Stress and Academic Life

Cathalina S William

Having attended a grammar school for over five years, I can definitely say that I have grown accustomed to a stressful environment, from facing an infinitely growing pile of homework each week to the daunting prospect of public examinations. The truth is, stress is inevitable. According to the website Teen Help, which conducted a study on a sample of teenagers from Baltimore, teens on average rate their stress levels higher than adults.

The average rating for teens was 5.8/10 whereas for adults the average was 5.1. The study also states that 68% have said that their stress is resulted from school and 31% of teenagers have stated that their stress has increased over time. So why is school the root of stress for adolescents? 

One can blame the pressures of public examinations, which heavily affect our future. However one may also turn to competition between fellow peers, constantly feeling inadequate or “not good enough”.  Others can blame the immense amount of workload resulted from school and the pressure to keep up .But what is being done about it?  Research conducted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England indicates that there has been a rapid increase found in the demand of counselling for university students. However, adequate services are not being provided for those who are struggling under academic pressure such as counselling sessions.  

Sir Anthony Seldon, vice chancellor of Buckingham University, has described this as a “massive problem” which has been neglected.  This shows that more attention needs to be given to students affected by the stress and pressures induced by their studies as it seems to be the origin of the increasing stress levels of both secondary school and university students alike. There should be more open discussions on the impacts of stress on the mental health of students in school and university. It is essential to ensure a solution for rising academic stress faced by teenagers as shown by statistics. Our brain is the crucial tool needed for education, we need to show it more care and attention.