The easiest way to deal with being overly stressed is to eliminate or to escape the stressors. If that were an easy task, we would have done it before our problems became overwhelming. For many students, escaping stress in many facets of their daily routine may not be possible because they don't (or believe they don't) have power over the stressor. In other situations they can eliminate stress by flight from the perceived source of stress.
If school is seen as a source of stress, they can eliminate the problem by dropping out. To them, the only answer that appears workable is to quit – a result that only serves to decrease their self-esteem, rob them of the dollars and time invested so far, and strengthen the habit of coping-through-quitting. The challenge is to help the student identify the actual source of stress and develop a remedial course of action before the problem becomes too acute.
The ability to detach from temporary changes in outlook and select a constructive paradigm is a powerful success enhancer. Practically everybody can do this under some circumstances, but the ability to control and direct it is when it really counts is a truly mature skill. It is important that school personnel nurture positive, constructive, hopeful paradigms among students.
