If you were to look at somebody fifteen years older than you right now and tell them that you were stressed out, they would probably tell you that you’re just a kid and it’s impossible for you to be stressed. Well, let’s get this straight right now, you’re never too young. Unfortunately more and more young men and woman are stressing over things in their life. This is never a good thing because it can most certainly lead to problems in the future.
There are man reasons that you could be stressed out right now. Maybe your work load at school is too much. Maybe peer pressure is getting to you. Maybe there are things going on at home, or maybe you’re fighting with your friends. Whatever the reason, it can get to you. The hard part, is not letting it. Before we talk about dealing with stress, let’s first take a look at the warning signs of stress.
- Feeling down, on edge, always tired no matter how much you sleep.
- Having headaches, stomach-aches, or having a hard time sleeping.
- Not enjoying activities that you used to.
- Feeling resentful of others
- Feeling like you just have too many things to do.
If you suffer from most or all of these, there is a chance you might be stressed out right now. But don’t worry, we’ll help you through that.
The first thing we need to do, is figure out everything that’s stressing you out. I want you to write them all down on a sheet of paper. Now, look at that sheet of paper again. Does anything there look silly to you? It might, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Well all stress over little things that other people think we shouldn’t. Now I want you to set a goal for yourself. By this time next week I will be blank% less stressed out. Try not to go above 70% because then you’re just going to stress over trying to not stress and it will just become a complicated cycle. Look at your list again, is there a way that you can break things down or organize them so that they aren’t getting to you so much, but you’re still dealing with them? Let’s use a heavy workload for example. You have essays and book reports and math problems, and it’s getting to you so much that you’re seeing numbers everywhere you look. Let’s cut that down. First, take everything that’s most important, things that are due first, and set them aside. Do the same thing with the next pile, separate by importance. Do this for three piles. Tonight, pile number one is what you work on. If you do have a heavy work load, set aside three of four evening during the week so that you can get them done. Not four in a row necessarily. Or even three hours a day. You’d be surprised at how much it cuts down on the load, which also leaves you more time to go out and enjoy yourself. You’re a teenager, that’s what you should be doing.
Do this with everything on your list, decide ways that you can get everything done, or worked out in a step by step process. You don’t have to live your whole life in one day. Take you time. Once you have this all done, look at all of it again. Don’t you feel better now? In just a few minutes you’ve organized everything that was keeping you from having fun.
All of this may be a bit of a change for you, and at your age, change can be difficult, even when it is a change to something better. Why? Because it means doing something that you’re not familiar with. It means learning new skills, and information. When you’re feeling stressed, this can be even harder for a person. Try giving yourself a pep-talk, you can be quite convincing to yourself you know.
Ok, so maybe I do need to change things in order to lessen the stress on myself.
Once you’ve decided to make the changes, it can still be a hard start. Here are a few tips to keep you on track.
- Be patient with yourself. Don’t expect everything to change over night. Remember those goals? That’s why we made sure that they were realistic. Change takes time.
- Have support. Talk to your friends, parents, relatives, anybody that you trust and believe is willing to help you. Remember, you’re looking for people who will support you with the decisions that you’re making.
- If you’re thinking about it, do it. Deciding that you’re too stressed and that it’s time for a change is one thing, but in order for all of that to take place, you need to take action. Once you’ve taking one small step into action, you can continue no problem with the right motivation.
Now you’re on your way to being not-so-stressed. It’s up to you what you do about it next.
