High school students typically feel stress and struggle to stay on track near the end of each year, specifically senior year. In this article, I chose to explore how the years of high school significantly impact us, and what we can do to prevent our stress.
Going through high school, it’s important to have resources and tips to positively gear us towards completion. Taking time out of our days to simply not focus on school can help as well. At the same time, we need to make sure we keep our work in focus and see that we are putting our best effort towards it. Overall, it’s a balance that we have to learn, and it might look different for everyone. Some people have work outside of school, while others have sports. All of us have our own personal circumstances with our family, and it might look a lot more complex for some. Since you can’t control these things, be easy on yourself and try your best. That’s all you can do. Rather than giving up and showing no effort, try as hard as you can and I guarantee you, you will receive recognition for what you are willing to do.
The American Psychological Association ran a “Stress in America” 2020 Survey and they found that teens that typically endure stress in highschool have actually had it accelerated by the Pandemic. “43 percent of teens surveyed in 2020 said their stress levels had gone up, and 45 percent said they had a hard time concentrating on schoolwork.” Looking at these statistics, that’s nearly half of students that have had their stress impacted significantly, and have a hard time focusing.
Knowing these statistics, we need to find out what can help us as individuals. It’s also important to pinpoint what is causing our stress in order to help it. Some factors can be academics, social stress, family issues, trauma, and big life changes among many more. While we may not be able to change these things, there’s things we can do to think more positively. Keeping a journal, exercising, eating healthy, and getting a good amount of sleep can help. Something you would think of less is limiting your caffeine, meditating, and reaching out to those around you like friends and parents. Remember, we are all fighting our own battles, and preparing for assignments in advance, as well as making time to do fun things can make a huge difference.
No matter what you are feeling, make sure to reach out when you need help. Don’t struggle and try to push the work away, and don’t overwhelm yourself with work. Keep a healthy balance of fun, work, and commitment. Overall, take care of yourself and give yourself credit.
