How to avoid stress
Scenario: Presentation Pressure
Situation :
Maya is a hardworking student who cares a lot about her grades. She has to give an oral presentation in front of her class — something she really dislikes.
The day before, she sees Sofia, a very popular friend who is confident speaking in public, post a story of herself practising her presentation with ease, with the caption: “It’s easy, it’s just talking.”
When Maya sees this, she immediately thinks:
“I should be as good as Sofia. If I can’t do it, everyone will judge me and I’ll look ridiculous.”
She feels overwhelmed by anxiety and isolates herself.
1. Identify the Triggers
Maya’s stress shot up when she saw Sofia’s story. Answer the questionnaire.
2. Avoid Harmful Actions
Does Maya have control over Sofia’s actions?
No.
However, to reduce her own stress, what harmful personal action (avoidance behaviour or habit) should she stop doing immediately in this situation?
3. Change Your Mindset (Cognitive Restructuring)
Maya is holding on to two very stressful thoughts. Using the method from this micro-learning (Listen, Identify, Evaluate, Replace), how can she reframe these negative thoughts into a fairer and more realistic perspective?
4. Choose a Response (Learning to Cope)
The presentation is mandatory; Maya can’t eliminate it.
How will changing her mindset (Question 3) help her choose a concrete and constructive action to face the presentation, instead of letting negative thoughts crush her?
My Final Reflection
When you look at what happened to Maya, you can see how stress can come from something very small: a comparison, an unrealistic expectation, or a sentence that was interpreted the wrong way.
It’s not the presentation that overwhelmed her, but the way she spoke to herself after seeing Sofia’s story.
This practice invites you to do the same in your own life:
Notice what really triggered you,
Recognise the thoughts that hurt you,
And imagine a fairer, truer way of seeing the situation.
Now ask yourself:
What has already pushed you into a “comparison spiral” like Maya?
And what could you tell yourself next time to help you get out of it?
When you learn to change the way you look at things, you reduce the power that stress has over you.
You don’t erase the difficulty — but you become capable of responding to it instead of suffering it.
You’ve just learned how to identify a harmful environment, recognise an unfair thought, spot a specific trigger, and choose a wiser response.
This way of looking back at what you experience helps you reduce the impact of stress and move forward with more clarity — just like Maya when she moved from comparison to action.
The next step is essential: learning practical ways to manage your stress — with simple, healthy and accessible strategies — so you can find your calm, your peace and your balance, even when situations become difficult.