Understanding Stress

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Study Skill 3.1 Understanding Stress

Introduction

Stress. It has become extremely common for students. Stress is most simply understood as our body’s reaction, both mental and physical, to the stressors in our environment. For students, school is the most common form of stress but we also experience stressors from our family, friends, relationships, community, and importantly, ourselves!

There are situations in which we experience good stress, where our body’s natural fight or flight response allows us to accomplish amazing things. However, it’s important to recognize when stress levels become too high or persist for too long. In these situations of stress overload, both our mental and physical abilities can suffer greatly, leading to depression, anxiety, fatigue, and even serious illness.

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Key Ideas

  • Stressors are common and are experienced by ALL teens and students.
  • Some stress is okay and may even help us perform, but prolonged or excessive stress is dangerous to our physical and mental wellbeing.
  • In order to manage stress, we must first be able to recognize stress and stressors in our lives.

Apply

  • Write down stressors that you experience in your life on strips of paper. Fold and place in a large bowl. Take turns pulling stressors from the bowl to read aloud. Record common themes on the board.
  • Visit the links above to read and learn more about stress and stressors for teens. Spend some time reflecting and journaling on the stressors in your life and the way you react to them physically and emotionally.
  • Share the list of 10 Signs a Teen is Stressed Links to an external site. with your parents or family members. Try to have a calm discussion about the good and bad stressors in your life. Your parents may not be aware of the challenges facing teens today and will be eager to know and help.