Do your shoulders get tense? Do you start to breathe rapidly, or notice a sour taste in your mouth? If your stomach feels tight, or your palms start to shake or sweat, you're likely feeling stress.By learning to recognize the signs of becoming stressed, you can more easily connect the feeling with its source.
The sooner you start to notice signs of stress or tension, the more rapidly you can take steps to remove yourself from the situation or calm down.;
, Is there a certain person, situation, or environment that's causing you to feel stressed out? An important tool in learning to handle your stress is to find out more about what's causing it. Sometimes it will be easy to identify one cause, and other times you might find that your stress is the result of a combination of stressors.Common sources of stress at school include homework, grades, sleep deprivation, packed schedules, peer pressure, and bullying.If you are being bullied, talk to your parents, your teachers, or a school counselor to get help.Identifying your stressors is the first step in defining your situation as manageable. If you feel like you can find a solution, this in itself should decrease your feelings of stress.
Try to avoid judging yourself as wrong or bad for feeling stressed. When you locate the source of the stress, keep an objective attitude. Tell yourself, "I'm feeling stressed right now. That's a natural response. I am not my stress."

, Taking deep breaths from the diaphragm triggers the relaxation response in your body, which comes from the parasympathetic nervous system. Taking in air through the nose, breathing all the way down to the belly, and allowing breath to escape slowly through the mouth will help you calm down in a stressful situation.It might help to raise, lower and roll your shoulders, or gently turn your neck. Your body often holds these muscles tense when you're feeling stressed. By relaxing these muscles you're also decreasing your feelings of stress.
Taking deep breaths before entering a stressful situation can help you stay relaxed and focused.
 If you don't know how to respond to a stressful situation, find someone to help you. If you're at school, you might ask a teacher, a counselor, or a peer for help. If it's a problem that you need help with right away, talk to someone in your classroom or ask for permission to talk to someone in another part of the building. If it's a long-term problem, consider asking your parent, your teacher, or a counselor for help.Everyone has to ask for help at times. Asking for help doesn't mean you're not independent or intelligent. In fact, it's a sign of genuine intelligence to recognize your limitations.
When you ask for help, include as much information as you can about how you've identified the problem, and things you've tried to make the problem better.
 Sometimes feeling overwhelmed in a stressful situation results in rapid, or "racing", thoughts. If this happens to you, try a strategy called "thought-stopping." This means what it sounds like: interrupt your thoughts, stop, or "park" them out of your immediate attention, and temporarily turn your attention to something else for a while.


You might try saying (either out loud or to yourself): "That's enough of those thoughts for now. I will get busy (doing something else) and come back to this after lunch."
This strategy is also known as "adaptive distancing".
 If you're unable to cope with a particular situation, person, or place, one method of handling it is to leave. Physically removing yourself from a situation provides relief from stress and worry.


You can take a break by taking a walk outside, going to the bathroom (always an option for taking a private moment), or something else. You might invent a story about forgetting something in your car, which will give you a reason to leave the immediate situation and walk outside.
Having favorite, safe, places in your school setting will be helpful. For example, if you feel better in quiet spaces, go visit the library when you're feeling stressed.
There are times when this is not appropriate. For example, you should not leave an exam or presentation in the middle of it. However, you could decide to leave the situation if, for example, you are having a conversation with someone that is stressing you out. Try saying something like, "I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now. I'm going to take a little break, okay?"
Get to know the way your body experiences stress.
Identify the source of your stress.
Take 3 deep breaths.
Ask for help.
Practice thought-stopping.
Move away from the situation if you can.
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