As we enter a new school year, there are a lot of things we have to worry about. Our days of relaxing come to an end as we enter yet another year of assignments, tests, projects, etc. As overwhelming and stressful as this comes across, it is natural to associate school with a negative connotation. However, there are possible ways to turn this mindset around.

Our mind is an extremely powerful thing. The placebo effect is the idea that your brain can convince your body of a fake treatment. Your mind can be a powerful healing tool when given the chance. If you expect yourself to feel a certain type of way or if you convince yourself that you will, your mind can make you actually feel that way. This can be a positive or negative thing. For instance, if you walk into school thinking “Ugh, I hate this place, this is going to be an awful day,” everyday, then you most likely will have a pretty bad year. Of course school is going to be stressful, but at the end of the day, it is what you make it. By convincing yourself that it will be a good day and a good year, your mind will believe so as well.

There are other things you can do to relieve the beginning of the year stress. Finding balance, to me, is the most important thing you must do in order to achieve this. You can have fun while in school as long as you know the correct time and place. For example, if you know you have tons of homework one weekend, it wouldn’t be the best weekend to go out with your friends.

Some people, including myself, are diagnosed with anxiety disorder which makes it much more difficult to control when stress comes and goes. When experiencing an anxiety attack, the best thing I have found to do is be alone and just focus on breathing and try my best to empty my mind until it passes. While are some are more severe than others, this tends to work most of the time.

The making of the school year for yourself is in your hands. Conflict is inevitable, so it isn’t about whether or not you experience conflict or stress this school year; it’s what you do with that conflict that makes a difference.