I have found myself engrossed in the book “Ikigai.” Written by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles, it educates readers about generational Japanese values and ways of life. In it, the authors intend to uncover the hacks to longevity — how to live a long, balanced, happy and successful life. Barely 50 pages in, however, I cannot help but notice the prominence of stress. When reading a book such as this one, especially as a sophomore in high school, I become immediately and concerningly aware of how much stress we put on ourselves.
According to The American Institute of Stress, more than 54 percent of female teens and 43 percent of male teens reported feeling stressed daily. This stress comes in two packages: the good — eustress — and the bad. Eustress — acute or short-term stress — is the body’s natural survival mechanism of flight or fight, which can improve mental and physical performance and immune protection. The fine line is the drop into chronic stress — the stress that goes on for months or even years. But why does stress occur at such significant levels among teenagers?
For our generation, stress takes another form: heightened insecurity about imperfections, the outcome of growing up under the intense influence of social media. Social media creates unrealistic, idealized images of life and success. While we may consciously reject what we are seeing when we are scrolling, this issue seeps into us and into society. So what? Why does this matter? Stanford Medicine warns that enduring chronic stress can defeat our natural abilities to remain resilient. Teenagers don’t realize how the habits we create now will impact our adult selves. Stress has unique ways of manifesting, including breakouts, irregular sleep patterns, mental illnesses, cardiovascular problems and a weakened immune system.
People miss the importance of simple existence. This is not in the sense that our lives have to be boring, but the key to a balanced, successful and happy life is more attainable than we think. It begins with the mind. Identify your passions, accept what you cannot change, and slow down. Achieve flow through practices of gratitude, journaling, exercise, spending time outdoors, maintaining strong relationships, prioritizing sleep — or anything you find works. There are stressful forces that we cannot control — school, work, even what you see while scrolling. So put your phone down. Read it, don’t read it, but don’t internalize. Ideas and problems do not have to be a burden. The greatest strength within our minds is the ability to filter thoughts and choose what can hold priority.
