1. Conflicting thoughts
Since you are somewhere in between as a teenager during puberty, you may feel stuck between how you were as a child and how you wish to be as an adult. For example, you might want to be more independent and at the same time, might also look for support from your parents. Another example could be along the lines of whether you wish to give up on your interests that you had as a child to be able to fit in with your friends. As a result you may feel conflicted and look for clarity.
2. Mood swings
To add to the uncertainty and conflicting thoughts, you may also experience frequent and sometimes extreme changes in your mood. For example, sometimes your mood will swing between feeling confident and happy to feeling irritated and depressed in a short span of time. These frequent swings in how you feel are called mood swings. They may occur due to shifting levels of hormones in your body and other changes taking place during puberty.
3. Feeling conscious about self
The onset of puberty can vary on an individual basis. Therefore the way you grow maybe different from the way your friends grow. This can make you conscious about the way you’re growing up and your body.
These experiences are more pronounced for girls because they develop faster and earlier than boys. Also the changes in their bodies such as development of breasts and widening of hips are more noticeable. This may make them feel more conscious about their body in presence of their peers of the same age group.
4. Getting sexual feelings
Puberty is also the phase after which you develop sexual maturity. Sexual maturity is the stage of your life when you can have children. One aspect of sexual maturity is being curious about sex and also about bodies of people that you are attracted to. With the onset of puberty, it is normal for a boy or a girl to be sexually attracted to people that they would want be more than ‘just friends’ with.
You may also feel sexually excited by normal everyday activities such as reading a romantic novel or watching a romantic scene on television. These feelings are normal and there is nothing to feel guilty about. You may have many questions about sex. It is a good idea to talk to a mature adult (like your mother, doctor or a counselor) with whom you’re comfortable discussing sex. You should get your questions answered and should stay informed on safe sex.
