Introduction to teenage stress and anxiety
What is stress & anxiety?
Stress:
Stress is your body’s reaction to a specific challenge or threat in the moment. Think of it like an alarm system that goes off when you have a lot on your plate. It usually goes away once the situation is over.
Examples of when you could've experienced it:
- before performing on stage in front of a big group of people
-before/during an important summative
Anxiety (or the what-if feeling):
Anxiety is a feeling of worry that lingers, even when there isn't a quick problem. While stress is about the present, anxiety is usually about the future, worrying that something bad could happen.
Examples of when you could've experienced it:
-after completing an important summative, and worrying that you will get a bad grade
-overthinking small situations which only matter to you
-thinking about the worst-case scenario, even though everything is fine
Why do you feel stressed and anxious? And how to understand you are experiencing it?
Sometimes you might not even realize you are experiencing stress/anxiety until your body sends you "signs." This is called the "Flight or Fight" response; it's the way your brain prepares you for a challenge. It's not just in your head; it's a real physical reaction.
Here are some physical signs that you are stressed/anxious:
1. The "Jumpy heart": your heart starts racing, pounding, or skipping beats, and you can physically feel it.
2. Headache: Even though before you felt perfectly fine, before an important event, you start feeling pressure around your forehead or temples, which keeps coming back.
3. If your palms start sweating: Getting hot even though the place you are in is not warm.
4. Clenched jaw: Releasing your teeth that are pressed together.
5. Struggling with sleep: Tossing and turning for hours because your brain won't shut off, or feeling exhausted no matter how much you sleep.
Why does this happen?
When you are stressed, your body releases hormones adrenaline and cortisol. These two hormones are meant to give you energy to deal with a problem or challenge, but if they are not released, they start to cause "glitches".
"Caveman" brain:
Thousands of years ago, humans needed a "supercharge" to survive. If a caveman saw a saber-toothed tiger, their brain released adrenaline and cortisol into their blood so they could fight or run away.
The Problem: Today, your brain can't tell the difference between a tiger and a math test.
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Then: You used that energy to run, which "burned off" the hormones.
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Now: You’re sitting at a desk with all that energy trapped inside.
Solutions
6 ways to reset your system
1.Antistress toy
Antistress toys, such as for example Needoh, have started trending recently, not only because they are fun to play with, but also because they help release the extra energy. If you are feeling stressed, you can take a stress ball, squeeze it, and because it gives your hands a "job," your mind can relax.
2. Breathing
The "Double Inhale" method.
Take a deep breath in through your nose, and then at the very top, take one more tiny, quick sip of air. Then, let out a long, slow exhale through your mouth.
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Why?This is a "hack" that pops open the tiny air sacs in your lungs, which instantly helps lower your heart rate.
3. Observing your surroundings.
Look around the room or your immediate environment and find five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This engages your senses and can distract from internal worries.
4. Focus on one object
Pick a small object within your view, like a pen, a design on a notebook, or a spot on the wall. Focus all your attention on its details, lines, colors, and textures for a minute or two. This can help quiet a busy mind.
5. "Fact Check"
If you are worried about what others think about you, or any scary thought, for example, "Everyone is judging me", ask yourself: "What is the actual evidence for this right now?" Or if you are scared about a bad grade, start thinking about what you did correctly, and try focusing on the positive things. This is a core CBT technique. It moves you from "Emotional Reasoning" (feeling it makes it true) to "Logical Reasoning," which is much harder for anxiety to survive.
6. Categorizing
This way might sound a bit funny, however, it can be played as a game with your friends. If you and your peers are feeling stressed before an upcoming summative, pick a category (like Movies) and name as many as you can in 30 seconds.
Because your brain has a limited amount of "bandwidth." By filling it with a memory task, there is literally no room left for the anxiety to keep running in the background.
Importance
Why is it important to control?
It is essential to manage stress and anxiety because they are physically and mentally exhausting. When you learn to control these reactions, you are essentially reclaiming your own resources.
Consequences of not managing stress and anxiety:
1. Mental Exhaustion (Burnout)
When your brain is forced to stay on "high alert" for too long, it can shut down to protect itself. This leads to a loss of motivation, feeling "numb" or detached, and not being able to complete even a simple task because you can't simply concentrate.
General tirdness
When you stay stressed, your body never gets the signal to relax. This leads to chronic exhaustion-you feel tired the moment you wake up, your muscles feel heavy or achy, and you might deal with constant headaches or a stomach that never feels quite right. Your body is essentially worn out from being "braced" for a problem 24/7.
Social Isolation
Anxiety often creates an "avoidance loop." To stop the uncomfortable feelings, you might start skipping events, ghosting friends, or staying home. This changes your close circle of people and leaves you alone with your thoughts, which usually makes the original anxiety even more intense.
Real stories:
After realising many of my classmates experience stress and anxiety daily, I decided to interview them and ask if they could use one of the techniques that I recommend, and see if that helps them.
Usually, before a summative or even a formative, I feel extremely stressed, because I'm scared I will fail. After I spoke to Asta about this, she recommended the "Focus on one object technique." At first, I thought it didn't make any sense. I tried it recently, and it truly helped me, and I almost didn't feel stress at all. I even forgot about the summative for a while.
-Sofiya Postnova (grade 10)
For now, I don't have that many important summatives; however, I do present a lot on stage, because I dance and sing. Usually, I feel confident, but sometimes I feel really anxious because I'm scared that the performance will not go as planned. I took Asta's recommendation and used the "Fact Check" technique, and tried to think about the good scenario, rather than the worst one. I also tried to understand that even if it doesn't go as planned, we all make mistakes, and it's normal.
-Vlada (grade 7)
Usually, I do quite well on all of my summatives; however, before completing them, I feel really stressed, and sometimes I can feel how my heart beat increases. Before, I thought it was normal; however, after discussing it with Asta, I understood I should change it.
She recommended me buying an anti-stress toy, which helped me release the extra energy I had.
I believe that it's a good technique that helps me.
-Kate Kiselev (grade 9)