Can someone help me with my stress?!

Can someone help me with my stress?

I'm horribly stressed out right now.I'm 14 and just graduated middle school and am going into high school.My best friend was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks ago and it has really been stressing me out.I've been feeling sick alot more,my face has been breaking out worse than usual and I'm just not as happy as I used to be. I REALLY want to find a way to not be as stressed.I haven't been to therapy yet,but I just don't know how to tell my parents. My parents have been through therapy too and even told me it was okay if I ever had to do it...but I don't know,just something inside makes me feel really awkward.
I really want to feel better,do you guys know any way I can do it?I keep getting chest pains that keep worrying me I'm gonna die and not see my friend again in his time of need but I KNOW it's because of the stress.I read something on that and it said that lots of teens get those pains too when going through stressful situations.
Please help me.

1 month ago
oh,I'm sorry I forgot to mention this.
my friend's a guy so it's kinda hard to cry with him...
haha
oh I'm a girl by the way.

OK, first the bad news...you're strssed? Welcome to the world, kid....stress, in many different forms and from many different sources is a part of life 24/7 from here on out

Now the good news...there are a lot of ways to deal with stress to keep it from getting the better of you. Therapy is good...it certainly helps. Right now I am dealing with the breakup of my marriage, and I consider my therapist worth his weight in gold.

If you have a good relationship with your parents, don't be afraid to open up to them. I know we may seem to be just a bunch of old farts to people your age, but we were 14 years old once upon a time, and we haven't forgotten the sorts feelngs and pressures we faced back then. Granted, being a young teen was much easier then (for me, I believe I graduated middle school about the time Babe Ruth was breaking in with the Boston Red Sox as a pitcher...OK, I exaggerate, but it's been a long time since I was 14), but most of us have the capacity for remembering and understanding what a crazy and stressful time of life our early teenhoods were. Give your ma and pa a chance to help you cope.

Physical activity is a good release for stress as well. I know it doesn't make the sources of your stress go away, but the release of pent up energy and pressure makes one feel a whole lot better. I didn't discover this on my own, my therapist had to harp on it for a couple sessions before I got more activity in my life (outside of taking care of things around the house and yard, I was probably inactive enough to make an Xbox addict blush).

I started walking everyday, 35-45 minutes at a shot. The exertion felt good, and I lost some weight as well (God knows I need to lose a lot more), and that felt good, too. I also to include a little activity that involves some type of contact (please, no ex-wife jokes here). I don't mean any kind of extreme contact like trying out for the Steelers' offensive line (although they need help...how big are you?) or taking on Oscar de la Hoya for 15 rounds (for what they make per fight, knock me stiff, Oscar...just kidding).

Seriously, though, when I am feeling particularly stressed, I try to head out to the local driving range (I hit a golf ball 350 yards off the tee....175 yards foreward, 175 to the right...the ball's flight path looks like a banana.) and hit a couple buckets of ball, or step into the batting cages they have there (I didn't strike fear into pitchers in Little League, and nowadays, even the pitching machines tend to laugh a little when I grab a bat). I'm not very accomplished at either activity, but just the effort, movement, and the sensation of smacking a golf ball or baseball feels good...and I really do feel better even afterwards. I've also spent maybe half an hour at the local playground hitting either a tennis ball or racquetball up against the wall of the school (it's always empty there...don't kids play outside anymore?). Any sort of activity that gets you moving and gives you the opportunity to vent a little bit goes a long way.

Also, I don't know how religious or spiritual you are, but prayer helps a lot, too. Getting in touch with the Creative Spirit of the Universe (whether it's God, Jesus, Allah, Jehovah, Zeus, Odin, or just an intelligent creative Force) can be both very soothing and enlightening. I don't claim to have the greatest relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (How can I? I never root for Notre Dame...sorry), but I do my best to take time every day for prayer. Sometimes it's a formal prayer (Our Father who art in Heaven...), and sometimes it just talking to God ("Ya know, Lord, I have had a rotten day today, and I was just wondering if You could clue me in on why Your Plan includes all this stuff hapening to me?) I am 100% certain that it is the help of the Good Lord that helps me keep my wits about me during the worst of times, and also prevents me from fretting excessively or making mountains out of molehills these days, so I know that time spent in prayer is very much worth it.

Long winded, ain't it? I hope it doesn't come across as a lecture, or as being preachy, because I recall that a 14, the last thing I wanted was to have some old fossil lecture me. I hope my suggenstions help. One last thing, though...I don't know your personal habits, but let me just say for the record that stress reduction won't be found in alcohol, drugs, sex or isolation, no matter how tempting each of those may seem at the moment (OK, end of sermon). I will keep you in my prayers....hang in there, you can survive this...you will survive this, and come out the other end of the tunnel a stronger and better person for the ordeal. You can do this....good luck!!! And may the Schwartz be with youuuuuuuuuuu........