Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens

Biegel, Gina M.

• Publisher: Instant Help
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781684030187
• eBook ISBN: 9781684030200
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Emotions in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Between school, friends, and planning for the future, it's easy to feel stressed out. Written by a psychotherapist specializing in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and featuring brand new exercises, The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens, Second Edition shows how mindfulness skills can help you relax, prioritize, and keep calm during stressful times.

Your teenage years are some of the most stressful of your life. With pressure about grades at school, parents who just don't seem to get it, dating, and friends who drive you crazy, it's no wonder. But here's the good news! If you learn a few strategies for getting stress under control now, you'll have the skills you need to deal with problems and difficult feelings that life sends your way—in high school and beyond.

The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens is a collection of simple workbook activities that will teach you to reduce your worries using a technique called mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way to be aware of your thoughts and feelings in the present moment. You can use mindfulness when you start to feel as though things are spinning out of control, so you can stop worrying about what might happen and focus instead on what's happening now.

If you're like many people, you find it easy to look at your negative qualities or feel there is no way to fix your problems or stress. This book is about building on the resources, skills, and positive qualities that you might not even realize you have. It is a way to move from "I'm powerless" thinking to "I can do it!" thinking.

Hundreds of teens in mindfulness-based stress reduction classes have used activities like the ones in this book, and here is what some of them have said:

"I have learned to let things go and move on from bad experiences."

"I felt that the coping skills learned are easy enough and effective enough to be used when I need. I now feel at the very least that I have the ability to reduce my stress."

"I learned new and different ways to stay relaxed and how to deal with stress and now I don't worry much."

If they can do it, so can you! By practicing the skills outlined in this workbook, you'll be well on your way to developing lasting resilience and a new kind of strength—one that comes from within. Why not get started today? This book has been selected as an Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Book Recommendation —an honor bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.

Table of contents

• Cover
• contents
• Letter to Teens vii
• Letter to Parents and Professionals ix
• Activity 1. Letting Go of Your Problems 1
• Activity 2. Defining and Understanding Stress 5
• Activity 3. Life Stressors: What Is Stressing You Out? 9
• Activity 4. The Physical Effects of Stress: Paying Attention to Red Flags 15
• Activity 5. The Emotional Effects of Stress 20
• Activity 6. When Stress Can Be Helpful 24
• Activity 7. Stress the Problem, Mindfulness a Solution 27
• Activity 8. Living in the Now 31
• Activity 9. Mindfulness and the Five Senses 33
• Activity 10. Bringing Mindfulness to Routine Tasks and interests 37
• Activity 11. Dropping-In Mindfulness Practice 45
• Activity 12. Mindful Eating Practice 52
• Activity 13. The Body Scan Mindfulness Practice 56
• Activity 14. Bringing Mindfulness to Walking and Movement 63
• Activity 15. Doing Homework or Taking a Test Mindfully 67
• Activity 16. Accepting Your Emotions: “The Guest House” 69
• Activity 17. Don’t Believe Everything You Think 74
• Activity 18. Don’t Jump on the Train of Thoughts: the Railroad Activity 79
• Activity 19. Stress Waves: Riding the Waves of Life 82
• Activity 20. Paying Attention to Your Breath 85
• Activity 21. Paying Attention to Your Mind: Sitting Mindfulness Practice 89
• Activity 21. Taking in the Good: Doing What You Enjoy 93
• Activity 22. Focusing on the Positive: the Pleasant Moments Calendar 96
• Activity 23. Focusing on the Negative: the Unpleasant Moments Calendar 100
• Activity 24. Things You Can and Can’t Control 105
• Activity 25. Mindful Stopping: Responding instead of Reacting 108
• Activity 26. Being Mindful of Harmful Judgments 111
• Activity 27. Mindful Messaging and Posting 117
• Activity 28. Playing Out the End of the Movie 121
• Activity 29. Life Events Can Cause Stress 123
• Activity 30. Coping With Painful Events 127
• Activity 31. Unhelpful and Harmful Coping Behaviors 131
• Activity 32. Using Self-Care to Manage Problems 138
• Activity 33. Tracking Harmful Behaviors: the Self-Awareness Calendar 143
• Activity 34. Next Steps 148
• Acknowledgments 155