Research also points to a trajectory in the understanding of mindfulness for adolescents. The study was done with young people (16-24), but the sequence is typical for adults as well. When participants begin to practice mindfulness, they often do so because they think it will reduce their stress, which is not unreasonable. However, they may have unrealistic beliefs that somehow mindfulness will fix their problems and make stress go away. Gradually they come to realize, over the course of practice, that not everything that’s stressful can be fixed or eliminated. Ultimately, young people in this study realized that mindfulness is not about changing the experience per se, but rather about changing our relationship to that experience. Mindfulness is not just a stress-reduction tool, it’s a way of being in the world. This study found that youth moved from “freaking out or overreacting” to ‘gaining conscious control and relaxing’ to ‘clarity of mind, insight and competence.”