Saturday, March 14, 2009

Stress Factor

Stress is the one thing that each individual on earth has experienced. Scary right. For people with Bp it can be scary. Stress messes with your moods, and effects each person differently. For example when my brother is stressed he gets frustrated and angry faster, but when I get stressed I cry. The biggest stress factor for teens is school. Teens have to deal with the pressure at school from teachers to excell acedemically, and to get into college. Of course the mound of homework they heap on you doesn't help. Just that is enough to cause a teen without Bp to melt down. Then add in the pressure from your peers to "fit in" and it's a recipe for disaster. Here are a few tips I've found helpful to put out the fire not fuil it.
1. Seperate yourself from the source. If a teacher or class is causing a problem ask to go to your "safe room". In my previous blogs i explained what a "safe room" is, and that everyone should have one. The definition of a "safe room" is a place where you can go to cooldown no matter what. Somewhere or someone that calms you down. You can stay there until you defuse then go back, or stay there if you know going back will get you right back where you started.
2. Do something that you know relaxes you. Putting your head down on your desk and blocking out the problem while taking deep breaths may help if you can't physically leave. That is what my brother does when he can't leave class.
What I used to do when I got upset and/or stressed at school was to wait until I got home and then let everything out at once. I usualy ended up slamming my door and screaming into my pillow or venting at my mom. My mom suggested making a list of 10 things that I know calms me down and tape it to my wall where I can see it. Then everytime I get upset to look at it and do all 10 things on the list to calm down. That helped tremendously, and I strongly suggest doing this to anyone who gets uspet and/or stressed frequently. I'll list a couple things I put on my list that you might find helpful.
1. Count to 15
2. Take several deep breaths
3. Listen to music
4. Write down what I was feeling and why I was feeling it, and then throw it away
5. Think about something else
6. If possible watch a movie
Those are a few of the things I found helpful to relieve stress at home and at school. Some of them might help you, and some of them won't. The key is to find what helps you personally. I know I say that in almost every one of my blogs, but it's because it's important. Give them a try you never know.