Tips for teens to cope with worries
Nobody goes through life without worrying. It is true that some people worry more than others, or even will stress over every little thing, but worrying is part of our daily life.
You maybe have a test coming up, or your friend is cross with you, or your parents had a fight or you are not happy with the weight you gained. There are many reasons why you can worry, but the secret is to deal with this feeling and not let it get worse and dwell on it so much that it turn into anxiety or depression.
The first thing you can do when you worry is to talk to somebody. Sometimes we feel we do not want to bother others with our problems and we will keep it to ourselves. But it is then in the struggle of trying to figure it out by ourselves and keep playing it over and over in our heads, that we actually make it worse.
If you talk to someone you trust, be it an adult or a friend, they will maybe not always be able to tell you what to do, but at least they will listen, which means you got it out of your system and you could share it with someone. They will also have a different perspective on your problem and will be able to help you look at it differently and come to a conclusion to fix it.
Keeping everything bottled up inside is not a good idea and in the long run will only make it worse. Sometimes we need another person's perspective to come to a solution.
Try and relax yourself and be mindful - that means be in the present. Do not let your mind wander off and try and solve all your problems at once. Just take a few minutes, take deep breaths and try and focus on yourself and relaxing. You can try and do relaxation exercises to help you. The more we think about a problem, the more we get worked up and worried, so take a few minutes and 'switch off your brain', then you will be more calm to figure out a solution to your problems.
Try and keep your thoughts positive - do not just stare against the problem the whole time and keep on telling you that you cannot do it or something bad is going to happen. Train your brain to think positive and even if you cannot do or solve something straight away, keep on trying and keep a positive mindset.
The most important thing you can do is to be kind to yourself. That firstly means looking after yourself and keeping yourself healthy by eating well and exercising, but 'being kind to yourself' also means that you are not always going to keep on finding fault with yourself or things you do. Push yourself to become better but also reward and congratulate yourself if you have done something good.
Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes. Mistakes make us worry, but mistakes can be fixed.
