Everyone experiences stress at some point. According to a survey by the National College Health Association, more than 70% of students reported feeling overwhelmed by all they had to do within the past 30 days. In school, at work, at home - there are many times when we feel like there is more going on than we can handle. This, after all, is “stress” - the feeling that what we need to do is more than can be done.

People often talk about experiencing stress, but there is something more important than feeling like our demands exceed our resources: how we respond to that feeling. We can respond positively in ways that help us overcome those challenges, or we can respond in ways that either don’t solve the problem, create new problems, or both. There are two major things to keep in mind when you encounter stress.

First, how can you handle that stress in a healthy way? While there are tips below, such as the use of mindfulness-based meditation practices, that can be good for reducing stress on your own, but it’s always a good idea to talk to someone about it. It could be a friend, family member, or trained counselor.

Second, how are you going to respond? As you can learn about in the section on Coping Strategies, there are “adaptive” - or positive - ways to respond, and problematic ways to respond. Make sure that, in times of stress, you’re taking steps to actually address the problem (i.e., making a plan or talking with someone who can help you) instead of ways that will either avoid the problem or simply make you feel more stressed.

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