COPE WITH STRESS
Call them the stressed years of your life! From homework to extra-curricular activities to chores, a teenage girl's life can be full of responsibilities and deadlines. Follow our tips for coping healthfully with everyday stresses.
Are You Doing Too Much?
If you are feeling so stressed out just keeping up with all your activities that you are having trouble sleeping, or you find yourself worrying most of the time, that's a big signal that you are trying to do WAY to much. Yes, there are things that you should do - like studying and doing homework - but you may trying to do everything. That can backfire, when you get so tired and inefficient that you end up doing nothing well.
There is a saying that a person can do a few things with excellence, or many things in a mediocre way, but not both. Not only that, but you aren't leaving yourself any time to just relax and be a kid - and that's just wrong. You are only a teenager once, and if you don't slow down, you're going to miss the whole experience! What you need to do is set some priorities and figure out which of your activities are important and which ones you could live without. Here is some advice on how to do that:
List Your Activities
Start by making a list of every single activity you do during a week or month. Include all the stuff you told me (cheerleading, cello, homework, etc), plus any other activities you can think of. Then go down the list one item at a time and figure out if the activity is a "Must" (homework would fit into that category), a "Should" (maybe cheerleading goes here, since you've got all the equipment), or a "Optional" (maybe you don't need to be a cellist as well as an ace student and cheerleader).
Be Tough!
Be ruthless when rating the activities! Don't write "Must" unless the activity will affect your life 5 years from now (getting good grades now will affect your future school and job options, cheerleading probably won't). Then take the list and show it to your parents.
Get Your Folks to Help Out
Explain to your folks that you are feeling exhausted and panicked by your over-packed schedule, and you don't feel like you have time to be a kid. Then suggest you cut out some of the "Optional" activities, and maybe some of the "Shoulds" too (should doesn't mean must!). Once they see on paper how much you're trying to achieve, they will probably "get it" and help you to make more room in your schedule.