Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens

Biegel, Gina M.

• Publisher: Instant Help
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781684030187
• eBook ISBN: 9781684030194
• 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

• Letter to Teens
• Letter to Parents and Professionals
• 1. Letting Go of Your Problems
• 2. Defining and Understanding Stress
• 3. Life Stressors: What is Stressing You Out?
• 4. The Physical Effects of Stress
• 5. The Emotional Effects of Stress
• 6. When Stress Can Be Helpful
• 7. Stress the Problem, Mindfulness a Solution
• 8. Living in the Now
• 9. Mindfulness and the Five Senses
• 10. Bringing Mindfulness to Routine Tasks and Interests
• 11. Dropping-in Mindfulness Practice
• 12. Mindful Eating Practice
• 13. The Body Scan Mindfulness Practice
• 14. Bringing Mindfulness to Walking and Movement
• 15. Doing Homework or Taking a Test Mindfully
• 16. Accepting Your Emotions: "The Guest House"
• 17. Don't Believe Everything You Think
• 18. Don't Jump on the Train of Thoughts: The Railroad Activity
• 19. Stress Waves: Riding the Waves of Life
• 20. Paying Attention to Your Breath
• 21. Paying Attention to Your Mind: Sitting Mindfulness Practice
• 22. Taking in the Good: Doing What You Enjoy
• 23. Focusing on the Positive: The Pleasant Moments Calendar
• 24. Focusing on the Negative: The Unpleasant Moments Calendar
• 25. Thing You Can and Can't Control
• 26. Mindful Stopping: Responding Instead of Reacting
• 27. Being Mindful of Harmful Judgments
• 28. Mindful Messaging and Posting
• 29. Playing Out the End of the Movie
• 30. Life Events Can Cause Stress
• 31. Coping With Painful Events
• 32. Unhelpful and Harmful Coping Behaviors
• 33. Using Self-care to Manage Problems
• 34. Tracking Harmful Behaviors: The Self-awareness Calendar
• 35. Next Steps
• Acknowledgments