8th Grade Counseling: Building Stress Management Skills

---

Last month, Esperero Canyon Middle School counselor Britney Griffith (2024 Arizona School Counselor of the Year) taught 8th graders an important lesson on stress management—equipping them with practical tools to navigate the pressures of middle school and beyond.
You Are Not Alone
Students learned some eye-opening statistics: on a 10-point scale, while adults rate their stress at 3.8, American teens rate theirs at 5.8. According to the American Psychological Association, 70% of teens identify anxiety or depression as major issues among their peers, and 50% of middle schoolers consistently feel stressed due to schoolwork.
The message? Your child is not alone in feeling stressed, and there are healthy ways to manage it.
What Students Learned:
✨ Identifying stress triggers: Students mapped out their personal stressors, from homework and extracurriculars to social challenges and transitions to high school
✨ Recognizing physical symptoms: Students explored how stress shows up in their bodies—headaches, stomach upset, rapid breathing, shakiness, and more. Learning to recognize these early warning signs helps them address stress before it becomes overwhelming
✨ The upside of stress: Not all stress is bad! Students discovered how stress can actually sharpen focus, boost energy, and enhance performance during tests, performances, and competitions
✨ Healthy coping strategies: Students identified dozens of coping strategies and created personalized plans for managing stress at home, at school, and in the community
✨ Breathing techniques: Students practiced the 5-2-7 breathing method (breathe in for 5 counts, hold for 2, breathe out for 7) and five-finger breathing—simple, science-backed techniques that calm the nervous system and can be used anywhere, anytime
✨ The foundation: Students learned that effective stress management starts with three essentials: nutrition, exercise, and sleep
Understanding Stress vs. Anxiety
An important distinction: stress happens in the present (a test today, a project due now), while anxiety is worry about the future or past. Recognizing this difference helps students choose the right coping strategies for the moment.
At Home:
Encourage your student to share what they learned about their stress triggers and coping plan. Ask them to teach you the breathing techniques—they work for adults too! Keep the conversation open about stress and mental health, and remind them that seeking support is a sign of strength, not weakness.

If you have concerns about your child's stress levels or would like additional support, please reach out to our school counseling team.

Together, we're helping our students build resilience and healthy habits that will serve them well into high school and beyond. 💙