Daily situations can affect our lives beyond our recognition and cause us anxiety and stress. Stressors of every day life, especially in Lebanon, do not only affect adults, but also spread anxiety to children and teenagers whose fears are not always expressed and clear. Whether it was test anxiety, fear from failing in a certain school subject, being stressed due to the sickness of a parent or a loved one, children’s fearful situations can be spread on a big spectrum. While to parents and adults, these fears may not be significant or up to the scale of their fears, they should know that their children’s fears are built on the scale of their own expectations and daily lives. A child whose life is centered around school and succeeding in classes, fear of failing an exam is very significant.
How can we help our children and teenagers in overcoming their stress? First, we should ask them to be vocal about what makes them scared or stressed. At many times, children are not conscious that they are stressed. For this reason, it is essential to teach our children what symptoms to look for when identifying their fears, such as sleeping a lot, or insomnia, resorting to overeating, hyperventilation, and sweating.
When they find themselves with these symptoms and look for the cause, we should teach them how to overcome the situation of stress and fear that they are in. First, they should breathe right to relax. It is advisable to teach our children to close their eyes and take deep breaths for a minute. This will help them clear their mind and relax their tensed body. Another method is to teach them how to think and find their “wise mind”: the balance between logic and emotions.
In collaboration with YFCLebanon, SKILD helped teenagers from all over Lebanon identify and overcome the stress of their daily lives whether it was due to school, family related concerns, or the situation the country is passing through.
