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Exams are approaching, and with them inevitable stress for both students and their parents. Even if the preparation is going well, many kids just can’t handle the stress and feel anxious, over-excited, or overwhelmed. Family counselor Cheryl Butler talks about how to help teens deal with stress.
To prevent increased workloads from leading to health problems and nervous breakdowns in a teenager, it is important from the very beginning to listen to his needs and create a comfortable working atmosphere for him. How can you help your child deal with stress? Here are five tips for parents:
Council number 1. Be sensitive
If you see your teen looking anxious and tense, ask what is bothering them. Regular family conversations help to better cope with stress. Research by the National Institutes of Health (USA) shows that children whose parents are constantly aware of what is happening in the child’s life show better results in exams and competitions. It is important that failures are not a reason for parental criticism, but are perceived as common family problems that can be solved together.
Council number 2. Create a comfortable environment
It is important that the workplace and home environment work to create a favorable emotional climate. If chaos and disorder constantly reign in your house, this only increases anxiety and confusion in the child. Elizabeth Scott, a stress management specialist, advises periodically reviewing your home environment and asking yourself: do I really feel calm and relaxed here? Encourage your teen to decide for himself in which environment he can best concentrate. Elizabeth Scott emphasizes that a space that provides a sense of order and tranquility is critical to inner harmony and productivity.
Council number 3. Organize your daily routine
One way to deal with stress is to eliminate unhealthy habits from your life. Look at the diet. Does it contain enough vitamins? Do you overdo it with sweets? Are you following the rules? Excessive stress can turn into a decrease in self-control and increase the craving for «jamming», «flirting» — if a teenager is fond of video games — anxiety. Simply streamlining your daily routine has a calming effect. And everyday rituals — family dinners, board games on weekends — create a feeling of comfort and tranquility.
Council number 4. Watch out for breaks
The life of a teenager — especially in senior classes — consists of constant loads. Studying for exams, playing sports and competitions, participating in school plays — and that’s without taking into account the stresses associated with relationships and growing up. Make sure your teen gets enough sleep and free time. Set aside one day in which you will not load it with household chores. Make a weekly schedule together so that there is room for meetings with friends, walks and outdoor games.
Council number 5. Relax together
To effectively deal with stress, you need to listen to your body. And above all, to breathing. This is where the technique developed by cardiologist Herbert Benson will help you. The «relaxation response» is a state of deep rest that changes the physical and emotional response to stress: lowers heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension. The main way to induce the relaxation response is through breathing. Concentrated, deep breathing increases the flow of oxygen to the brain and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. Find relaxation video tutorials and try out with your teenager. It will also be useful for you: after all, if you yourself experience stress, your condition can be transmitted to the child.