razor knicks on fresh-faced
youth.
The onset of puberty is the most
obvious sign of 'growing up' physically. To put it more formally, puberty
can be defined as "a biological or physiological process characterized
by the maturation of the sexual organs and the appearance of secondary
sexual characteristics." People often think that puberty and adolescence
refer to the same thing. However, they refer to two different aspects of
growing up. While puberty covers the physical, adolescence deals with the
mental and has been described as a "psychosocial process characterized
by mental and social growth, and often extending from puberty to the early
20s and sometimes beyond."
A question of
hormones
When does this transformation begin?
For girls it can happen any time between the ages of 8 and 12, while for
boys it usually begins a couple of years later than girls. But there is
no such thing as the right time. So there's no point wondering why she
has breasts and you don't or why he's got a mustache and you don't.
So what exactly happens? It's as
if a switch clicks on in the brain and activates a section of the brain
called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus, in turn, triggers the pituitary
gland to produce two hormones - follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and
luteinizing hormone (LH). The pituitary gland also releases a growth hormone
called somatotropin.
FSH and LH are released cyclically
in females and play a key role in the menstrual cycle. They stimulate the
ovaries to secrete estrogen and progesterone and are responsible for the
growth of the egg in the ovary.
In the case of males, these hormones
target the testes, which are responsible for the production of sperm and
testosterone. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland monitor the level of
testosterone in the blood and produce more or less releasing factors to
raise and lower the testosterone levels as required.
First bras and
new razors
While all this is happening on the
inside, what's going on on the outside? As a result of all this hormonal
activity, girls' breasts get bigger and it's time to buy their first bras;
they become more hairy, especially in the pubic area and they begin to
menstruate. Boys, on the other hand, suddenly shoot up in height, downy
fuzz appears on their chins and upper lips attempting to pass off as a
beard and mustache; their voices crack at the most crucial and embarrassing
moments; and finally, their penises and testes grow.
Emotional roller
coaster
Most adolescents are uncomfortable
and self-conscious about their growing breasts and suddenly awkward limbs.
They feel that people are looking at them differently. Every pimple seems
magnified a hundred times and girls hunch over trying to conceal their
growing bust lines. To make matters worse, most parents are at a
loss when faced with their children's budding sexuality. They cannot accept
the fact that their 'babies' are talking and thinking about sex. As a result,
adolescents are ecstatic one minute, irritable and moody the next. On one
hand, they display a newfound maturity in keeping with their 'adult' status.
On the other, they throw tantrums that could rival a three-year-old.
Puberty and adolescence bring with
them a lot of emotional baggage. People in their adolescent years feel
like they are in a twilight zone, hanging somewhere in the middle of childhood
and adulthood. It's as if they're sitting on an emotional seesaw, feeling
'up' one minute, down the next; feeling old on some days, and like a child
on others. It is a difficult time, but it makes one feel better to think
that everyone goes through it.
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