Background 

Stress is something that many young people and adults are familiar with. You often see or read it in the news: young people are dealing with long-term stress at an increasingly younger age, and sometimes even with burnout. Yet stress is not only negative. For example, when you have to take a test or give a presentation, the stress you feel can actually make you extra alert and concentrated, so that you can perform better. 

Too much stress is of course not good either, because then it is not possible to concentrate properly. It is also not good if the stress lasts too long. Then you can suffer from physical or emotional complaints, which can eventually lead to burnout. In the long term, prolonged or intensive stress can negatively affect the well-being of young people and their school performance. That is why it is important to explain to young people what stress is, how stress arises and how they can deal with stress properly so that the stress does not worsen but rather decreases. 

Purpose 

The goal of the Stress Lessons is to tackle an everyday topic, namely stress. We wan to discuss this in a normal way, where we also discuss any problems that students experience with the school, such as social fears or fear of failure. 

To achieve this, three psychoeducational lessons on stress have been developed. The Stress Lessons themselves have three goals, namely that students: 1) gain more knowledge about stress; 2) learn to recognize stress in their body better; 3) learn more skills to deal with stress or prevent stress. 

Knowledge about stress covers topics such as what stress is, what stressors are, and the the idea that stress can sometimes be beneficial. It also explains the potential consequences of experiencing excessive stress., When recognizing stress, a little stress is generated in students by means of stress games. Afterwards, there is a reflection on what the students felt and what coping strategies they used, after which it is mentioned that the reactions they had were also stress-related. Finally, students learn how to deal with stress or prevent stress. For example, breathing exercises and muscle relaxation exercises are done in class and students learn to think about positive thoughts in the event of unpleasant situations. 

The Stress Lessons are part of a larger project, in which after the Stress Lessons the students are asked if they are interested in further training in smaller groups. The students could choose from two training courses, namely a fear of failure reduction training or a social skills training. About 10 percent of the students signed up for one of the follow-up training courses. 

Learn more 

Research has shown that some students suffer from a lot of stress. To help these students, we have developed and evaluated a lesson package at several secondary schools in the Netherlands. The investigation is currently ongoing. We are investigating the possibilities of offering a workshop for more schools.