Stress and Pressure in High School

Throughout life everyone experiences stressful moments. Stress can be felt it in your shoulders, in your mind, and in your body. Stress settles in one’s shoulders, many people falsely think the way they sit causes this back pain. Another common symptom of stress includes frequent headaches and immune systems weaken, making it easier to catch a cold. These symptoms happen differently for everyone. 

According to Mayo Clinic, types of stress includes: internal and external. External stress relates to life changes, a specific environment, and workplaces, while internal stress relates to fears, beliefs, and the feeling of uncertainty. 

Various different reasons trigger stress. According to The American  Psychological Association,stress most commonly appears in ages 18-47 and the gap continues to increase. Recently college acceptance rates have been increasing and so have the requirements a student needs to reach. As a result of the increased competition in school and when applying to school, students, identified as the main group feeling these affects. They struggle with keeping their life in perfect balance.

“No matter what I do, there’s always something better. Dealing with homework, thinking about college and ways I can be more involved lead up to me being more stressed than I should be as a teenager,” said junior Marcela Canal. 

As a student at Palmetto enrolled in AP classes, Canal often feels stress with homework, college and other ways of involvement. 

Students bend over backwards trying to achieve perfection. Since perfection classifies as an unattainable goal, it causes more stress. Evidently, at Palmetto, stress and competition between students persists. Freshman, dealing with the stress of starting a new school; Sophomores, stress with social activities; Juniors, stressing about SAT and ACT scores, extracurricular activities, and preparing for college; and seniors, dealing with the stress of getting accepted to their dream school while still keeping up with their current school. 

“Since I started at Palmetto I instantly felt pressured by all my friends and peers to be a better student,” said Canal. 

In some ways stress has positive effects, for example, it can push you to go above and beyond what’s expected, but there’s a point when it becomes too much and overpowering. 

Stress has the potential to persist in someone’s life but it can become less severe with simple steps. Dr. Amy Exum, a therapist at Baptist Hospital who gave a presentation about stress and anxiety, recommends mindfulness and mediation. Mindfulness, a mental state where you become aware of your present moment and calmly acknowledge your feelings thoughts and body sensations helps to cope with stress. Meditation helps to take charge of your mind and relaxing your body. 

Overall, stress is something everyone deals with at some point. In recent years it has become worse with the constant competition in high school and college. On the other hand there are ways to help relieve this constant inclusion of stress. Stepping away from homework, listening to music, making a schedule, and talking to someone and getting help identify as just a few helpful tips.