Solving Stress

For many teenagers, stress is no joke. While many students have become accustomed to long nights of homework and weekends full of studying, the truth is that stress management is just as important as productivity. Sure, getting straight A’s on your report card and having a well-rounded resume is great, but not at the expense of your mental health.

You may be thinking, "I'm not stressed," but many teenagers are chronically stressed and don’t even realize it. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, you are stressed when you feel as though you are under some type of tension, whether emotionally or physically. While this may not sound like you or your friends, the symptoms list is where it becomes apparent just how common stress is within schools.

Some of the symptoms of stress are struggling with memory, experiencing headaches or other pains, having little energy, having difficulty focusing, spending too much time sleeping or having difficulty doing so, feeling tired, and losing or gaining weight. If this list of symptoms lines up with what you are currently experiencing or what someone else you know is experiencing, there is a very high probability that stress is a factor.

But you don’t have to live with this stress. You can go about your day without feeling tired or sit through a class without struggling to focus- and the answer starts with you. Developing healthy habits is the key to lowering your stress level, and below are some habits you can institute to live a happy, healthy life.

Healthy Habit #1: Eating Well

While eating a balanced diet is important for your physical health, it is also important for your brain. Having good foods in your system can give you more energy and increase your concentration, which can do numbers to decrease your stress. What most people don’t know is that there are certain foods that actually have stress-relieving properties which can help you fight the frenzy of your schoolwork or help you deal with stress you may be experiencing in your personal life.

While sometimes eating specific foods can be the answer to solving your stress problems, you may also find relief in cutting some foods out of your diet (or at least limiting your consumption of them). Mental Health America recommends staying away from drinks with a lot of caffeine or a high sugar content, as these things can worsen your mental health.

Other foods to avoid when you're stressed are “white carbs,” such as chips and pasta. These foods require little to no effort to prepare, so they may be the easiest foods to reach for when you’re stressed. But according to the Huffington Post, foods containing these kinds of sugars can increase your blood sugar levels, sending you into an unproductive tailspin as you begin to lose energy and feel more like taking a nap than finishing your homework.

Eating the right foods can be essential for decreasing your stress. Making sure that you are consuming a balanced diet and avoiding foods that can magnify your stress is just one way to get rid of anything that is stressing you.

Spending the time to go for a walk or play a game of basketball in your front yard can go miles to reduce stress. While exercising might not seem ideal, there are ways to also make it fun and enjoyable. One great way to do this is to invite along a friend to work out with you. As long as you don’t have more conversation than physical activity, it will pay off by making you feel calmer, more at ease, and ready to tackle the next thing that may be concerning you.

That being said, this is a stress-relieving practice that only works if you institute a balance. Setting time aside to do what you want to do should take some time out of your day, but not enough that it will compromise your actually important pursuits. In fact, if you start spending all of your time lounging around watching Netflix, it's likely that your stress levels will only increase- your responsibilities won't just go away.

Having a balance between the amount of time that you spend doing what makes you happy and the amount of time you spend attending to your responsibilities is the only way that this tactic will prove itself to be useful.

Healthy Habit #4: Set Realistic Goals

If you set the expectation for yourself that you are going to complete 10 homework assignments, read an entire book, and study for your SAT all in one night, you'll probably feel incredibly stressed. Getting all that work done in only a few hours and still receiving the amount of sleep needed to perform well the next day is too large of an expectation to place on yourself. This is why one way to reduce your stress is to set realistic goals.

When you have set and achieved many realistic goals for yourself, you will begin to feel better equipped to handle difficult tasks that come up in the future, rather than just letting them weigh down your shoulders. Setting realistic goals can prevent stress before it arises and make you more confident facing situations that may be potentially stressful.

Healthy Habit #5: Know When to Get Help

As stress begins to pile up, it can start to seem like everything is falling apart and all hope is lost- but that is never the case. Stress is a manageable part of life and it is something that many people struggle with, regardless of age. When stress reaches its peak, it can take its toll on you emotionally, mentally, and physically, and this is something that you don’t have to navigate alone.

You may find that your stress is just too much and that there is very little your support group can do to help. If this happens, it is best to talk to a professional who can help you navigate these difficult waters. WedMD recommends seeing your primary care doctor when stress starts to feel overwhelming. These doctors can also give you suggestions for specialists in your area that you can see if needed.

As a teenager, stress can be detrimental if it goes on for too long, but it can also be a valuable tool. A little stress may encourage you not to put off that essay, not to spend all weekend in bed, and not to ignore your responsibilities. It's only when stress starts to feel overwhelming that you might need to find a solution. It's important to learn the strategies to use to get through periods of heightened stress in your life- because you're sure to face them. As you get older, being able to navigate stress and its impact on you is important, so learn these skills now to get yourself prepared for later.