How to Best Handle Student Stress

HOW TO BEST HANDLE STUDENT STRESS

A hardworking student is getting all their homework done, passing tests, and getting good grades. However, they are constantly getting stressed out as well as suffering horrible headaches. It is important for students to develop a balanced life for their mental health. After all, having high stress levels can definitely affect how well a student performs during school. Most students know very well how exhausting school can be especially when it comes to keeping up with their homework and grades. Let’s jump into the stories of both students and teachers who experiences mental stress when it comes to school-related work.

Senior Teeanna Tejeda said that she tends to get stressed out because of school. One of her reasons is the workload that she receives from school everyday. It is understandable because students not only have school assignments to get done but their sports, club activities, or everyday tasks as well. This is why it is important for students to develop time management skills in order to deplete high stress levels. Luckily, Teeanna has her own way to deal with stress and that is by taking breaks from working on her school work. Taking a moment just to breath is very important and can help students from reaching unhealthy stress levels.

Greenway Photography Teacher Laurenthia Bowling said that her job as a teacher does indeed tend to be very stressful for her. She mentions that students who don’t try, unnecessary tasks that waste time, and the end of the semester are things that stress her out as a teacher.

Luckily, Ms. Bowling has many ways to help herself relieve stress. Some of her activities include planning ahead, spending time with family, exercising, reading, taking necessary breaks, and sitting outside. Doing activities that one enjoy as they take important breaks from school work can definitely improve their mental health. It can also refresh their minds as they prepare to head back into working on school-related tasks and give them all their best effort.

Undoubtedly, stress has taken a huge toll on students’ mental health as well as how they participate in school. According to Accredited Schools Online, some major causes for stress in high school students could be romantic relationships, social acceptance, earning good grades, preparing for college, and parental pressure. By this time, many students are preparing to attend college and become independent, so it can be expected that students will run into many obstacles on the way.

Whether it is to get straight A’s or earn their desired GPA, students will set up their own goals and do what they can for their future. Moreover, too much stress can be disastrous for a student’s mental health. According to Patti Neighmond’s article “School Stress Takes A Toll On Health, Teens And Parents Say” in NPR, Psychologist Alvord says that chronic stress can cause a sense of panic and paralysis. This would definitely be terrible for those who are hesitant and indecisive when it comes to asking help from other people.

On the contrary, having a moderate amount of stress can actually benefit high school students. According to Youki Terada’s article “The Science Behind Student Stress” in Edutopia, it said that students should learn how to adopt a growth mindset. When students believe that their mistakes are temporary and that they can learn from it, their stress levels tend to go away faster than those who believe that mistakes are generally bad. Furthermore, having this kind of mindset can definitely improve one’s mental health and lower their chances of falling into a severe depression. 

Without a doubt, stress is certainly a major problem for many high school students and it can drastically affect their mental health. It is important for students and teachers to cooperate with another in order to help reduce stress as well as create a comfortable environment at school.