On the day of a major exam in just about any class, you’re likely to see signs of nervousness. Kids are frantically looking over their notes, biting their nails, chewing their pencil erasers, cracking their knuckles, or taking deep breaths.
In fact, you may be doing the same thing. That nervous, jittery feeling you are having is called stress. Its source—the test—is your stressor. Even if you usually feel confident during tests, odds are you’ve experienced stress in other situations.
Stress is a normal part of life. It’s your body’s emotional reaction to everything urgent, exciting, frightening, irritating, or significant. Depending on the situation, stress can occur when you are overly excited about something, mad at somebody or some situation, running scared, or anticipating being embarrassed or ashamed.
Stress can be positive when it pushes you to do your best at a task. For example, it can give you the mental alertness you need to do well in a major test. Or it can give you that extra physical energy in a race that propels you first across the finish line. However, stress can also be bad for you. When you have too much stress—and it lasts over a long period of time—you can feel overwhelmed and helpless. People often describe such feelings as being “stressed out.”
Has someone ever implied that your stress isn’t important because of your age? Well-meaning adults don’t always get it. You probably don’t work full-time, pay taxes, or have anyone who depends on you for everything. Some adults may think this means you have no real problems. They only remember the fun times of when they were young and have forgotten the miserable moments. At this stage of life, you may be faced with difficult situations that would overwhelm anybody.
Stress isn’t the most enjoyable emotion, but it’s not necessarily a cause for panic. The key is learning to handle your stress in a healthy way so you can control it, live with it, and maybe even benefit from it occasionally. Knowing what to expect and how to cope will help you deal with common stressors.
This book gives specific strategies and solutions to help you understand and manage your own stress. It includes information on how people respond—in good ways and unhealthy ways—to stressful situations. It also describes common stressors—family, friends, school, and life in general—and suggests ways to manage them.
