Student Stress? Is it self-inflicted?

What really causes student stress? Is it students, or is it something else?

Elizabeth Sinclair, Web Editor|November 29, 2022

Student Stress? Is it self-inflicted?

Cedars Sinai

Students at South Windsor High School are expected to have a stranded GPA of 2.0 or higher. While many students meet the school’s criteria for grades, little is known about the amount of pressure that is put on the students and the amount of stress it causes. But, this is high school, which automatically means there is pressure, and students need to be treated like adults, so how much longer will it be before students are pushed to the brink? 

Arushi Sharma is a freshman at SWHS. Sharma takes all honors courses in 9th grade. She is currently in three after-school clubs, and also takes an extra math course outside of school. On top of that, Sharma managed to receive all A’s for Quarter 1. Even though Sharma is an exemplary student, she goes through mountains of stress every day.

Sharma said. She also feels that work can be over-assigned in some subjects. “They… quickly forget that their subject is not the only subject we get work from.” 

Emily Porter is a freshman student at SWHS. Porter participated in the school swim team. She also does an additional swim team on the side. Even though Porter doesn’t feel stressed out much herself, she has witnessed multiple friends experience stress caused by the mountain of assignments they have.“ I have friends who have way too much school work which to me is very unnecessary.” Porter is finding it hard to find balance in school. 

 “I think that juggling all of their classes with their schedule would definitely stress students out,” said April Davis, a science teacher at SWHS. Davis teaches three honors classes.“I try to take it into account when I’m giving them work, either I’ll say I won’t check it till Friday, or I’ll make it due Friday to give them some time.”  When students feel stressed out in their school work and feel like they have too much work in their classes. Davis encourages all her students if they have any feedback for her to let her know. 

According to the CDC  (Centers For Disease Control And Prevention) there are ways for students to manage stress. One way is to take deep breaths, stretch, or mediate. Take a step away from your work or whatever you are doing and just take some deep breaths in and out. Another way to manage stress is getting plenty of sleep. A lot of times stress can be caused due to lack of sleep. So it’s always important to make sure you’re getting a lot of sleep. The recommended hours of sleep that kids the ages 13-18 should get is about 8-10 hours of sleep per night. 

Eating healthy meals can help lower stress. According to the University of Texas Mid Anderson Center, eating junk food causes inflammation which is making your body do extra work, that fats are much harder  for your body to break down, so your body can’t use those fats as fuel. This process can inflict so much stress which is why it’s important to eat healthy. Additional strategies include talking to a teacher or a school guidance counselor.