NJASK Stress Relieving Strategies by Jeyda B.
NJASK Testing. For thousands kids in middle school living the in the state of New Jersey, these two words bring chills down their backs, sends nervous breakdowns through their bodies, and makes their brain explode with pressure and knowledge overloads! But thankfully, I, Jeyda, have a professional input on how to calm yourself, and keep explosions from happening so you can actually ace the NJASK Testing. This test is everybody’s chance to show the state who is smart, but many blow the opportunity with all this pressure creeping up as we get closer to the actual thing. Being calm and relaxed is the key to memorizing and understanding. Simply follow this advice, and the NJASK will be in the bag! ;-)
· The Ragdoll Technique: As tight as you can, squeeze your hand for 5 seconds. After, make it lose and floppy like ragdoll, and slowly take a deep breath. Next, with your whole arm, including your shoulder, do the same thing. Squeeze for 5 seconds, and make it lose, flimsy, and floppy like it’s the arm of a ragdoll; in addition, take a nice, tranquil, deep breath. Then take this same sequence, and do it to your other hand, and then do your other arm, and keep doing this technique to one body part at a time. This procedure will tense our body, and then loosen it making us feel more relaxed.
· Shake out the Stress: Take your hands and sake them as fast as humanly possible for 10 seconds. Do this just like you would if you were shaking water off them to dry your hands. After that, relax your body as you take some long, deep breaths.
· Deep Breathing: For three slow counts, breathe in through your nose; then, for 4 slow counts, breathe out using your mouth. With each slow, breath, make sure you are making them deeper and slower every time, and make sure to fill your stomach with each soothing breath. All your thoughts should be focused on your breathing, and nothing else. While doing this, try to imagine that you are breathing in relaxation, and breathing out the stress/pressure with each and every breath. Each time we breathe in or out, we can simply say, “Relax,” in our mind to assure that your main focus is truly your deep breathing. This will give your body the feeling of relaxation, and force out all the negative stress, replacing it with positive stress.
· Attack the Negative Thoughts: In your head, imagine a little muck monster by your thoughts/brain. Imagine that he causes all the negative thoughts you ever get in your head. By attacking the negative thoughts, we can attack that muck monster. We can do this by attacking the negative thoughts with more positive thoughts about the situation. Whenever, we catch ourselves being brought down by this “muck monster”, we should all replace them with more positive thoughts that will drive the muck monster out of our minds. Using positive statements will help us do just that. For example, we could think, “I am going to do the best that I can, and that’s good enough.” Also, we could think things like, “It’s okay to be upset or angry. I can get through these feelings and these experiences.”
· Fortune Teller Unhealthy Thoughts: Ask yourself these questions:
1. What is the best thing that could happen?
2. What is the worst thing that could happen?
3. What is the most likely thing to happen?
4. What will make the biggest difference in my life?
5. Is the stress worth it?
· The Ragdoll Technique: As tight as you can, squeeze your hand for 5 seconds. After, make it lose and floppy like ragdoll, and slowly take a deep breath. Next, with your whole arm, including your shoulder, do the same thing. Squeeze for 5 seconds, and make it lose, flimsy, and floppy like it’s the arm of a ragdoll; in addition, take a nice, tranquil, deep breath. Then take this same sequence, and do it to your other hand, and then do your other arm, and keep doing this technique to one body part at a time. This procedure will tense our body, and then loosen it making us feel more relaxed.
· Shake out the Stress: Take your hands and sake them as fast as humanly possible for 10 seconds. Do this just like you would if you were shaking water off them to dry your hands. After that, relax your body as you take some long, deep breaths.
· Deep Breathing: For three slow counts, breathe in through your nose; then, for 4 slow counts, breathe out using your mouth. With each slow, breath, make sure you are making them deeper and slower every time, and make sure to fill your stomach with each soothing breath. All your thoughts should be focused on your breathing, and nothing else. While doing this, try to imagine that you are breathing in relaxation, and breathing out the stress/pressure with each and every breath. Each time we breathe in or out, we can simply say, “Relax,” in our mind to assure that your main focus is truly your deep breathing. This will give your body the feeling of relaxation, and force out all the negative stress, replacing it with positive stress.
· Attack the Negative Thoughts: In your head, imagine a little muck monster by your thoughts/brain. Imagine that he causes all the negative thoughts you ever get in your head. By attacking the negative thoughts, we can attack that muck monster. We can do this by attacking the negative thoughts with more positive thoughts about the situation. Whenever, we catch ourselves being brought down by this “muck monster”, we should all replace them with more positive thoughts that will drive the muck monster out of our minds. Using positive statements will help us do just that. For example, we could think, “I am going to do the best that I can, and that’s good enough.” Also, we could think things like, “It’s okay to be upset or angry. I can get through these feelings and these experiences.”
· Fortune Teller Unhealthy Thoughts: Ask yourself these questions:
1. What is the best thing that could happen?
2. What is the worst thing that could happen?
3. What is the most likely thing to happen?
4. What will make the biggest difference in my life?
5. Is the stress worth it?