After a long summer, students generally find it difficult to suddenly transition from the relaxing days on the beach to hectic school days. In the first month of school, students are already burdened with assessments and projects, leaving them feeling exhausted and hopeless about the rest of the school year. Because students have already developed their own organization and note-taking skills by now, it is more important for them to find ways to relieve stress and execute a healthy lifestyle throughout high school.
However, the unforgiving levels of competition within the school only prevent students from doing so. In fact, Robert L. Leahy, president of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, reports that the average teenager has the same level of anxiety as a psychiatric patient in the 1950s. This clearly indicates that a generous amount of time should be dedicated to assuaging the paranoia and anxiety that develop within students throughout the school year. Even though the task may seem onerous at first glance, it can be easily accomplished by using The Worry Box , an Android app released by Excel at Life on April 6.
As soon as users open up The Worry Box, they are immediately greeted with a positive, motivational message that changes each time they open it. Some examples are “Keep up the good work!” and “Trying hard will get me what I want.” The Worry Box will then take users through step-by-step procedures that ultimately help them relax. In doing so, users have three main options: they can listen to soothing audio clips, read academic articles regarding mindfulness or store away their concerns in a journal-type location which this app calls the “worry box.”
The audio clips are by far the most palliative because they take users through a series of instructions that help them unwind. After about 25 minutes of the narration, users should feel relieved of the anxiety and stress that had bound them in chains before. However, for the more practical users who tend to seek solid evidence and hard facts the app also offers relevant articles that deal with coping with different situations and using the worry box to one’s advantage. Through these articles, users start to gain trust in this app and are more inclined to dedicate a portion of their day to just relaxing.
It is only after these procedures are completed that users can genuinely enjoy the highlight of The Worry Box—writing inside the worry box and letting the apprehension slowly seep away. According to Psychology Central, writing regularly about constant predicaments helps people gain more knowledge about themselves and reduces stress by reducing the intensity of negative emotions such as fury or sadness. Writing in the worry box is more than just writing in a journal because it is an interactive process. After the user is done writing, the app coerces users to pick at least one solution out of a list provided by the worry box. Examples of solutions include “This is not a life or death situation” or “Time will solve things.” The Worry Box assists users in trivializing their woes so that their agitation is gradually alleviated.
Every year of high school is only met with a heavier workload and increased number of responsibilities. Instead of focusing on back-to-school apps and accumulating stress, take the time now to regularly control stress levels. Let this year be free of the angst and restlessness that used to haunt you late in the night. Start the school year with a different lifestyle using The Worry Box to start seeing differences in mood, study habits and social relationships.