Stress Less

Anxiety and stress: a teenager’s clingy friend. Or more like a shadow that one just cannot seem to shake off. One can often feel trapped and unsure of how to escape from these dreaded mental states, but like all things in life, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.

Chelsea Spaans and Iman Martin, UCT Intern Social Workers, spent a few minutes to help the students understand the emotions they are feeling. The interns kicked off the workshop by giving the pupils a brief explanation of what anxiety is, and the two different types of anxiety one can feel. They also helped us understand the difference between anxiety and stress.

Iman and Chelsea used techniques to make the workshop as interesting and interactive as possible. Some of these techniques included having a trivia, in which the person who answered first got a chocolate, as well as by having a “talk show”, where Mrs. Pike, Mr Henry and two students from Year 8 were asked for advice on how they personally handle their anxiety and how we can help others deal with panic attacks.

Iman and Chelsea are currently in their third year of their Bachelors of Social Work studies. Their time at ISCT helped us understand our emotions and how to deal with them effectively.

After the workshop, Iman and Chelsea handed out the handmade stress-balls to the students. These stress-balls are beneficial in various ways: squeezing and releasing the stress-ball relaxes your muscles, which releases the tension as well as stress; they divert your attention away from the source of stress or anxiety.