Alina Ramirez just started her senior year of high school in Oxnard, California. Being a senior is an exciting time. It's you're last year of high school, and soon you'll be off into the big world beyond. But that also means it comes with a lot of unique pressures that younger students haven't faced yet.
High school seniors like Ramirez face the pressures of schoolwork, extracurricular activities, friends, and family life. Those are positive things, but learning how to balance everything, how to stay healthy, and how to cope with the newfound responsibilities of being an adult.
On top of that, seniors will have the additional stress of choosing and applying for colleges, which, if you've ever done it, is pretty nerve-wracking!
But Ramirez's Intro to Psychology teacher, Brett Phillips, was well aware of what his students were facing. He also knew that stress, if left unchecked, could lead to some serious mental and physical health problems. So when Ramirez and her fellow students came into the class, they were each handed a piece of paper with a long list on it.
And Ramirez was so touched by what was on that list that she took to social media, because she felt that the world needed to see it, and might find it made a difference in their lives, too!
[H/T: 22 Words]
Alina Ramirez is a senior in high school in Oxnard, California. Like many other high school seniors, she's finding that her last year in high school comes with a number of unique challenges and stresses, and in the years to come, it's only going to get more challenging.
Luckily, he Intro to Psychology teacher, Brett Phillips, knows that the key to avoiding stress-related health problems is to get a handle on managing stress early on.
So when Ramirez and the other students came into class, they were greeted with this long list.
Long lists are often stressful, but not this one! This list shows 54 ways to get a handle on the stresses of school, social, and work life that the students will have to juggle in college and beyond.
They include small ways to relax during stressful times, like "stand up and stretch," and basic health reminders like "get enough sleep."
But Phillips also included larger, more philosophical tenets like "practice grace under pressure" and "remember that stress is an attitude."
Ramirez read through the list and highlighted the ones that she feels she most needs to remember.
Phillips designed a special "Stress and Health" unit in his psychology class specifically to address the ways that stress can take a toll on mental and physical health. He teaches it early in the year, so the kids have the skills to cope with stress for the rest of senior year and beyond.
This is the tenth year he's taught the "Stress and Health" unit.
Ramirez is grateful that her teacher is so understanding of the pressure his students are under, and that he's taking the time to give them the tools to manage it.
"He knows how stressed we are with school, sports, work, and life in general," she says. "so he gave us the paper to help us, and just to have in case we are stressed."
And she also knew that there were plenty of other people who could use a few pointers in stress management, so Ramirez shared images of the list on Twitter, since she figured others would find it as useful as she did.
"Honestly, his list has helped me a lot," she says.
And the folks on Twitter loved it, too. Many of them said they'd use items on the list to make their lives a little more peaceful.
And Ramirez keeps the list in her school binder for easy reference when life gets hectic.
One Twitter user even gave the Ellen DeGeneres show a heads-up about this great collection of tips!
Phillips himself also uses these tips in his own life. "I do a lot of the things on the list to enjoy life more myself," he says. "Life's short — too much stress will make it even shorter!"
Thanks to Phillips and Ramirez, now we can all benefit from these stress-relieving tips. Pass them on to everyone you know by SHARING, and make the world a little less stressed.
