Many people of all ages experience some type of stress or anxiety. You never have to feel alone, it’s totally normal. There are so many different ways to cope and de-stress that are super healthy. So what can you do?

One of the many ideas you can explore is meditation. Meditation is the act or practice of meditating. You might think that meditation is dumb. I did for a while as well, but it’s one of the best things that you can do, and there are a ton of different methods. Personally, I hated sitting still for 10 minutes, listening to some robotic voice telling me when to take deep breaths, but in reality, it helps so much with reducing stress and panic attacks. Yoga is a great alternative method of meditation. Yoga is proven to relax the body and relieve tension. Meditation strengthens your ability to regulate emotions, which is a good skill to have when you have a racing mind.

Another really good strategy is physical activity. It’s basically meditation in motion! Going out for a run, doing a workout or playing soccer with friends, all of these things help boost up your endorphins. Endorphins are chemicals that help with reducing pain/stress and boost your overall happiness. Another great thing you can do, that I learned from my therapist, is while you’re running, choose a spot that you’ll pass and as you run by, make yourself leave all your stress/worries at that spot. If it doesn’t all go away, choose another spot till everything leaves your brain.

Keeping a journal is proven to help with one’s well-being. Some find that writing about positive feelings, like things you love to do or things that you’re grateful for, can help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. I really encourage people to grab a notebook and write a few sentences about your day, or things you’re proud of, before you go to bed.

Anxiety may feel like it will never go away and frankly it probably won’t, but you can reduce the feeling of it. You are the deciding factor on whether or not you let your stress/anxiety take control of you. From taking action with this article, or going to our student advocate, or talking to your parents/therapist, you can reduce it. You are strong!