Like acne wasn’t stressful enough on its own! It turns out that high stress levels can be related to more breakouts and greater stress-related acne severity. We know those teen years are tough, but there could be ways for you to take control of your stress levels. Search for solutions to stressful situations you encounter frequently. Are you late to a lot of events because your schedule’s too full? Do you find yourself dealing with anxiety every day or every week? Identify the sources of stress in your life and tackle them head on. Or, if life is just busy and full of the normal teenage angst, search for ways to release endorphins or bring your heart rate down – we have some suggestions!
Learn how to get rid of stress-related acne and eliminate activities that add to your stress levels
If you’re running around trying to make it to band practice, AND dance class, AND soccer, AND yearbook committee, AND do all your homework, hold down a weekend job, AND do chores at home – you have too much to do! If you spread yourself too thin you won’t impress anyone in any of these activities and just as important, you won’t be happy when you’re stressing about doing it all. Don’t be afraid to say “No” to activities that you simply don’t have time for. Everyone needs downtime, including you!
Tackle stressful situations
Every teen faces awkward social situations, some less pleasant than others, and sometimes school work will be heavy and intimidating. But if you feel anxious about these things every day or every week, you need to address them in some way. If a certain subject or class is making you feel stressed, seek out extra help with it. You may not want to admit you need help but you’ll feel so much better when you no longer have to worry about not getting the grade you want.
If you’re having trouble with classmates or not getting along with an adult in your life there are resources that can help – don’t make the mistake of thinking there’s no help out there. School counselors are there for you, and if you don’t feel you can go to them look up hotlines online to talk to someone who will listen and offer you possible solutions. You shouldn’t have to deal with daily anxiety and there are safe and healthy ways to deal with situations that make you feel unsafe or put down.
Find stress-relieving activities
It’s probably not possible to remove EVERY source of stress in your life, so find ways to release tension. Exercise is a great way to relieve stress because it floods your body with endorphins (if you haven’t found a source of physical activity you like yet don’t give up: try something new). Yoga and meditation can help regulate both body and mind so that your energy flows unobstructed by stress and anxiety. Crafts like knitting, crochet, cooking, pottery or woodworking can be soothing and great for taking your mind off of worries and doubts. They also have the added bonus of giving you an end product: sometimes creating something from scratch can be a great source of pride.
Sources Consulted:
pamf.org
familydoctor.org
nlm.nih.gov
