How to beat the back-to-school stress

Back-to-school season is upon us, and while parents might be looking forward to the routine, this can be a stressful time, with various planning required to ensure the little ones are all set for day one of a new grade. How can parents manage the transition without becoming overwhelmed and stressed? We rounded up some tips and advice to help make the summer-to-school transition a little less stressful.

Keys to Managing Stress

There are several keys to managing stress. First, learn to recognize when you’re under stress and what triggers it. Next, find positive ways of responding to your triggers. Be sure to take good care of your health and make time to relax. Read on to learn more about the keys to managing stress.

Recognizing stress

Learn to recognize your stress and find out what triggers it. To do this, try to be aware of how you feel each day. If you notice your heart racing or your muscles tightening, your body may be responding to stress. Ask yourself why. Then write down your answer. To keep the process going, make a list of all the things that trigger stressful feelings.

Living a healthy life

Keeping yourself healthy helps you deal better with stress. This means getting enough sleep, eating right, and exercising. It also means knowing what you value most in life, and making time for yourself. Keep a daily health journal to see if you’re doing these things. Then, read your journal each week. If you don’t take good care of yourself, you may feel more stressed.

Responding better to stress

Life is full of stressors that you can’t control. But you can learn more positive ways of responding to them. This will help you feel more in control. To begin, try this tip: Think about how much effort you want to put into dealing with a certain stressor. Do you really need to handle that stressor? If so, decide on the best way to do this. Change what you can. But if the stressor isn’t important, or if it’s out of your control, then why worry about it?

Relaxing to slow down

Relaxing can help you prevent or relieve stressful feelings. This tip may also help: When you’re facing a stressor, pause for a moment. Then take a deep breath and slowly breathe out as you count to 10. This will help clear your mind so you can respond to stress better.

Dr. Stephanie Losq-Sarkar specializes in Family Medicine at Touro. After earning her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana, Dr. Losq-Sarkar completed residency at Cone Health in Greensboro, North Carolina. Dr. Losq-Sarkar chose to practice Family Medicine because it allows her to treat the patient as a whole person. A little something extra about Dr. Losq-Sarkar: “I enjoy making a good quiche.”