Would you believe that a Google search on “stress management” brings up 27.5 million hits?
There are so many ways to talk about stress and how to manage it but an area that gets almost no attention, in fact so little that we could call it a “secret,” is one of the most impactful and positive tools—and it’s free.
In my practice, I often work with teens who are adversely affected by stress. Here are the top five strategies that have helped teens combat stress and worry:
When I was in high school, I had mixed feelings about going back to school each year. I loved the idea of a fresh start. Every year, I got a new opportunity to start over, to reinvent myself. Though I remember loving this time of year, that wasn’t the case for many of my friends. Some of them would practically get sick before school started because they were so stressed out.
As therapists, we’ve all experienced those moments when we’re talking about a stressful topic or doing an exposure intervention and, all of a sudden, the client seems to be flooded with anxiety or gives you a blank, spacey stare. They may even look like they’re about to run out of your office. This is the time to use a grounding strategy.
