So what’s the answer? What do you do to deal with all the stuff that bom-
bards you, whether it has to do with grades, friends, sports, social media,
family, insecurities, the future? It’s not going to be easy, but it IS possible.
You CAN feel better with practice. Here’s one way to look at it. If your math
teacher says on a Monday morning, “Okay, guys, this Friday you’re going to
be tested on everything you’ve learned from the beginning of the school
year up to this point.” First of all, you’d probably be thinking, “Ugh, are you
kidding me?!?” “I do NOT need this right now!” Maybe you start noticing a
few butterflies fluttering around in your stomach. Your chest might start to
tighten up a bit. But let’s say, you get to class Friday morning of the test and
you completely spaced studying. YIKES! Your thoughts will probably start
to race; “Oh my gosh. What am I going to do?” “I’m totally going to fail this
test!” “My parents are going to kill me!” Your stomach is doing flip flops to
the point you’re feeling nauseous. Your body temperature shoots up like you
walked into a 100-degree room and your heart rate skyrockets as if you just
finished sprinting a race in a track meet. How do you think you’re going to do
on the test? Well, if you’re anything like me, probably not very well.
It is the same thing with worry, anxiety, and stress. If you don’t prepare, it’s
going to be pretty tough to remember what to do to calm down enough to
pass the stress test if you don’t practice beforehand. So you might be won-
dering, “Okay, lady so what am I supposed to do?” Well, first things first.
Know that you’re not the only one. Did you know that everyone worries,
adults included? It’s a part of being human. Worry protects us from all sorts
of things like getting to shelter when a storm is coming or using hot pads
to take a pizza out of the oven. The problem is when people start to worry
excessively, need reassurance from others, expect themselves to be perfect,
are hard on themselves, etc. That’s when a phase becomes more than just
a phase. If this is the case for you, still, you’re not alone. According to the
ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America), 1 in 8 kids (that’s
millions!) can be affected by an anxiety disorder. Here are some things that
can help:
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