Stress and Girls

Elementary School	Middle School	High School
Sibling rivalry Friendship struggles Any changes in family Death or loss of pet Academic pressures Lack of sleep/nutrition	Moving from elementary Increased friend drama Academic pressure increases Developmental changes Choosing between sleep & grades Focus of appearance	Getting into college Parent discord Development of hormones Over scheduled & sleep deprivation Relationships Pressure to succeed

Stress Management Techniques

Breathe it out: Practice square breathing: deep breath in through the nose for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds
Create a calm place in your mind: breathe in a color you associate with relaxation (maybe blue or green) and exhaling a color you associate with stress (maybe red or orange) imagine a place that you feel calm in
Watch a relaxing YouTube video or meditation
When in doubt dance it out, dance to your favorite “happy” song, move your body, taking a walk with favorite tunes
Write in a journal: consider concluding with 3 things that you are grateful for, or the gifts in the problem
Treat yourself: do your nails, take a hot bath, have a piece of chocolate
Nourish your brain and your body: eat breakfast, drink water, limit sugar, get at least 9 hours of sleep
Schedule breaks and down time to give yourself a chance to recharge
Listen to music, set your alarm/phone to play some fun music when waking up
Express your creativity: painting, drawing, collages, photography
Do not procrastinate, it will make it worse, we promise, make sure you have good study habits, easier said than done smile
Pet your favorite animal

Let them know that you are genuinely interested in understanding their world and practice active listening.
Remind them that stress is a normal part of life and that learning how to cope with stress takes time and practice.
Model asking for help or offer to assist in emailing teachers, caregivers if needed.
Validate how stressful _______ is and ask how you can support them.
Perhaps share a time you remember feeling stressed in high school.
Ask questions that encourage her to give you more information.
Be willing to examine if you’re contributing to her stress levels.
Explore how you can work together to help her regulate her anxious thoughts, for example: breaking tasks into smaller, more-manageable chunks to start taking action. Make a to do list and label each task 1-5, 5 on important and must be done ASAP, 1 wait till later.
Don’t expect perfection, just progress. Sometimes the lesson is how not to give up.