Stress Management in Schools

Stress is an inevitable and necessary, to a degree, component of life. Excessive stress can become a disease-promoting agent and constitutes a major health concern today. While some stressors can be avoided and others need to be confronted, in the end, a good balance of stress in one’s life can be healthy and growth-promoting in terms of one’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development. Stress coping strategies acquired through experience vary individually, with some appropriate and successful, and others inappropriate and unsuccessful. Many of these coping strategies, however, are learned during the formative years of development. In essence, how appropriately an individual deals with stressful life events at various stages of development is determined, largely, by what was learned and reinforced during previous developmental stages. It is necessary, then, that timely and effective stress management education be provided and continued during the early stages of development (childhood through adolescence) to ensure
positive coping responses as adults. Life skills can be taught to assist individualsin successfully dealing with stressful life events, even before they occur. Successfully coping with stressful events at an early age can minimize the acquisition of unhealthy stress coping responses, which could promote illness and disease.