Stress Overload

For as long as I can remember I’ve always stressed out over everything. I used to get very worked up when I didn’t understand something right away or when something was challenging. Stress made me feel like I was drowning in my own worries, and I hated it. One of the most stressful moments I can recall is the first time I moved away from home. It wasn’t until I read the book Brain Rules, by John Medina, that I was able to acknowledge the kind of stress I had.

In fifth grade my parents told me we were moving away from Barcelona. How could I possibly leave the only home I’d ever known? Sooner or later I had to say goodbye to my family, friends and childhood home. I began attending FDR in the second semester of 5th grade. Once I got used to the idea of moving, I thought it would be a fun new experience. But I didn’t realize how different my life would become. I was behind compared to all my classmates and making new friends was also difficult. I used to be the one that welcomed the new students, but as the new girl I didn’t know how to act in that new scenario. I had always been a good student. I grew up in a household where education was a priority, so I didn’t want to disappoint my parents. This made me very self conscious and overall I felt emotionally unstable, and it was all because I had never felt that kind of stress before. The way I was feeling reminded me of chronic stress, which is a kind of stress that has negative consequences, such as a difficulty in learning.

It took sometime but I was able to become comfortable in my new surroundings. I learned how to ask for help when I needed it, I found new interests, and made great friends. I no longer felt the continuous stress that was hindering me to think logically. Now I’m subjected to one kind of stress, acute stress. John Medina explains that acute stress gives you an amount of adrenaline and focus needed to complete objectives. Moving away was one of the hardest moments, but it helped me discover how to adapt, embrace change and how to handle levels of stress.

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