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How do you relieve stress?

“When I’m stressed I like to relax by drawing, watching TV or playing with my dogs.”
—Nicole Chi, 15, La Cañada HS

“I take out my frustrations by going to a concert. In a mosh pit, you can push and shove all you want. If I can’t do that, I usually talk things out with my friends. Sometimes just releasing the flow of thoughts I have helps me solve my problems.”
—Sue Li, 16, Culver City HS

“When I’m stressed, I will either play Yahoo! pool or will turn on my Play Station 2 and play for two hours straight. If this fails, I will just turn on the TV and watch Comedy Central (Mad TV).”
—Hakop Aladzhadzhyan, 13, Hoover HS (Glendale)

“I normally sit down to read, or watch television; something sitting down and not involving movement. The screaming into a pillow doesn’t really work that well for me, but when you can’t do anything else, it helps.”
—Rachel Lizotte, 15, John Burroughs HS (Burbank)

“Baking cake, because it tastes really good and you can share it. It’s fun making it, it’s like playing with Play-doh.”
—Rachel Mansoori, 15, Arcadia HS

“I light candles, because the aromatherapy thing makes me feel calm… especially the ocean smell.”
—Jenny Potter, 14, Arcadia HS

“I lock myself in my room, listen to music and let it all go through there.”
—Andrea Alvarez, 16, The Linden Center

“I sort of sit back, listen to music, read a book or hang out with friends.”
—Brian Milberger, 15, The Linden Center

“I take walks around the block or talk to my grandfather. He understand me more than the rest of my family.”
—Anthony Smolak, 16, The Linden Center
hedshot of Juwon Martin

“Relaxing to me is dancing. When I put on music, I hear the beat and I just dance and look at myself in the mirror. I don’t have anybody else there. I come up with my own dances. I imagine I’m one of Janet Jackson’s backup dancers. When I dance and feel free, everything I was stressed about disappears.”
—Juwon Martin, 18, The Linden Center