Mindfulness and High School Students
The level of stress that students experience throughout their high school careers and beyond is something many struggle with managing. Skill building in this area is something many adults, educators, and professionals are finding to be extremely helpful in supporting this attempt to manage stress, stay present, and be more productive overall within a school setting.
There are a lot of great apps, techniques and general information regarding this topic and how it can assist your student more successfully function day to day.
Apps for Mobile Devices/Computers
There are a lot of great apps, techniques and general information regarding this topic and how it can assist your student more successfully function day to day.
Mindfulness and meditation have been proven to be effective in developing kindness and compassion.
- Meditations that center around compassion lead to changes in area of the the brain associated with empathy and result in an increase in altruistic behavior. (Source: Compassion Can Be Cultivated in the Brain, Study Finds 2013)
- Compassion meditation has been shown to increase self-compassion, compassion for others, and and the ability of an individual to receive compassion. (Source: Enhancing Compassion: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Compassion Cultivation Training Program 2012)
http://www.toolsforpeace.org/programs-events/programs-for-schools/stop-breathe-think/
Mindfulness Tools
Apps for Mobile Devices/Computers
Stop, Breathe, and Think: Free web and mobile app for youth, with meditations for mindfulness and compassion
Calm.com: Free website and mobile app with guided meditation and relaxation exercises
Insight Timer: Free mobile app with virtual “bells” to time and support your meditations
MindShift: Free mobile app for teens developed by AnxietyBC, with mindfulness and other coping skills for anxiety
Smiling Mind: Free mobile mindfulness app for young people, from Australia
Headspace: “Meditation made simple.” This app has a free introductory period, after which it requires a paid subscription to continue to use.
Books/Resources
Gina M. Biegel, The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens: Mindfulness Skills to Help You Deal with Stress (Instant Help Books, 2009)
Joseph V. Ciarrochi, Louise Hayes, and Ann Bailey, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life for Teens: A Guide to Living an Extraordinary Life (Instant Help, 2012)
Mark C. Purcell and Jason R. Murphy, Mindfulness for Teen Anger: A Workbook to Overcome Anger and Aggression Using MBSR and DBT Skills (Instant Help, 2014)
Christopher Willard, Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety: A Workbook for Overcoming Anxiety at Home, at School, and Everywhere Else (Instant Help, 2014)
Christopher Willard and Mitch Abblett, Growing Mindful: A Deck of Mindfulness Practices for All Ages (Growing Mindful Games, 2015). A deck of cards with short mindfulness practices to “cultivate mindfulness on the go.” Available here and here.
(http://mindfulnessforteens.com/resources/)