4 A's of Stress Management

Last night I wrote about test anxiety. But the reality is that you all have a lot more stress in your lives than just exams. You have stress of the holidays. Stress of a change in routine coming with winter break. You may be feeling stressed about upcoming class changes for 2nd semester. Plus, just being a teenager today is very stressful!

The Mayo Clinic promotes a stress management strategy known as the 4 A's: avoid, alter, accept, and adapt.  The goal is that in every stressful situation we can look at it from the mindset of how we can apply at least one of these principles.

Avoid: Believe it or not, a lot of stress can simply be avoided. Plan ahead, learn to say no, and ditch parts of your to-do list (low priority items).

Alter: Take inventory of whatever stressful situation you find yourself in, then consider ways you change or modify it for the better.

Accept: Sometimes we have no other option than to accept things the way they are. When this is the case, it is important to talk to someone, to forgive, to practice positive self-talk, and to learn from our mistakes.

Adapt: There are times when we need to adjust or revise the standards and expectations we set upon ourselves, which many times are unreasonable. What can help to change one’s perspective is to ask yourself, “Will this matter in a year or in five years?”

Stress is a part of life. It doesn't need to control your whole life though! Try to think about ways that you can apply the 4 A's to get an A+ in Stress Management.