Techniques to Deal With Academic Stress

School pressure is a phenomenon that affects many children. It’s a state that’s often due to an inappropriate way of dealing with academic stress over a long period of time.

This brings negative consequences, both physical and psychological. To overcome this situation, we’ll show you some techniques to deal with academic stress.

Many children and teens show signs of reacting to school pressure. Then, they start to suffer several ailments. Undoubtedly, the constant rhythm throughout the academic year and intense exams make some kids feel anxious and stressed.

If they don’t get help, some children might suffer episodes of depression. They can even develop diseases.

Techniques to deal with academic stress

1. Abdominal breathing

Breathing exercises are the fastest and most effective method to reduce the effects of stress and anxiety in the body. To do them, teach your child to inhale through the nose and fill his belly. Then, breathe out through the mouth and deflate his belly.

Abdominal breathing helps, among other things, to decrease the heart rate. We recommend practicing this technique with your child at bedtime or any other time you think is good.

2. Imagine walking down a staircase

The second anti-stress technique is based on the relaxing feeling of breathing. Also, it has the child visualize something positive. Just like the previous idea, your child can do this sitting or standing. Then, close your eyes and breathe deeply for 1-2 minutes.

Then, imagine yourself descending a staircase with steps numbered 10 through 1. At the bottom, you go through a door that leads to the sea. It’s a pleasant and peaceful atmosphere. As a result, the child feels an internal state of serenity.

At this stage, the child should start positive visualization. It’s a very useful tool to combat stress in any situation and feel relaxed. Ask him to imagine himself smelling and hearing the wind while the water hits his skin.

Then, the child should breathe at the same pace as the waves for 1-2 minutes. Once he starts feeling better, he should imagine going back through the door and up the stairs. He should also count the steps 1-10. Finally, have him breathe deeply and open his eyes.

3. Progressive muscle relaxation

One of the techniques to deal with academic stress is progressive muscle relaxation. It’s a very effective exercise to relax muscle tension and relieve stress. It’s also an adaptation of dynamic relaxation that has a basic idea: tense muscles, then release them.

First, the child uses his face muscles to force a smile. Then, relax the face muscles three times in a row. Next, have him clench his jaw tightly, then relax it while slowly opening his mouth.

Next, he has to extend his arms horizontally in front of him. Place his hands on his head with his arms outstretched. Ask him to stretch up and let his arms fall to his side.

The child should pretend that he’s squeezing an orange in his right hand, then throw it to the ground. At the same time, he should swing his arm. Then, do the same thing with the left hand after doing it three times with the right.

Finally, don’t forget his legs and feet. The child should stand barefoot, and act as if he were digging in the sand with his toes.

4. Laughter therapy

Laughter helps produce endorphins, the hormones of wellbeing. It’s one of the best techniques to deal with academic stress and reduce tension.

In a session of laughter therapy, there are different techniques. You could opt for the technique of resisting laughter.

This method is to ask the child to look at another person without moving and keep calm, trying not to laugh. Then, the other person does everything possible to make him smile.

This relaxation exercise allows him to focus on the other person. Among all of the techniques to deal with stress, laughter is the most natural.

In short, these techniques to deal with academic stress help kids learn to manage their own stress. As a mother, we advise that you find the source of the child’s stress to help him.