Stress Busters

Stress is something that affects us all at one point in our lives. It’s inevitable with today’s modern world. If it’s not exam pressure, it’s peer pressure or family and health issues. We can all think of a time when we’ve felt overwhelmed, restless or had sleeplesss nights. These are just a few of the symptoms that come with stress. What most people don’t realise is that there are many effective ways to live a stress free life without too much effort.

If stress is not dealt with promptly it can lead to medical problems and even depression. Depression can come in a number of ways from feeling fed up to feeling suicidal. Like stress, depression can make you feel tired and withdrawn from the world. A common symptom for stress and depression is a lack of energy and lack of involvement in social activities. Ironically, exercise is one of the key ways to boost your ‘happiness’ and make you feel relaxed and in turn allowing you to deal with your problems/issues.

Amy, 15 from Syston in Leicester said: “Exercise helped me distress through my GCSE studies. I used to go jogging to break up my revision”.

Some researchers say 30 minutes exercise a day can boost the ‘good mood’ endorphins that make us feel cheery and more positive.
Other ways you can beat stress is to do something that you find relaxing such as reading, watching TV, drawing or painting or even talking to your friends. What some of us don’t realise is that simply talking aloud about our problems can actually improve our mood in an instant. When we say our problems aloud they may not seem as bad or you may even think of a solution as you’re speaking. If you don’t feel comfortable speaking to a friend, family member or even a teacher try a technique that I use and write down what you are feeling. Quite like a diary or journal simply get some paper and a pen and write anything and everything you want. Let the pen flow and release your mind and write until you’ve got everything out. I find it a relief to be able to write everything down when work, studies and social situations are buzzing around in my head like a whirlwind.

Josh, 17, Braunstone in Leicester said: “I play on my video games when I get stressed. You can escape from reality and you can be who you want to be”.

If it’s work or studies that have you stressed out then a good way to deal with your problems is to set yourself tasks and targets to overcome any workload that is beginning to pile up. I often get bogged down with essays, deadlines and presentations to complete but I use a calendar to schedule times to get the work done but also leave time for me to relax and chill out. If you try to cram too much work into your schedule and not enough time to relax you will find your stress levels rising increasingly fast. Balancing work and ‘you’ time is a key to a stress free life.

A Health Care Support worker from Glenfield Hospital in Leicester said: “In a stressful situation a good technique for relieving tension is to find a quiet place, breathe in slowly and hold the air in your lungs and count to three. Then exhale slowly and repeat if you need to”.

In any stressful situation a bit of fresh air can help clear the mind and relax the body. Another way to help relax and is a great way to relieve stress is to laugh. Laughter has the same elements of exercise as it helps release ‘good mood’ endorphins, which makes us happy.

As you can see there are many ways to deal with stress and you are never alone because whether its friends, family, teachers or support groups there is always someone to listen to you and give you advice when needed.