Managing Stress

BY Shreyas Bulusu and Dritesh Avdani

Stress. Everyone goes through it, especially the youth nowadays. From high pressure to achieve exceptional grades to meeting academic deadlines, students often face various stressors that can impact their mental and physical well-being. Learning to manage such stress is essential for students to ensure a better future.

One of the most prevalent sources of stress is academic pressure: worrying about getting good grades and acing tests exacerbates stress levels for students due to the workload that needs to be completed in order to satisfy academic deadlines. Six AP exams may appeal to an Ivy League school, but the level of tension certainly exceeds the value of a person’s transcript.

On top of this, social media is another source of stress for students. For instance, students can become highly susceptible and addicted to ideas and content presented on social media platforms, causing them to experience emotional distress over minor things like not being included or receiving fewer likes. It is especially common for teenagers to deny the fact that they are addicted to media, but according to Steven Zauderer, a healthcare leader and professional, “Around 70% of teens…have a social media addiction”. This addiction only results in increased stress.

Lifestyle choices also have a significant impact on the mental and physical health of students. Constantly feeling anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating, and fatigue are mental problems that arise from stress, and according to the Mayo Clinic, physical problems such as high blood pressure, obesity, headaches, and diabetes also arise. The consequence of falling under excessive stress is a constant cycle of being tensed constantly, and that hinders daily activities, relationships, and the ability to do well academically.

Stress is a common experience for students, and it can have a significant impact on their mental and physical well-being. However, by adopting effective stress management techniques, students can reduce the impact of stress on their lives. Prioritizing self-management, seeking social support, practicing relaxation techniques such as meditation, and effective time management are all important strategies that can help students manage stress and improve their overall way of living.