Stress happens! We all feel stressed some of the time and it may
not be a problem at all. A bit of stress may even help us perform
better.
But when you get a lot of stressful things all happening at the
same time in your life the effects can be a lot harder to
manage.
Stress can affect you physically, making you feel tired, go off
your food and mess up your sleep. You may even get stomach aches or
headaches.
Stress can affect you mentally too. It’s harder to keep your
mind on your learning or work and harder to think things through
and solve problems.
We all react to stress in different ways, but understanding and
support from other people makes can make it much easier to cope
with. If it goes on and on you might even get depressed. It’s more difficult to cope with
frustration and control your temper.
Getting help
You might want to talk to:
- parents, a family member or friend
- people you know who are coping well with or who have come
through a similar situation
- a school nurse, teacher or school counsellor
- a social worker or youth counsellor
- a priest, or someone from your church or temple
- Samaritans
- your family doctor or practice nurse