Please help me with my stress...

Hey guise. To get to the point, I am experiencing huge stress issues. Huge as in:

• I can barely eat
• I'm having huge digestive issues (read: in bathroom for long periods of time)
• Little sleep / restless sleep
• Stressful dreams (OMG AT THE TEST NAKED!?)
• Failure of 100 breaths (tried 3 times, couldn't get it to work)
• Lethargic
• Achy back / arms / hands
• "Bruised" eyes from reading too much / lack of sleep (as in, I blink and it hurts at the sides)

Add that onto my period starting and getting giant cramps, and waking up at 5:30 to catch a bus, and I'm literally shaking from stress. (Crying really helps, too...) If any of you are / were juniors in high school, I am taking 6 AP classes and 3 SATIIS over the course of 2 weeks, and I am seriously freaking out. I have been overworking myself in school and taking tons of practice tests (optional). I'm not hungry for lunch so I skip it and do practice tests instead. Even with all the practice I have a very bad memory so it sometimes works against me...

So yeah. tl;dr my body is not responding well to stress. 100 breaths worked for me really well before, but it's almost making me more stressful (CRAP there goes another 20 minutes of sleep)... Does anyone have any recommendations besides "don't worry"? I can't take pills, and I'd rather not take any medicines either.

I'm going to bed, but I'll read responses in the morning (hopefully). Thanks in advance for showing love to someone over the internet. <3

I know the feeling. You've taken too much on yourself and you really need to just take some time to pull back. Being on your period is bad enough (*curses being a girl sometimes*).

Those two weeks are going to be a nightmare. You can't escape them, as you're already committed, but you can do a few things to try and keep yourself as calm and focused as possible.

1. If you're aware of the projects and assignments you're going to need to do, make a schedule. List when everything is due and figure out what you have to do to accomplish them. Then, break those tasks up into manageable chunks of time and set some goals such as "On Monday I'm going to read pages ** though ** in ** book," or "On Tuesday, I'm going to review *** consepts for *** class." It's hard to stick to a schedule, but when you have manageable goals, you have something to work towards instead of being overwhelmed by the immensity of it all.

2. Don't take on any more unnecessary responsibilities. If you're in sports or activities clubs, put them on the backburner. If you want to get through those classes, you don't need anything else on your mind to distract or worry you.

3. Before you go to bed, make a list of what's bothering you and/or what you need to get accomplished for the next day. When you go to bed, there's nothing you can do about them, so just make a note of them and let them go. Also, when you're trying to relax though deep breathing, try to keep your mind from wandering to some unpleasant or stressful thought. If you lose count while breathing, don't worry about it. The main point is not to count or to breath (thought breathing is always a good thing); it's to relax. Feel the tenseness in your muscles and make a note to let the tension go.

4. Don't be afraid to let your emotions out from time to time. If you feel like you want to cry, take some time to cry. If you're in the middle of class, do your best to stay calm and then head for the bathroom on your way to your next class. Letting your emotions out a little at a time is so much better than trying to hold them in and then go thorough a total meltdown.

Just stay on task, break tasks up into manageable portions, try your best to relax before going to bed, don't take on anything else at this time, and just know that things will be fine before long. Take some time for yourself to rest and refocus. And smile. Sometimes even just the act of smiling can help you to feel a little bit happier :)

:hug: You'll be fine.

EDIT: Oh, and make yourself eat something. You may not feel hungry, but your body needs food for energy. It doesn't have to be an elaborate meal, but eat something. Oh, and if you have bad cramps, avoid eating too much salt and caffeine. Both of those can leave you feeling bloated, or at least I do. Take some tylenol with you if it's really bothering you.

EDIT2: And my junior year was my hardest year. Just look forward to that final year and enjoy being in high school :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hyperangel13

Hey guise. To get to the point, I am experiencing huge stress issues. Huge as in:

• I can barely eat
• I'm having huge digestive issues (read: in bathroom for long periods of time)
• Little sleep / restless sleep
• Stressful dreams (OMG AT THE TEST NAKED!?)
• Failure of 100 breaths (tried 3 times, couldn't get it to work)
• Lethargic
• Achy back / arms / hands
• "Bruised" eyes from reading too much / lack of sleep (as in, I blink and it hurts at the sides)

Add that onto my period starting and getting giant cramps, and waking up at 5:30 to catch a bus, and I'm literally shaking from stress. (Crying really helps, too...) If any of you are / were juniors in high school, I am taking 6 AP classes and 3 SATIIS over the course of 2 weeks, and I am seriously freaking out. I have been overworking myself in school and taking tons of practice tests (optional). I'm not hungry for lunch so I skip it and do practice tests instead. Even with all the practice I have a very bad memory so it sometimes works against me...

So yeah. tl;dr my body is not responding well to stress. 100 breaths worked for me really well before, but it's almost making me more stressful (CRAP there goes another 20 minutes of sleep)... Does anyone have any recommendations besides "don't worry"? I can't take pills, and I'd rather not take any medicines either.

I'm going to bed, but I'll read responses in the morning (hopefully). Thanks in advance for showing love to someone over the internet. <3

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You need to manage your time. Get a journal, a calender, and organize yourself. 6 AP classes is a lot. If it doesn't feel like its worth it then its not. Take less next year.

I advice you through your time management to set time for yourself and schoolwork, and learn methods to not spend so much time in school.

You need to eat. The nutrients in food help you from getting stressed. For a stressful person like you I advice at least 7 hours of sleep.

Go home, take care of your bodily functions, then do you homework. Have a time limit. Once you finish you have the rest of the day off. Take a nap or something, watch a movie, etc. At 9 or 10, study. After studying take like a half an hour to practice meditation etc.

All I said is time management. Organization. And don't give me bullshit like you tried before blah blah, be a damn warrior, and it will pay off.

And remember school is almost over.

P.S Watch ALL of these videos. http://youtube.com/user/alkistisTV