Tactics to Manage Overthinking and Stress

As a high school student I know we are all struggling out there with stress and overthinking, but believe it or not it can and will get easier. Some things that I, along with many other people, stress over include my future, school, grades, and even relationships. While these are just some common ones there are many more.

Before we get into how to help the problem I think it’s always best if we have an understanding of it first. When we stress our nervous system releases a lot of stress hormones which can lead to our heart pounding faster, our muscles tightening, our breath quicking, and our senses becoming sharper. All of which to no surprise, are not very fun.

When managing stress we first need to be in the present moment and not in the past. Searching up breathing exercises, doing an activity you enjoy, drinking water, catching up on some sleep, can all help this. And the reassurance of knowing whatever your problem may be, you can always sort it out is a big motivator as well.

In my personal experience when dealing with stress I will  talk the following ideas have helped me a lot:

1. talk to my close friends or family
2. read a book
3. finish a painting
4. work on an assignment that I find easy just to have it off my back
5.  listen to a motivational podcast then get back to work on whatever is troubling me

I know that whenever I am stressed I procrastinate and If this is the case for you as well then just know that you are not alone. At first when I began to procrastinate I saw myself as being lazy which made me not have any motivation to do the work I was already falling behind on. But believe me you can do it as long as you have the right mindset about it. Reach out to people and ask for help, talk to your teachers. Everyone is here to support you.

I hope that this can reach someone who is going through the same issue, remember that you are not alone.