Feeling nervous all the time? Anxious? Not to worry. Everyone feels stress. It is an unfortunate reality of life.

Stress is a common emotion for high school students everywhere.  Any small incident can trigger stress. Some causes of stress in school are both homework and projects. Also, some people receive stress from just having to go to school whether it be waking up or even just showing up.

High schoolers have it tough, juggling extracurricular activities and a social life with school work and projects. According to a survey conducted by NBC News in 2014,  30 percent of teens in high school reported feeling sad or depressed because of stress. Another 31 percent felt overwhelmed.

“I believe that most high school students experience some level of stress as they become more independent, academics become more challenging, more social and extracurricular activities present themselves, and thoughts about the future abound,” school nurse Robin Winnett said. “Some examples of healthy stress management techniques are exercising, listening to music, meditating and writing or journaling.”

In a test constructed by the Stress in America Survey in 2013 states that teens feel that their stress level is a 5.8 out of 10 while adults feel on average a 5.1 out of 10. But don’t worry, there are multiple ways to deal with stress.

Healthy ways to deal with stress can vary from going out with friends to staying at home and just spending time by yourself. When one is stressed the first thing to do is try to talk to someone about it. Teenagers can have a hard time talking to people about what is making them stressed, but talking to someone can really help people to feel like they have gotten something off their chest.

“When I am stressed I like to talk to my friends about it,” sophomore Crystalyn Casey said. “They help me through it by making me laugh.”

Yoga and other forms of exercise have also been proven to help people release stress. When stressed or just foggy minded, get up and do something physical. Go for a walk outside or turn on some music and dance around. Physical activity helps one feel less stressed because during exercise the body releases endorphins which gives one’s mood the boost it might need.

“To relieve my stress during high school I would take a break and go swimming or some sort of exercise to get my mind off of school,” teacher Susan Kyger said.

So when high school, home life or even just simple tasks throughout the day are putting too much stress into life, just make sure to learn how to take it one step at a time and manage stress in ways that are healthy. Stress is a part of life and everyone deals with it, just in different ways. While some people might exercise to relieve stress others might read a book or talk it out. Experiment with these different ways, and find what works best for you.