How To Cope With Stress

How to Cope With Stress was the buzzword at a recent Girls in Power workshop! With exams fast approaching, many teens are feeling stressed, and that stress can negatively affect their lives! How to cope with stress is an important skill for teens, and the use of this skill in daily life can lead to greater empowerment for girls!

How to Cope With Stress on Exam Day

For many girls, walking into a classroom and sitting down to take an exam can be one of the most stressful events of the year! Even though your parents and teachers may know that you have studied and are prepared for the test, you may still feel stressed and anxious. To learn how to cope with stress, try these tips!

• Physical Stress Busting!
  • Sleep! A lot of stress can be caused by not getting enough sleep. While studying is important, not getting enough sleep will actually make it harder for you to remember facts! Make sure you are getting enough sleep every night, especially the night before an exam.
  • Exercise! Doing something you find relaxing for just 10 minutes a day can make you feel much better. How about yoga? Give yourself a study break and get your energy back by trying this 10 minute yoga routine for exams stress. If you enjoy it, think about attending some local yoga classes to help cope with stress all year round!
  • Breathing! Sometimes all you have to do to cope with stress is take a moment to breath. It sounds silly, but sit back for a moment. Close your eyes. Breath in for 4 counts, then exhale for 4 counts. Now try it a few more times. Don’t you feel better already?
• Mental Stress Busting!
  • Don’t overthink it! You’ve studied for this exam for a while. You’ve gone over problems in class. When you feel that you don’t know how to cope with stress, just tell yourself: I got this! Going into an exam with optimism will make you stress less, and you’ll do better!
  • Take away the fear! Imagine picking up your pencil, opening the test book, and knowing exactly how to answer the first question on the first page. Now whenever you are stressed about an upcoming exam, replace that fear with a mental image of your success!
  • Remember, this isn’t the end! If you come to a question you can’t answer, remember that missing one question on your test doesn’t mean you are a failure! Everyone makes the occasional mistake. Instead, focus on all the questions you can answer correctly!

Recently on Girls in Power Radio, Melinda Crown interviewed Frank Banos, a certified Hypnotherapist and a great California mentor for many teens who didn’t know how to cope with stress. Frank explained how he struggled with school and with his self-confidence as a teen. After Melinda mentioned that some of the girls in her girls empowerment programs felt the same way, Frank shared with her some great tips for how to cope with stress and lessen anxiety in everyday life.

First? Don’t Self Sabotage! Constantly putting yourself down will make you feel stressed all the time. Focus instead on the great things you are capable of doing, and remember that you can do anything you set your mind to!

Second. Live on your own terms! Sometimes people will try to label you and put you down. As Frank says, just remember: What other people think of me is none of my business! If you have a goal, don’t let anyone take it away from you!

Finally, widen your world! While traveling to Europe like Frank did might not be possible for most teens, getting out of your bubble of home, school, and friends may be all you need to see your life from a different perspective! How about volunteering, or attending one of the Girls in Power workshops for girls?

 

If you would like to hear even more tips for how to cope with stress, then listen to Melinda’s interview with Frank Banos below!

Get more information on Workshops and Programs HERE

Download a FREE 55 Minute Audio Preview of Melinda’s book “Empower Your Girl” Here

Visit Melinda’s Empower Your Girl Blog HERE

Check out Melinda’s TV interview on the Get Moving TV Show HERE

“We feel it is much easier to empower a youth than it is to repair an adult” ~ Melinda Rae