Since finals are only weeks away, here are some helpful ways to handle stress!

During finals, many teenagers become overly stressed and worried about their scores, as well as worried about if they will do good enough. This stress doesn’t help anyone! In fact, stress can cause a person to lose focus, and have problems with their memory. Here are some tips so that the next time you prepare for finals week, you won’t be so worried!

Distract Yourself. Whenever you’re stressed about a specific problem, sometimes simply doing something else for a little bit can be helpful. It helps your brain focus on something you enjoy doing, and takes the focus away from the worry associated with the problem.

Do Something to Relax. Instead of changing your focus, it can be better to completely change your mindset. When stressed about a problem, it can be helpful to find something relaxing to do. This could be listening to music, meditating, journaling, reading, watching TV, and even sleeping!

Prepare. Sometimes the only way to take stress away is to prepare for it! For example, if you are stressed about a test, preparing for the test and studying can help the stress go away. (Hint hint; studying for finals can help!)

Talk to Someone. For some people, talking out our feelings can help us lose stress. It can help us see the problem more clearly, and how to better solve it. Try to find somebody such as a close friend, family member or trusted adult that you can talk to.

Next time you find yourself stressed, make sure to keep these tips in mind!