How can I handle stress?

Question

I currently attend high school, and I'm a junior who is trying to juggle three AP courses and a ton of after-school activities. I know it's a lot but I've done it before, just not with this much workload from school. I tend to stress out about a lot of stuff, even the things that aren't really important. Lots of things that I stress out about turns out to be like not that stressful at all. Mostly, I freak out about grades. How can I stop stressing out about everything that I do?

Answer 1

As we approach the stressors in our life with optimism, we effectively deal with stress, anger, anxiety, depression, worry, etc. successfully. Take 15 min. early in the morning, and 15 min. in the evening to practice a simple meditation called the mindfulness of breathing.

Mindfulness of Breathing exercises:
1) Be in a comfortable position, whether sitting
or lying down.
2) Have someone watch your children for
about 15 min. [Increase in time gradually, after practicing for a month].
Then close your eyes, and concentrate
totally on your breathing.
3) At the end of your first inhalation of oxygen,
count one. Keep doing this until you get to Ten. Then start back at one. Remain patient with yourself.
4) Then focus your attention on breathing only
through your nostrils, which filter out all
the things, which are not healthy to breath
into your lungs. Be aware of the various
sensations through your nostrils, while you
continue the counting. When you get to
ten, start again at one.
5) When a distracting thoughts enters your mind
allow them to pass through {your mind], or judging them, or trying to fix them.
And then gently, patiently bring your full
attention back to your breath. Every time,
a distracting thought {any thought which
would take your attention of your breath),
comes to your mind, you need to use this
skillful, disciplinary method of bring it back.
Thoughts do come into our minds, especially
worrisome , or pressing thoughts
which indicate to us that we have an anxious mind.
Just be patient w/yourself, and keep practicing.
**"There is proven evidence of the
Success of The Mindfulness of Breathing
Exercises Proven by Dr. Jon Kabat-ZinnPhD
Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD. has a book
out called, "Coming to Our Senses' which
teaches this. * The Mindfulness of Breathing
greatly helps us to clearly see things as they really are, in order to act and react in a healthy manner toward people, and situations in life.
I practice mindfulness of breathing to reduce stress, to acquire peace of mind, and to cultivate Patience. I really enjoy the practice of mindfulness of breathing exercises. In Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn's clinic in Mass. he teaches the mindfulness of breathing to his patients to help them reduce pain, stress, anxiety, anger, depression, and worry. Many people establish the practice of mindfulness, as a way of life for themselves. For some, who are very Analytical, and might have a difficult time calming down their mind, "analytical meditation" is probably geared more for them. This method of meditation is excellent for effectively dealing with pain, and stress. Training in Patience: The meditation of observing our stress and anger involves paying close attention to the storyline behind stress and anger. We note the blood rushing to our head, our heart pounding, the emotional pain of hurt feelings, disappointment, & unfulfilled expectations. Simply observing these, “but Not reacting to them by clinging to them or pushing them away, we experience them as they are in the present. In doing so, we watch them arise And Cease in their own accord.” Mindfulness is very effective in letting go of Negative emotions. “Techniques in which we re-frame the situation constitute most of this volume, and they fall in the category of 'Analytical meditation, in which we investigate our thoughts, feeling, and perceptions to discern if they are accurate and beneficial. Changing the way we describe and interpret situations subdue stress, pain, anger because we stop exaggerating and projecting negativities onto people, situations, and objects.' In this way, the external event, its meaning, & our position in it appear to us differently, and our stress and anger evaporates.” Meditation on love and compassion{loving-kindness meditation], (which many do as form of walking meditation) strengthens these positive thoughts and emotions in our minds and hearts, which are beneficial because these thoughts and emotions act not only as antidotes to stress and anger, but also as measures preventing them from arising. So for some, mindfully observing their Thoughts and emotions allow stress and anger to subdue naturally, while for others, a more Analytical approach is necessary.

Hope this helps some.

Answer 2

I am currently going to college after being out of high school for 26 years. I feel the stress too over little things and trying to raise a 11 year old on my own. Don't take on anymore than you can handle. You've said you've done this before. Find a spot in your day that you have to put the books down and go into a quiet room and meditate or write about your feelings for the day. Take a walk, ride a bike, take a nice long shower, anything that will make you feel at peace with yourself

Answer 3

calm down and take a deep breath. I'm in the same boat as you are and it's hard sometimes. Just take like a break, every now and then.

A teacher once told me a philosophy of his on grades, he said that it wasn't grades he cared about in high school it was whether he understood the material well enough. He said if you understood what you're learning then good grades will always come along with it.

If you're a nervous person and blank out at tests then that's a different story. I took his thinking to heart and it's relieved a lot of stress for me.

I hope this helps...good luck with whatever you do.

Answer 4

I have a busy schedule work, school, bills, other things that need to be done. It always seems that after I finish one task there are 10 more in the line waiting to be finished. This is how I see things: Life will usually always be chaos but all i can do is roll with the punches and do the best I can. Take this into mind and your stress level will lessen

Answer 5

i know how u feel. adults r all like, "its only high school" when its much more. having 2 deal with all of dat crap is TIRING but try this:

stop when ur stressed and take a break (i know its typical, and sounds really gay, but trust me, IT WORKS, once u come back, you'll understand everything and get back on track)

lay off of the after school activities (u sound like a really potential and succeeding person, who is probably gonna end up in like, an ivi league,~i know i spelt it wrong~, school, but u gotta just quit at somethin, cuz i know u think u can handle it, but all it causes u is more stress.

sry i dont have alot of advice, cuz im in ur exact same situation and still cant get over stress, but take my little ammount of advice 2 good use!

Answer 6

...go to the gym...or put up the punching bag down in the basement. Burn off the excessive adrenaline seriously. You got too much chemistry going on in your mind. The holistic approach to life should be checked out too. Natural substances generally won't freak out your brain chemistry like pharmaceuticals will. Put away the sugar cubes too! Yikes!!!Try running or any sporting activity to burn off stress and energy. If your girl doesn't mind having alot of sex,...burn it off that way...but get it done brother. There's no time like the present to burn off calories energy and stress really! Have fun anyways doing it.

Answer 7

Higher stress levels affect both the mental and physical health of a person. Deep breathing is a simple relaxation technique which can be used to effectively lower stress levels at any time.There are many deep breathing relaxation techniques which when followed will make you feel relaxed.More details and remedies at http://deeplyrelax.com

Answer 8

handle stress

Answer 9

I would focus more on academics than on the after-school activities. You did say that you "freak out about grades". Focus on getting those good grades and take it easy....your only in high school....wait until you get into the real world!!!

Answer 10

simple, take out just one or two activities taht you dont like the most and keep the rest of the after-school activites so that way everybody can be happy, even you.