Short messages on Mental health, stress and anxiety issues from Respect Yourself, the guidance site for young people to help make good decisions in life.
1 in 6 young people will experience an anxiety condition at some point in their lives. This means that up to 5 people in your class may be living with anxiety, whether that be OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), social anxiety and shyness, exam stress, worry or panic attacks.
There’s more right with you than wrong with you. Instead of zooming in on all of your perceived flaws, it helps to remember that there are lots of things to like about yourself too – like the fact that you are able to pave new paths whenever you choose.
Don’t believe everything you think; your mind can be a very convincing liar. Thoughts are just thoughts, and it’s unhealthy and exhausting to give so much power to the negative ones.
Getting over something means you’re thinking less and less about it, and aren’t letting it affect you so much. This can give you more freedom and room to breathe.
Worry is a total waste of time. It doesn’t change anything. All it does is steal your joy and keeps you very busy doing nothing.
When you look at other people through a lens of compassion and understanding rather than judgment and jealousy, you are better able to see them for what they are – human beings. They are beautifully imperfect human beings going through the same universal challenges that we all go through.
The people you compare yourself to compare themselves to other people too. We all compare ourselves to other people, and the people who seem to have it all often do not.
Accept compliments graciously. Accept feedback positively – be prepared to say you don’t agree but do not get defensive or angry.
Allow yourself to be angry, but always be respectful. Do say what’s on your mind, but do it in a way that protects the other person’s feelings. Control your emotions.
Don’t wait for someone to recognise what you need: to perform to your full potential, your needs must be met. Find ways to get your needs met without sacrificing others’ needs in the process.