Managing Academic Stress – As High Schoolers
The H in high school stands for hell. Not really, but most students would describe it that way. With all the studies, extracurriculars, and out-of-school activities “good” students are expected to do, when are they expected to live their life? That’s when stress comes in. It seeps into their minds, and if not dealt with quickly enough, can change lives for the worse. Many high schoolers go through this unfortunate experience, and while school is inevitable, there are ways to keep yourself mentally healthy, because truthfully, academics are not worth so much stress and struggle.
To give you a more statistical overview of stress in high schoolers, a 2015 study from NYU surveyed multiple New York high school students and found that many of them felt stressed about academics. While stress is normal, more than a third of those surveyed reported abnormally high levels of stress. Personally, sometimes I also feel so overwhelmed with studies, to the point where I ignore essential components to keeping myself healthy, like proper sleep. This habit of mine can get so bad that my mind needs to forcibly shut down while I’m studying, and I will fall asleep at my desk. The only reason I do this occasionally is for a good grade –because I’ve created this unrealistic expectation for myself to be perfect academically for that 4.0 GPA. Though, this feeling of wanting to do well is fine, but if it is affecting your physical and mental health, maybe it’s time to change your possibly toxic mindset (4.0 GPA isn’t worth your well-being) and find healthier ways to manage academia and other aspects of your life.
These two graphs can help demonstrate the correlation between high schoolers and distressing mental health issues.
As you can see, students sometimes do not make the best choices for their mental health. Going back to the study, the researchers interviewed a select few of the students about how they coped with this stress. A majority reported using illegal substances like marijuana and alcohol. Now, it seems so dumb doing something that is obviously wrong. However, many times, students can feel so out of control of their life due to parental or academic stress that they will do anything to make themselves escape. This mindset causes these people to shut down and enter a destructive cycle that leads to mental illnesses and possibly more drastic consequences. This cycle needs to stop, so before you learn how to do well in a certain class, let’s learn how to manage the struggle and stress that will come as a high school student and even beyond, in your career.
Personally, I believe that doing stuff you love is one of the most important factors in preventing too much stress. Studies are hard, and sometimes, you have tough weeks where most of your teachers are giving homework almost every day, leaving you with no time to relax and unwind. In these situations, I personally make time for myself by taking a thirty-minute break whenever I feel overwhelmed and focus on an activity that I like, such as watching TV, reading, drawing, or playing games. In fact, I do better on my homework when I take these breaks and do something often considered “unproductive”. Even more, to prevent being overloaded with homework at home, I use class time, lunch, and bus rides to finish up assignments. Procrastination never will be a good thing to do to yourself because of the unnecessary stress it can cause you. Remember, although academics are stressful, they still matter, but they are never more important than your mental wellbeing.
Additionally, for extracurriculars and out-of-school activities, always choose to do what you love. For example, I am a three-season runner who enjoys those hours after school as they get my mind focused on my passions. It’s no good if you have to spend hours after school doing an activity tha 1t does not interest you. Just because DECA or Speech & Debate looks good on your application (even though colleges could care less when they don’t see your passion), doesn’t mean you go and do it. Most colleges really only care about your level of commitment and roles in extracurriculars, so I would suggest focusing on enjoyable activities, and doing it to the best of your ability. As a result, for me, despite all the stress of handling my school life with out-of-school activities, I know at the end of the day, I truly enjoyed spending time working after school. Don’t add to your academic stress with unlikeable extracurriculars.
Our mental and physical health are way more important than college. You could find a physical activity you are interested in like walking, to do in your free time. After I started running in 7th grade, I felt so mentally refreshed in a way that I had not experienced since before COVID hit in 5th grade. If you do not like physical activity, you can even explore meditative practices like yoga in order to clear your mind and take some deep breaths when you feel overwhelmed. Additionally, one of the most important things you could do is venting. Go complain about your day or studies to someone, somewhere or something you love and trust. When I used to bottle up my stress and emotions, I had a nervous breakdown almost every day because I refused to burden anyone with my emotional baggage.
“Remember. You are not alone. We are all just high schoolers. You’re not Atlas, and you certainly cannot carry the burden of your stress and emotions alone, like he carries the earth. ”
Avantika Palayekar - Author
Aarna Dharmavarapu and Joy Chen - Editors
