By Lucy Wu, American High School, Fremont, California
You’re pulling your hair out the day before a test because you are anxious enough to blow steam out of your ears. All these unpleasant feelings pressing on your is enough to force you to want to eat some incredibly large mammal or plant in order to procrastinate. But you also realize that your the minor melt down your contemplating will only lead to a bigger break down when all this stress comes out you with even bigger fangs and a big growl. “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it,” according to Ferris Bueller from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), so don’t be afraid to do something about that mounting amount of fear and anxiety.
Stress means many different things to all sorts of people, but there are common symptoms like chronic procrastination, depression, irritably, and loss of concentration according to heart.org.
“When I have a lot of homework on the same day and a test is coming up the next day, there’s just so much stuff to do. I think I’m more stressed in the afternoon because I know all the work that I have to do, but I don’t have enough time to do it all.” sophomore Solomon Hughes said.
Being a little scared or anxious is not a big deal. It can be motivational. But too much stress causes problems, it can lead to deficiencies within the immune system and heart problems(www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/stress.html). But there are ways to manage stress and not all of those ways involve eating a ridiculously large organism so you can get a sugar rush.
“I talk to my friend Randy, read books, listen to music, and best of all, sleep [when I’m stressed],” junior Ashley Yum said.
Some ways to deal with stress involve avoiding things that cause stress, thinking of calming thoughts that are specific to you, and exercising (sometimes) to release endorphines. Avoidance of tests and piles of homework isn’t practical, so just try not to procrastinate on work and do a little a day. Not everyone believes that a serene lake is the most soothing image, so come up with your own to draw upon. And while setting aside time to exercise isn’t for everyone, it wouldn’t hurt to take the stairs instead of an elevator or walk around a park even just once a day.
“I play games, read books, and do stuff I like. I also eat a lot when I’m stressed. When you get stressed, you get hungry. I also carve stuff to keep myself busy, play with my dog, and take things apart,” freshman Jason Lin said.
Stress isn’t always easy to manage and it comes from different factors that brings up different responses in all types of people. If things get really tough, it might just be best to talk to someone about it. Go out and talk with your friends or talk with someone who is willing to listen. Take time to laugh too. The school counselors are always around to help and they are in Mr. Banez, Ms. Nightingale, and Ms. Ayriss in office J, K, and L.