School is one of the most overlooked causes of anxiety and depression. Even if not a direct consequence, it comes with psychological burdens that can spill over into adult life after primary education, such as instructional validation and self esteem issues. Overwhelming stress in any type of situation and stage of life isn’t good, especially for young teenagers, “American teens say they experience stress in patterns similar to adults, and during the school year they report stress levels even higher than those reported by adults.” The reality of an average highschool student in America is much more unpleasant than it seems. The effects of any degree in education can cause a multitude of negative health implications such as demotivation, substance abuse, and apprehension.

Managing a healthy work, school, social, and extracurricular schedule is impractical based on expectations set by colleges. UC’s, private, and independent colleges look for perfect grades in challenging classes within every student’s transcript. The pressure of getting straight A’s in order to be accepted into your dream university can be detrimental, “How this translates in the longer term can affect our ability to sustain employment and decrease our earning potential over a lifetime.” Learning how to manage the stress we deal with early on can help prevent any damaging effects in the future. 

So how do students at Canyon high school cope with frequent tensity? Isabella Hagopian, a senior at Canyon who also maintains a job in retail, said she uses music as an outlet and manages her time with a planner. “My favorite artist right now is Bad Bunny, since I’m learning Spanish it’s like a win-win for me.” Preplanning her day to day activities every week gives her the peace of mind that everything will have enough time dedicated to it to get done. 

If you have trouble managing stress there’s a few outlets you can turn to such as; exercising, journaling, meditating, spending quality time with loved ones, joining a support group, creating things (food, art, music, crafts), helping others, spending time in nature, or watching a comedy. There will always be resources available to us when life gets hard, it’s important to remember that you are not alone!