SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – This week, thousands of students in our area are experiencing one of the biggest stressors in their lives — starting a new school year. But within your child’s stress are opportunities to help them grow.
Mary Jo Horton is using her expertise as the Manager of Behavioral Health for Memorial Health to help us figure out how to take advantage of the moments. Below are her notes, and be sure to watch our full discussion above.
Understanding change and stress:
- change triggers stress and anxiety and increases underlying issues
- being mindful of those issues will lessen the impact of change
- stress impacts us emotionally; as well as physically
Building resiliency around stress:
- stress is a normative experience that can be positive
- teaching how to adapt, rethink and adjust is important for kids
- modeling how to regulate, and lean into strengths is powerful
- change is best navigated with a helpful routine
