From taking exams to turning in your homework on time, high school can be very stressful.
What is stress?
Before we start talking about stress, we should first clarify what it is. According to the World Health Organization, stress is “a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation.” To elaborate more on that, people tend to be stressed from things going on in their external life. Stress can be caused by both good and bad things. For example, you might be stressed from being excited about a vacation or from homework. Over time, stress tends to go away once the “difficult situation” is over. Unlike stress, anxiety doesn’t tend to go away as quickly, it comes from more of internal conflicts rather than external. Anxiety comes from things that would be more persistent and that would happen in your daily life.
Why is stress so common in teens?
One of the main stressors for teens comes from academic pressures. These pressures include trying to get good grades and applying to prestigious colleges. High school can also be very stressful without the academic pressures, however. Making friends and laying the groundwork for your social life can also be very demanding. Other stressors for teens can include family issues and global issues – like climate change or war – considering that those events are interlaced into their school curriculum, says Sakshi Khurana, a research Fellow at Harvard’s Weisz Lab for Youth Mental Health. As a person who has moved many times before, I know that it can be very stressful, especially when starting at a new school. In 2017, according to the APA stress survey, 83% of teens said that school itself is their most common stressor. Secondary to that, 69% of students said that applying to colleges and deciding what to do after high school is the most mentally taxing.
How to manage?
A little bit of stress is normal, but too much is extremely detrimental for your mental health. One of the main ways to help manage your stress is through relaxing practices. Relaxing doesn’t necessarily mean going on vacation or watching TV all day, it could be anything from engaging in a few different hobbies to forming friendships. Other ways to relieve stress include exercise, making sure you get plenty of sleep, having a journal, or just simply managing your time. Personally, when I am extremely stressed from school work or just have a lot of things to do, I like to make a to-do list for all of my homework assignments and other tasks. Next, I like to add time limits for each item to be more efficient. Also, setting time limits would aid in boosting focus and setting priorities; giving more time for important tasks and less time for things that might not be as crucial. Knowing how to manage your stress will make your high school experience immeasurably better, and will prepare you for the future.