Tag: Control

Greetings, Second Story community!  

The last time I wrote, we were at the very beginning of what has become a strange and difficult season.  I know I speak for all of us here when I say it has been an honor to walk with many of you through these challenging weeks and months.  And even through all of the darkness and struggle, you have displayed such resiliency, which gives my heart hope!

In these unpredictable times, I wanted to share with you a tool I’ve been using to better understand and manage my own anxiety, one that I often offer to clients as well.  In the book Emotional Equations, Chip Conley offers an equation, or “recipe” for anxiety that looks like this: 

Anxiety = Uncertainty x Powerlessness.
In a few more words, anxiety is the combined effect of uncertainty (not knowing) and powerlessness (not having control). COVID-19 has been a perfect ...

An adolescent’s day to day can be very stressful and demanding, especially when school is in session. There are multiple things that weigh on their minds. For example, their academic success, future and college aspirations, athletic performance, peer pressure, parental expectations and demands, and relationship issues to name a few. This daily pressure adds an insurmountable stress on the adolescent mind which, in turn, requires action to address the threat of not measuring up. 

Therefore, it is important to help the adolescent build what is commonly known as resilience, which is the ability to become flexible to uncomfortable and/or demanding situations/experiences. Another way to look at it is the ability to “bounce back.” There will always be stressful and demanding situations that cause stress and weigh heavily on the mind. Building resilience will help the adolescent to adapt and overcome demanding or uncomfortable situ ...