Releasing stress through healthy living - May/June 2011

There are expectations that young people should lead healthier lives. While some people say that this puts young people, particularly teenagers doing high-stakes examinations, under stress, I believe that it is still important for young people to look after their health. There are a number of reasons for this.

You have all heard the saying that a healthy body is a healthy mind. There is a lot of truth in this. Without eating healthily, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep, it becomes extremely difficult to study to the best of your abilities. This feeling of inadequacy can lead to even more stress. Furthermore, research has shown that leading unhealthy lives when young can result in more diseases - for example, cancer, obesity, heart problems and depression - in later life. Finally, participating in a healthy activity, such as joining a sports team, a sports club or outdoor adventure club, allows young people to socialise more, which can help mitigate common teenage problems including anxiety, depression and eating disorders.

In conclusion, from my point of view, urging young people to lead healthier lives does not put increased pressure on them. On the contrary, it can act as stress-release mechanism.

Letter - A Broken Television - May/June 2011

Hi Joe,

How are you? I hope you are enjoying your summer holidays. After an annoying start to the holidays, due to the fact that our television broke down, things have started to pick up for me.

Unbelievably, on the first day of the holidays, our television went on the blink. At first, I was really frustrated. I kept saying to myself that I would have nothing to do so I would be so bored. However, in reality, it was a blessing in disguise as I was able to do many interesting things. First of all, I enrolled in a summer camp where I participated in loads of cool activities such as canoeing, abseiling and windsurfing. I was also fortunate to meet a lot of new, really interesting people. In addition, at the weekends, my family and I were able to spend a lot of quality time together hiking in the nearby countryside and having delicious picnics. Luckily the weather has been superb this summer so outdoor activities were really pleasurable.

The main thing that I have learnt from the experience is not to be too dependent on technology and to make time to enjoy the simple things in life.

Anyway, please write soon and let me know what you’ve been doing on your holidays.

All the best,
Jim