[del677]

Moving can be very stressful.

Moving to any new area, like a new school, can be stressful, as the mind isn't used to it yet, and may be on guard.

Being stressed shuts down the socializing part of the brain. The more primitive part wants to take over and get you out of the stressful situation.

(Works great if you're being chased by a tiger. That's not the time to socialize, that's the time to run away.)

When the stress abides (if it ever does), then then mind switches over to the other state, where it's no longer in "Fight or Flight" mode, and instead is in the socializing mode where we "Rest, Digest, Restore, Reproduce, & Socialize."

The trick is to learn how to mitigate stress. There are some mind exercises that can eventually slowly train the mind and it eventually learns and adjusts itself. "Mindfulness" is one simple yet effective technique.(Most people get it. A few do not.) The trick is to return your focus to the present moment, and just observe. Stop thinking, and instead notice, and just become aware. The mind tends to want to wander after about 10 seconds and start thinking again. Learn to let that thought go and return to the present moment. Keep this up for a minute. (Eventually you'll be able to do longer than one minute.)

Sometimes it's called "Mindfulness Meditation." Sometimes just "Meditation".

I don't know why it works. But people say it works. (Apparently scientists can see the results on brain imaging.)

There's also "Mindfulness Motion Exercises" such as Yoga (too many different types of Yoga. I think 9. Endless variations. It's becoming a generic term. There might be something called "Therapeutic Yoga".) Qi-Gong and Tai-Chi are also good. (It's the focusing your mind part that makes it work.)

There are apps you can download to your cell phone that are guided meditations. Many are free. ("Headspace" is one, which has some short animated videos explaining the concepts at the beginning of lessons 3,5,7,9.)

There may also be classes or groups available in any of the above. That gives me some socializing. At least I'm around other people. (Would be great if High Schools offered these.)

Buddhist places often have meditation classes, or they do chanting. It's kind of like singing. Singing itself may be a good choice if you like that. I'm not sure why or if chanting works. It may be another way to focus the mind and get it to stop thinking by filling it with chanting instead.

Meditation isn't an instant cure. It's like exercising (oh by the way, that's something that's good to do a little of once in a while. Also get out in the sun once in a while. The sunlight is good for mental health.)

If you want further reading, and some really big long words (what Mark Twain used to call "Ten Dollar Words"), you can look up the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS), and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS), which are two phrases that mean "Fight or Flight" and "Rest, Digest, Restore, Reproduce, Socialize". Stress triggers the SNS mode, and relaxing switches to the PNS mode. Research things that will switch on the PNS mode. Then socializing will come more natural, as the emotional part of the brain won't feel like it needs to run away from a tiger.

(Visualizing a happy place may also work. I've read the emotional part of the brain can't tell the difference, so it's supposedly just as good as actually being there. I'll try that the next time I'm thinking about sex.)

Another term for the same idea is "Polyvagal Theory". (I think some doctor came up with that term. It's really just another phrase for the same ideas.)

A lot of people find high school to be stressful, especially if it's a really big high school with a couple thousand students. That's a lot of students! I found it difficult to relax there. (I didn't know about meditation at the time.)

The High School may have something set up for students who struggle with stress, which is probably quite a lot of them. They may have a counselor, or an organized support group, or some sort of service available. Some do, some don't.

Best wishes!