Leaves are turning and evenings are drawing in; September doesn’t feel like a time of beginnings but for many teenagers it’s the start of a whole new phase in their lives as they head off to college and Uni.

Meeting new people, living in a strange city, studying at a higher level, everything’s new, but the human brain isn’t always good at dealing with new things. September can be a very stressful time for young, and older, people, especially if they’re not entirely sure they’ve made the right choices.

On top of that, life doesn’t always go to plan. I know young people who thought they were starting a particular course only to find it cancelled, forcing them to rethink their life plans in a hurry.

But it is possible for people in these situations to regain control of their lives, make new life plans and, hopefully, reduce stress and anxiety as a result.

Common causes of stress

Stress is a natural physical reaction to a potential danger, such as facing the unknown. However, the feeling can be heightened through tiredness, missing the support of having family close by, or a heavy workload. When everything is new and you’ve got a lot on your plate, it’s hard to see the wood for the trees.

It’s said that regret is caused by past events but the cause of anxiety comes from the future, fearing what might happen as problems seem to loom larger. It’s so easy to feel out of control in this case.

Ways to deal with changes in your life plan

It helps to remember that you aren’t alone feeling the way you do and that the body has evolved ways to deal with stress. Worrying about the future is a perfectly normal part of the human condition and you can normalise those feelings and start to enjoy what life brings.

  • To deal with anxiety, it helps to diarise as much as you can. This makes you prioritise problems and work on them in a logical time order, dealing first with the closest crocodiles to your canoe. It relieves present worry about future deadlines when you know you’ve allocated time to each problem or piece of work.
  • Avoid “overwhelm”, especially in the first few days into term, by breaking down your day into useful working chunks so that you can chisel away at jobs, but also set aside time for rest and socialising.
  • Put aside some quiet time for yourself in order to reflect and think, or re-think, your options if you need to.
  • Make time for the sleep that your body needs. Throughout the normal day, fears and anxiety fill up what I call our “stress bucket”. Sleep allows your brain to rationalise those fears and add them to your narrative, emptying the stress bucket ready for a new day. A problem really does look smaller when you sleep on it. Don’t overdo sleep though. Students beware though – too much can be as detrimental as too little.

Making life happen for you, not to you

Life often throws the unexpected at you, forcing you to change your life plan. I believe that how you cope with those situation defines the sort of person you become. Will you always be afraid of change or can you look for new opportunities and make the most of those unexpected changes that life throws in your path?

The Yellow Couch can help you with life planning

Hypnotherapy is a therapeutic technique, a form of neuro-linguistic programming that makes use of your mind’s most receptive level of awareness, helping you to process negative thoughts and overcome them.

The Yellow Couch is a professional, results-focused hypnotherapy service that introduces a more positive way of thinking to the subconscious mind. We help clients with a range of issues including anxiety, confidence, public speaking, phobias, professional development, and quitting smoking.

Contact The Yellow Couch now and find out how you can transform your life.