7 Stress-Management Tips for Teens

Life Skills for High School Students: Stress-Management

Introduction

Stress can directly impact the brain and how we process information; it becomes even more critical when this stress is chronic. Today’s young adults are seeing more stress than ever and need strategies to help understand and cope with the challenges that they are facing. Growing up is hard and it seems that many of us (myself included) did not learn stress-management techniques until halfway through my undergraduate program after it became a serious issue. Social emotional learning in high school can change how students react to stress as they grow. The following article will share some key techniques to help students manage their stress and hopefully use these strategies to develop concrete future habits.

Physical Symptoms of Stress

Stress can come from a variety of places and can manifest itself in the body through physical symptoms. Have students, and yourself, keep an eye out for symptoms of stress such as fatigue, brain fog, or muscle aches. Sometimes we can ignore our body as it tells us the stress is too much and end up overworking it, only to make the stress on our mental and physical health worse. 

So take a moment, and check in with your body:

• Where are you feeling stress? 
• Why might you be feeling stress there? 
• What things in your life may be adding to this stress?

Slow Things Down

• Breathing: Once you have recognized that there is stress, you may want to take a moment (even just one minute) to try some breathing techniques and slow your breath. Focus on how the air moves in and out of your lungs in a slow measured way and listen to the world around you. This may take some practice when you are in a stressful moment. It is better to try to create this habit while you are not stressed, so that when you are, it feels easier to come back to center. Think of this as the ultimate teen self-care.
• Guided Meditation: You can also try guided meditations through a number of apps like Stop Breathe Think or Simple Habit (2 apps which I have used in my English courses with my students and recommend to prep for the SAT). These mediations allow you to follow along with what someone is telling you to do and makes it harder to go off on a thinking tangent when it is just silence. 
• Journaling: If sitting with your thoughts feels like a little too much, try writing it down. Get a post it note or an index card or a carefully decided-upon journal to write in. No matter what you decide, get those racing thoughts from your head onto the paper. And if you feel they are moving too fast, record yourself saying them aloud. Feel free to delete the recording or document or tear up the post-it note dramatically if you wish. Either way, get whatever is stressing you out, out of your brain.

Organization

• Incorporate routines and organization into your daily life to make things a little easier for you. Prioritize what you absolutely need to do first and then work your way down the list. By organizing and planning things out, you allow your brain the space to handle other things as they come up.

Manage Your Time on Social Media

• You’ve heard this before, the doom scroll, the time suck: it's social media. Whatever platform you may be partial to, they are all designed to keep you on the app for as long as possible. Add time limits and focus on why you are on a certain app in the first place. Get what you need, then leave.

Active Movement

• Move around! Counter to social media, active movement can really help your nervous system regulate itself. So choose an activity that you love, don’t overthink it, and get out there moving that body in a way you enjoy!  Remember that strategies for mental health don’t just have to be sitting and staring into space until you feel “healed;” you can also move your body to help yourself process lots of different emotions. 

Connection

• Don’t forget to ask for help when you need it. This can be from a counselor, a coach, a tutor, a teacher, a friend, whomever it may be; just make sure that you ask for support when you need it.

Conclusion

Students need some extra help with stress-management, since it is often overlooked and not taught explicitly in schools. We can remedy that by teaching social emotional skills during brief bell works or quick videos/activities. Create a classroom routine around social emotional learning strategies to make it easier for students to digest. You can even share (with credit please and thank you) these strategies for students to reference!

If you are curious about more information on what these strategies look like or more information on how to turn them into habits. Check out my Stress-Management Video Course with the Life Skills Academy. It includes 10 short videos, a full ebook guide, extra resources, reference printables, and more! I even have a FREE Academic Success Planning Guide available when you sign up for the waitlist! Feel free to share with your students or watch a video from the course during any extra time after a lesson or test.