By Savannah Celeste
“To experience peace does not mean that your life is always blissful. It means that you are capable of tapping into a blissful state of mind amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life.”
―Jill Botte Taylor
All teenagers unite under one common characteristic. Whether you are in high school, in college, have a job, or run a business, you experience a state of mental tension and worry caused by the problems in your life—otherwise known as stress. Stress has the potential to be a great thing if you handle it the right way. In this article, you will learn where your stress comes from, how to overcome it, and how to use it to your advantage.
Stress can come from many things. It can come from your job, your schoolwork, the people in your life, anything really. The easiest way for me to tell what I am stressed about is to examine my thoughts. When you are feeling stressed, ask yourself these questions: What am I thinking about the most? Is it the test coming up? My boss at work? An extracurricular activity? Whatever the case may be, if it is bothering you so much that you are constantly thinking about it, it is causing you stress. Do not feel alone in this; many teenagers just like you experience stress. For teens, the most commonly reported sources of stress are:
School (83%)
Getting into a good college or deciding what to do after high school (69%)
Financial concerns for their family (65%)
Many teens report lying awake at night (35%), overeating or eating unhealthy foods (26%), and skipping meals (23%) due to stress in the past month. 40% of teens report feeling irritable or angry, 36 % report feeling nervous or anxious, 36% report feeling fatigued or tired, and 31% report feeling overwhelmed due to stress in the past month. More than one-quarter of teens (26 %) say they snapped at or were short with classmates or teammates when stressed in the last month. 51% of teens say someone tells them they seem stressed at least once a month. See, you are not alone in this feeling, but instead of using unhealthy coping mechanisms, try to focus on ways to combat your stress.
The next question is: how do I combat my stress? The first way to combat stress is with the Bible. Whenever I begin to feel stressed, I immediately go to my list of stress relieving Bible verses and it calms me down. Reading Scripture reminds me of God’s grace and love and the true meaning of life. I do this because once you remember what’s truly important in life and more importantly Who's truly important in life, your problems begin to appear smaller and smaller until they vanish like they were never there. Another thing that helps relieve stress is to have an acronym. When I think of combating stress, I think of the word rebound and what it means. The next time you stress think of this:
Release
Everything
Beyond
Our
Understanding and
Never
Despair
It will help you to refocus and accomplish whatever you are stressing about.
Finally, how can we use stress to our advantage? I think Bill Phillips said it best when he said, “Stress should be a powerful driving force, not an obstacle.” In other words, stress should inspire us to be more organized, thoughtful, and productive. When you start getting stressed, plan what you have to do for the week. Making a schedule will immensely help you reduce your stress levels because when you have a clear list of what you have to accomplish, it becomes less of a problem.
Understand that stress is not strong enough to prohibit you from accomplishing all that you are meant to. In the future, when you get stressed, read Scripture, make a schedule, breathe and finish what you need to. Remember that you are not alone, and that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. Happy school year everyone; we are almost halfway done! You got this!!
Works Cited
Kathleen Smith. “6 Common Triggers of Teen Stress.” Psycom.net - Mental Health Treatment
Resource Since 1996, 24 Nov. 2020,
https://www.psycom.net/common-triggers-teen-stress/.
“Stress.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster,
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stress.