The first week of school has finished, and now the hard part begins. Worksheets, quizzes, projects, and tests will fill your schedules, followed by sports and extracurricular activities taking up your downtime. With all this stress coming back full force, many of you might have trouble coping with the start of another new school year. To help you cope better, here are some tools I use that can help fight off the back to school stress.

Spelling:

When asked to spell something, the brain focuses itself on trying to spell the word rather than negative reactions such as panicking and crying. Whenever you feel stressed and are on the brink of breaking down, begin to spell out a word. It can be short, long, or even your own name. Spelling can distract you and focus your brain on handling tasks better. When I need to calm myself from spilling over emotionally, spelling words I can find around me can help calm me down.

Alphabet Awareness:

Going from spelling to its roots in the alphabet, Alphabet Awareness can help you become more aware of the room you’re in. To calm down, go down the alphabet and try to name something that begins with that letter, and if you can’t find something, skip it and go to the next letter. You should focus on each letter for enough time that your brain is able to think and therefore calm down.

Sensory Countdown:

Similar to Alphabet Awareness, Sensory Countdown focuses on using the five senses to ground oneself. You should name five things that can be seen in the room, four things that can be heard, three things that can be touched, two things that can be smelled, and one thing that can be tasted. Even if it’s in another order, it’s completely fine. It doesn’t matter if it’s five things you can taste versus five things you can hear, the goal of identifying your senses is to ground yourself. Listing these things in your head or out loud will focus your attention away from the stressor. 

Box Breathing:
To prevent hyperventilating, focus the brain’s efforts on breathing, specifically Box Breathing. Breathe in for four counts, hold it for four counts, breathe out for four counts, and hold for four counts. Try to keep a steady rhythm, try to tap along or snap along to keep the count in mind. This will slow the brain down and allow for calm decision making. It may feel a little awkward for you to do this in a crowded and loud environment such as lunch, but it will help you if you need to calm down.

Helping Centers:

If you need someone to talk to for guidance on your homework, the writing and math centers are here. Any level of writing or math, any type of assignment you need assistance with, teachers will be there to help in these centers. You can rely on faculty for aid and understanding, which can help remove stress off of your shoulders. You can find the Math Center in room F220 and the Writing Center in room F201.

The Three F’s — Friends, Family, and Faculty:

The three F’s of stress relief: friends, family, and faculty. When you feel stressed and need to talk to someone, it’s best to go to someone you trust. Whether it’s your friends, your family, a trusted teacher, or someone you personally know will give you good advice, confiding in people is healthy. Bottling emotions inside only harms more than helps, so express your emotions to people you trust.

Stressing out throughout the year will happen, and many stressors will come in and out of one’s life. Students must inevitably prepare to face harsher and more rigorous obstacles throughout their life at NVOT, but using coping skills like these can help them focus on the present rather than fretting about the future.