Often we use food as a reward or for comfort when we're stressed.  While it makes you feel good in the short term, all that chocolate, cake, chips and other junk food can have a negative effect on your waistband. Not to mention the guilt that follows after you've just polished off that packet of Tim Tams.
Here are some non-food ways to reward yourself when you've stuck to your goals or to boost your mood when you feel down:
* watch an episode of your favourite TV show or a good movie
* read a good book
* go to the beach 
* pamper yourself with a manicure or pedicure 
* soak in the bath (music and candles optional)
* turn the music up and dance like no one's watching
* go shopping and buy yourself a little treat - a magazine, costume jewellery, fun socks etc.
* go for a bike ride
* grab a friend and go to the movies.

The Center for Young Women's Health has a useful article in their Teen Talk newsletter on how to help a friend who is self-harming - you can find it here. There is also a link to information about self-harming.  The Website has lots of information related to young women's health - including anxiety, sexual health, diet, exercise and eating disorders.  It is American so some of the information is not relevant in Australia.

When you are happy, you smile and apparently, when you smile, you are happy.  Psychologists have found that even faking a smile can make you feel happier and help you deal with difficult situations.  So next time you find yourself in a stressful situation, grin and bear it!  For more information see Andrew Merle's article, The Science of Smiling, in the Huffington Post.

It's normal to feel angry but some ways of dealing with your anger are better than others. Yelling, swearing, punching walls and throwing things rarely ends well.  Here are some anger management techniques according to live strong.com:
Walk away, perhaps even go for a walk
Listen to some music
Write down your feelings
Talk to someone you trust
Distract yourself.

According to Mission Australia's 2015 Youth Survey, the two most common concerns that teenagers have are coping with stress and school or study concerns.  One of the best ways of dealing with stress is to be more active.  Here are some ideas:
Go for a walk/run 
Go swimming at the beach or local pool
Do a pilates, yoga or zumba class (check out your community recreation centre)
Go ice skating
Ride your bike
Lift some weights while you watch TV
Grab and friend and a frisbee and go to the park
Join a sports team - basketball, netball, softball, hockey...
Go kayaking or stand up paddle boarding (you can often hire them by the river)
Go skateboarding or rollerblading
Find a set of stairs to walk up and down
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I finally got around to watching Inside Out this week.  It was hilarious watching someone's take on what goes on inside a 12 year old's head.  One thing that struck me was that even though we feel an emotion, doesn't mean we need to act on it.  Eric Ravenscraft wrote an interesting article for lifehacker.com about emotional intelligence.  It in he wrote, "You can't always control what makes you feel a certain way, but you can always control how you react."

Dolly Life Coach has 8 useful tips on how to survive exams including drinking plenty of water, getting some fresh air and talking it out.  Check out the full list here and don't worry, be happy!

If you feel yourself getting really tense or anxious try this exercise.  Stop and think about 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste.  This is called grounding and helps when you feel like you've lost control.  From 7cupsoftea.com