Change to Chill:
Help teens stress less and get perspective
on things that matter

We’ve all had times when our bodies react to stress. We can feel it. It’s the sensation known as fight or flight. Our bodies’ natural way of coping with being frightened or challenged is to release chemicals into our bloodstream that provide extra short-term energy and alertness. Our instincts take over and tell us that we are facing danger and we either need to defend ourselves (fight) or get away (flight).

But different things cause stress for different people, especially for teens. There is so much pressure for them to “do and be their best” in school, at home, online, in after-school activities and their social life…just about everywhere. Yet many of the things teens do to try to be their best actually work against them and cause stress. Stress, it turns out, is a huge barrier to getting good grades, having healthy relationships, doing well in extra-curricular activities and maintaining a positive attitude, for example.

Plus, significant stress that goes on for a long time can lead to more serious mental and physical health problems. So it’s important to have some strategies ready for dealing with it and a few more for preventing it when you can. That’s where Change to Chill comes in.

Change to Chill™ is a free online educational resource by Allina Health, and is designed to help teens get perspective on things that matter, achieve balance and reduce stress. The website, changetochill.org, provides free, easy-to-use information about stress – what it is, what can trigger it and how to best manage it. Teens can watch, listen and learn about:

• Simple breathing techniques
• Meditation
• Ways to focus
• Values

Through our most recent Community Health Needs Assessments mental wellness showed up as a top priority. Change to Chill is one resource we can provide to fill a gaping need in the community. The program is a prevention resource for teens. We want to teach them positive ways to react to stress so they can live a healthy and balanced life.

To get feedback on the website, we (Allina Health) conducted user experience testing with 65 teens throughout the metro. The feedback was positive and teens shared the following feedback:

• “This site is really teen savvy. I feel like I could spend at least an hour to two hours on the website because there are so many interesting things.”
• “This is a cool website, I think it would benefit a lot of teens.”
• “After taking the quiz, I feel excited because I created outlets to deal with stress.”
• “I would share the Chillers if I knew of a friend that was stressed. Maybe it would give them ideas of things to do. I would put it on Instagram or Pinterest.”

To access Change to Chill™, visit changetochill.org. Take the quiz to determine your stress factors and how to best manage them. While the program is geared toward teens, adults can use the site to benefit as well. We encourage you to share with the teens in your life, relax and chill!