The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens: Mindfulness Skills to Help You Deal with Stress

by Gina M. Biegel MA, LMFT

Overview

Between school, friends, and planning for the future, it’s easy to feel stressed out. Written by a psychotherapist specializing in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and featuring brand new exercises, The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens, Second Edition shows how mindfulness skills can help you relax, prioritize, and keep calm during stressful times.

Your teenage years are some of the most stressful of your life. With pressure about grades at school, parents who just don’t seem to get it, dating, and friends who drive you crazy, it’s no wonder. But here's the good news! If you learn a few strategies for getting stress under control now, you’ll have the skills you need to deal with problems and difficult feelings that life sends your way—in high school and beyond.

The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens is a collection of simple workbook activities that will teach you to reduce your worries using a technique called mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way to be aware of your thoughts and feelings in the present moment. You can use mindfulness when you start to feel as though things are spinning out of control, so you can stop worrying about what might happen and focus instead on what’s happening now.

If you’re like many people, you find it easy to look at your negative qualities or feel there is no way to fix your problems or stress. This book is about building on the resources, skills, and positive qualities that you might not even realize you have. It is a way to move from “I'm powerless” thinking to “I can do it!” thinking.

Hundreds of teens in mindfulness-based stress reduction classes have used activities like the ones in this book, and here is what some of them have said:

“I have learned to let things go and move on from bad experiences.”

“I felt that the coping skills learned are easy enough and effective enough to be used when I need. I now feel at the very least that I have the ability to reduce my stress.”

“I learned new and different ways to stay relaxed and how to deal with stress and now I don’t worry much.”

If they can do it, so can you! By practicing the skills outlined in this workbook, you'll be well on your way to developing lasting resilience and a new kind of strength—one that comes from within. Why not get started today?

This book has been selected as an Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Book Recommendation—an honor bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684030187
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	08/01/2017
Series:	Instant Help for Teens Series
Edition description:	Second Edition, Revised
Pages:	136
Sales rank:	161,225
Product dimensions:	7.80(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Gina M. Biegel, MA, LMFT, is a California-based psychotherapist, researcher, speaker, and author who specializes in mindfulness-based work with adolescents. She is founder of Stressed Teens, which has been offering mindfulness-based stress reduction for teens (MBSR-T) to adolescents, families, schools, professionals, and the community since 2004. She created MBSR-T to help teens in a large HMO’s outpatient department of child and adolescent psychiatry whose physical and psychological symptoms were not responding satisfactorily to a multitude of other evidence-based practices.

Biegel is an expert and pioneer of bringing mindfulness-based approaches to youth. She is author or coauthor of the The Trauma and Adversity Workbook for Teens, Take in the Good, The Stress Reduction Card Deck for Teens, The Mindfulness Workbook for Teen Self-Harm, Be Mindful and Stress Less, Mindfulness for Student Athletes, The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens, and Be Mindful. She also has a mindfulness practice audio CD, Mindfulness for Teens, to complement the MBSR-T program. She provides worldwide multiday trainings and intensive ten-week online trainings, and works with teens and families individually and in groups. Her work has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Psychology Today, Reuters, TheNew York Times, US News & World Report, and Tricycle to name a few. For more information, visit her website at www.stressedteens.com.

Table of Contents

Letter to Teens vii

Letter to Parents and Professionals ix

Activity 1 Letting Go of Your Problems 1

Activity 2 Defining and Understanding Stress 5

Activity 3 Life Stressors: What Is Stressing You Out? 9

Activity 4 The Physical Effects of Stress: Paying Attention to Red Flags 15

Activity 5 The Emotional Effects of Stress 20

Activity 6 When Stress Can Be Helpful 24

Activity 7 Stress the Problem, Mindfulness a Solution 27

Activity 8 Living in the Now 31

Activity 9 Mindfulness and the Five Senses 33

Activity 10 Bringing Mindfulness to Routine Tasks and interests 37

Activity 11 Dropping-In Mindfulness Practice 45

Activity 12 Mindful Eating Practice 52

Activity 13 The Body Scan Mindfulness Practice 56

Activity 14 Bringing Mindfulness to Walking and Movement 63

Activity 15 Doing Homework or Taking a Test Mindfully 67

Activity 16 Accepting Your Emotions: "The Guest House" 69

Activity 17 Don't Believe Everything You Think 74

Activity 18 Don't Jump on the Train of Thoughts: the Railroad Activity 79

Activity 19 Stress Waves: Riding the Waves of Life 82

Activity 20 Paying Attention to Your Breath 85

Activity 21 Paying Attention to Your Mind: Sitting Mindfulness Practice 89

Activity 22 Taking in the Good: Doing What You Enjoy 93

Activity 23 Focusing on the Positive: the Pleasant Moments Calendar 96

Activity 24 Focusing on the Negative: the Unpleasant Moments Calendar 100

Activity 25 Things You Can and Can't Control 105

Activity 26 Mindful Stopping: Responding instead of Reacting 108

Activity 27 Being Mindful of Harmful Judgments 111

Activity 28 Mindful Messaging and Posting 117

Activity 29 Playing Out the End of the Movie 121

Activity 30 Life Events Can Cause Stress 123

Activity 31 Coping With Painful Events 127

Activity 32 Unhelpful and Harmful Coping Behaviors 131

Activity 33 Using Self-Care to Manage Problems 138

Activity 34 Tracking Harmful Behaviors: the Self-Awareness Calendar 143

Activity 35 Next Steps 148

Acknowledgments 155

Interviews

Biegel resides in Campbell, CA.

Editorial Reviews

Warm, inviting, and helpful, this gem of a book brings mindfulness down to earth for adolescents and young adults. Gina Biegel is a world-class expert on this subject, and she writes straight from her own heart, offering simple and powerful ideas and practices. Teens are under more pressure than ever these days, and this book is a wonderful resource.”
—Rick Hanson, PhD, author of Buddha’s Brain


“I have found the benefits of mindfulness to be indispensable in my personal and professional life. I only wish I had known about this practice when I was younger. Gina Biegel’s book serves as an excellent resource for young folks looking to integrate this transformative practice into their own lives. With peer pressure, information overload, and constant connection to social media an ever present reality, I would recommend it to any student.”
—Tim Ryan, congressman and author of A Mindful Nation  


“In the updated edition of her popular stress reduction workbook, Gina Biegel offers teens a set of practical and powerful tools to help them recognize their problems and resolve them in a healthy way.”
—Susan Kaiser Greenland, author of Mindful Games ;and The Mindful Child


“Gina Biegel’s book is a must-have for all adolescents. From her letter to teens in the beginning addressing social media, to the engaging activities throughout the book, teenagers will recognize their own personal issues and begin to understand that they aren’t alone. The activities are accessible and the explanations easy to understand. These activities, many of which are new in this second edition, provide adolescents with a myriad of tools to address teen stressors, problems, and angst. I can imagine this becoming teens’ favorite ‘go-to’ book, as it provides much needed relief. I wish it had been around when I was a teen, and I really wish I had had this tool when my own children were teenagers. I heartily endorse Biegel’s book and I encourage you to give it to every teen you know!”
—Laurie Grossman, director of program development and outreach at Inner Explorer, cofounder of Mindful Schools, and coauthor of Master of Mindfulness


“As a mindfulness researcher and the mom of a teen, I am so glad that Gina Biegel has penned this workbook. It’s accessible, user-friendly, and offers mindfulness training in a manner that resonates with teens. As he or she works through this book, you will see your teen transform from stressed out and distracted to attentive and self-aware. A must-have for every adolescent’s wellness toolkit!”
—Amishi Jha, PhD, University of Miami


“Gina Biegel’s The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens is the go-to book for teens wanting to lower their stress and navigate the challenges of life with more skill and resilience. Written in a way that is very accessible and relevant to teens, the book empowers teens to access inner resources to manage difficult situations and make wise choices. An excellent resource for teens and those who care about them.”
—Lidia Zylowska, MD, associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, founding member of the University of California, Los Angeles’ Mindful Awareness Research Center, and author of The Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD


“In The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens, Gina Biegel offers a dynamic and engaging resource for adolescents struggling with stress—and what teen isn’t struggling with stress these days? This book has the potential to empower young adults to find healthy relationships with their bodies, hearts, minds, and their relationships with others. Gina writes from her many years of expertise as a researcher and mindfulness practitioner.”
—Daniel Rechtschaffen, MFT, author of The Way of Mindful Education and The Mindful Education Workbook


“Gina Biegel offers us key tools for teens to bring mindfulness into their lives in order to manage everyday stressors, reduce self-harm, and increase their toolkit of positive coping strategies. I find this book to be accessible to all teens!”
—Elisha Goldstein, PhD, author of Uncovering Happiness, and coauthor of MBSR Every Day

From the Publisher