Dealing With Stress

I am sure that all of us have dealt with stress more than once in our lives. Whether it be because of a big test that is coming up, a sports game, the death of a loved one, or you wanting to ask out your crush. High school is usually the most stressful time in a person’s life, it is found that junior year is the most stressful grade level there is.

 Many things can cause stress and each person experiences stress in different ways. The most common “symptoms” of stress are feelings such as: shock, anger, worry, disbelief, frustration, some people even feel numb. What else is a symptom of stress though? Stress can create difficulties sleeping by causing you to overthink or worry about something. Not only does stress affect your mental state, it can even affect your physical state. Stress can cause headaches, stomachaches, skin rashes, acne, body pains, and can even worsen chronic health problems that an individual may already have. 

Stress is a normal thing that everyone experiences, but not everyone knows how to deal with it. Some tips for dealing with stress are to take a break. Take a break from watching TV, scrolling through Instagram, reading, homework, and anything else that you can think of. It may sound hard to take a break from things because you feel like you need to get everything you’re stressing over done and you need to get it done now. Once you take a break from these things though, you can come back and hit them head on with a refreshed mind. Give yourself time every day to unwind and take a break. 

Another important thing to do to help you overcome and deal with your stress is to take care of yourself. You may think that simply by feeding and cleaning yourself, and sleeping is considered taking care of yourself. Taking care of yourself involves so much more than that, to take care of yourself you should not only eat but eat healthy- make sure you have balanced meals. Simply sleeping isn’t enough either, we as high schoolers often go to bed late and then have to wake up early in the morning. For proper cognitive function, the average adult needs seven hours of sleep each night. Another thing that you can do to relieve stress is to exercise. Exercise not only improves your health resulting in less stress, but it also raises your endorphin level. Did you know that endorphins are sometimes called the “feel-good” chemical? This is because endorphins are a natural pain reliever and they boost happiness. 

Even though stress is a natural thing, it is important that you take time for yourself to help relieve it. Whether you are taking time for yourself by taking a break or time to care for yourself in another aspect. Stress can lead us to believe that we don’t have the time to take care of ourselves, but doing so will make the work that we are stressing over so much easier.