Jen (not her real name) walked into class with zero expectations. A guest teacher on the schedule – always an invitation to tune out. She didn’t expect to walk out with a new perspective.
“I hadn’t really thought about it before, that other people deal with the same things I do…. and more sometimes, more stuff than I do,” she says. “I learned really positive ways to deal with my anxiety. And that worrying and problem solving are different things.”
Every teenager experiences stress.
Worry over a big test. Social pressure, conflicts with parents, siblings and peers. Some already suffer from chronic stress. Statistics tell us that a quarter of a typical high school class lives with at least one big stressor like changing family circumstances, living in poverty, witnessing violence, or watching a parent grapple with mental illness or substance addiction.
Learning to cope with stress is a vital life skill.
It’s why we bring our Stress Management and Relaxation Training (SMART) Teen classes to local high schools.
Our instructors teach teens about stress and help them build a strategy to handle it in productive and positive ways. Your support, and that of community partners like the Verdant Health Commission, empowers teens to become aware of their own stress responses.
The goal is to teach teens to create a new foundation for handling stress in positive, productive ways.
“I was skeptical, but the relaxation technique really did help, and it works,” Jen says. “I need to make time just for myself to relax.”
If you want to learn more about stress, and how to manage it:
Or call the Family Help Line for more information: 1 (800) 932-HOPE (4673)
Learn More about the Verdant Health Commission >>