It’s a topic we don’t like to talk about. The word is hard to say out loud. It’s compounded with fear and shame. It can even carry religious uncertainty for some. We hope that the tragedy lurking around the corner won’t become a reality if we don't talk about it. Until the tragedy becomes reality.

If you’re like me, seeing your kids deal with crippling amounts of stress can be heartbreaking. All you want is to make their life easier, remove every barrier, and let them ride down easy street with a huge smile. The problem is that stress for all of us is unavoidable. It’s better to take advantage of the stress they experience now and develop the right habits and responses, leading to better mental health.

It’s important to be aware of some key stressors that can drastically impact the mental health of our students—stressors that will quickly reveal their ugly existence during these first few weeks of a new school year. So today, I want to focus on the top three stressors students experience. Next week, we will discuss how you can help reduce stress and help your student maintain a healthier mind.

Another school year is upon us. This means a whole new year of things to worry about and new challenges to deal with. For our students it means new subjects to master, new teachers to meet, perhaps new friends, new school, even an entirely new town. But let’s put aside all the academic challenges for one minute. Because there is another set of challenges we often neglect to address.

Emotions are powerful. They can be an incredible gift. But they can also create unfamiliar chaos in our minds. My wife and I learned some valuable lessons along the way. I want to share five things we learned—and continue to learn—as we journey.

We may know how we feel, but far too often, we are not entirely sure why. Misunderstanding emotions can easily put us on a path that ends in toxic thinking. Perhaps you haven’t been taught how to properly and productively feel and process emotion, allowing the worst of your emotions to control how you think and behave.