The Effects Of Academic Stress

One of the biggest problems among students within post-secondary are the struggling issues of mental health such as depression, anxiety or stress which leads to the failure of adequate nutrition. The age of when mental disorders are clear to one’s self is between the age of 18 to 24 as this is the age of many adolescents are going into higher education (Kessler et al., 2005) . University students who struggle with depression and anxiety majority of the time is caused by the academic stress of being a leading cause of their mental health. As a survey was conducted by campus counselors, many found an outstanding factor of parental pressure for high grades from their child causing many students stress, depression and anxiety which elevates expectations within the student (Watkins et al. 2001, p. 322). These high rates are due to the feeling of being badgered to achieve high grades and maintain their grades while balancing their social life.

According to a study by the Associated Press and mtvU, “eight in 10 college students say they have sometimes or frequently experienced stress in their daily lives over the past three months,” (‘Stress in College Students”). College Students are inevitably going to be affected by stress at some point throughout their college experience; however, the cause of the stress can vary by student. Some of the causes of stress on college students can be tests, homework, home life, social life, and jobs. Many times, college students have all or most of these causes piled on top of one another; therefore, giving them extremely high levels of stress. There are many negative effects of stress on college students.

My day just started and I’m already beyond stressed; I had to wake up, fix my hair, put on makeup, find my suit, and then bring myself here, ugh. As a high school student, I go through a good bit of stress trying to juggle advanced placement classes, clubs, a social life, a job, and writing this oratory; it seems like I never get a break. According to the American Psychological Association, high school students score a 5.8 on a ten point scale of stress during the school year, whereas adults score a 5.1. To put those scores in context, the APA suggests that the healthy level for a high school student is a score of 3.9. Clearly, teens are inundated with high levels of stress, and to make matters worse, the adults around them often refuse

In this day and age, due to heavy homework loads, difficult classes, high maintenance social lives, and extracurricular activities, students can experience exceeding levels of stress during the school year. As the 2017-2018 school year starts, teenagers everywhere are coming to the realization that school has started and it’s time to learn again. School has reached a point where it is fundamentally a job, and a teen balancing all aspects of their lives can be tremendously difficult. Whether it’s not getting enough sleep, not completing classwork, or being under constant pressure to do well, students all around the world deal with the hardships school brings.

A new national survey suggests that teens across the US are feeling high levels of stress that they say negatively affect every aspect of their lives. More than a quarter (27%) say they experience "extreme stress" during the school year versus the minor 13% in the summer. 34% expect stress to increase in the coming

Stress that high school students face everyday and how they deal with it are affecting their lives negatively. Not only stress from school work, homework and friends but life at home too. Maintaining good grades, keeping on top of homework, and preparing and sorting out your life for the future and/or university are a great source of stress.

In a survey done by the American Psychological Association, they found that 30 percent of teens were dealing with feelings of sadness or depression due to stress, while 31 percent felt overwhelmed. This is not new information. With standardized testing designed to make-or-break a student, homework, preparing for college, sports, extracurriculars, and spending time with family and friends, it is no wonder an average student’s anxiety is high- even higher than adults. Standardized testing, huge onslaughts of homework, and the pressure of getting into prestigious universities are all factors that induce stress, anxiety, and even depression.

Now, how many of these students do not typically undergo an encouraging experience within America’s high schools is what’s unsettling. Flipping through 3 significant sources, what was most commonly reported as a typical mood of a High School adolescent was stress, being the most talked about characteristic. Sophie Bethune notes that “Teens report that their stress level during the school year far exceeds what they believe to be healthy (5.8 versus 3.9 on a 10-point scale)” (Teen Stress Rivals That of Adults, apa.org) while Dr. Rosalind Dorlen on another source mentions that a majority of the symptoms reported from adolescents experiencing an abundance of stress include “a high level of stress are persistent and ongoing anxiety and depression, elevations in blood pressure and other somatic complaints.” (High School Seniors and Stress, stress.lovetoknow.com).

One of the most common issues that affect college students on campus are mental health conditions, such as stress, anxiety, and depression. In fact, the American College Health Association concluded that almost half of the participants in their 2009 study met the criteria for having a mental disorder (American College Health Association, 2009; as cited by Demyan & Anderson, 2012). The high stress environment that colleges and universities provide students with can lead to unhealthy behaviors that can affect class performance and can allow preexisting mental health conditions to get worse. A student going through a mental health crisis may lose their drive to do well in school, lose their desire to socialize with their friends and peers, and lose their motivation to attend class (Brandy, 2011).

This week was very stressful and I am glad that it is coming to an end. Most of the stress is geared around my classes and grades as we start to get our first grades in Introduction to Student Affairs. This week was also very busy at my assistantships as we started the lunch and learn program for the year. I have also made it a priority to focus on reflecting this week and using the questions from last week’s journal.

Psychological stress is pressure placed on a person to adapt, cope, or adjust to a situation (Rathus, 2016, p.284). The result of prolonged stress can affect a person’s mood, pleasure experience, and have harmful effects on physical health (Rathus, 2016, p.284). Society in the twenty first century places high demands on people. Technology makes it very difficult to separate work life, school life, and home life. Today, society places a high value on a busy lifestyle for individuals. For example, many places of business are open twenty-four hours a day. In addition to societal pressures, attending a university adds to the stressors a person may experience. Going to school not only includes classroom time but it also includes homework,

Over the years many studies have been conducted to determine what creates stress and how college students can cope with stress. Stressors in a student’s life can be created through personal, educational and social experiences. A student faces many experiences while transitioning from high school, to college, and into adulthood. These experiences include: living arrangements, personal finances, important career decisions, experiences of failure, interpersonal relationships, and personal finances. These stressors involved with daily hassles can create an unhealthy high pressure environment which makes stress for college students inevitable. During one study, researchers found that physical activity throughout a student’s life can increase one’s stress tolerance and positively cope with stressors (Bland, Melton, Bigham, & Welle, 2012).

Many people in high school, mostly teens, experience dozens of pressure in their life. To be specific, Schoolwork. Most teens want to excel in school, but want to have a social life or play some kind of sport. One thing that teens don’t understand is that once you’re out of high school, you have college, and then maybe graduate school. Our education will not be over just in High School. You have to work hard and these four years of your life, will impact everything that you do. If you mess up even once, it may ruin everything. This article is named, “Teens Biggest Stress? School.” It has been featured on MSNBC.com. It is written by, “The Associated Press”. It explains how 13-17 years old have the most stress in their high school life.

Every year, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. Stress is the most important factor in why students give up on school. Being a recent graduate from high school, I clearly understand exactly how the many components of high school can be stressful. There are many causes and effects of stress on young high school students. The homework load on students can cause stress, Time management is a factor if stress, and Peer pressure is a big cause of stress for high school students. The stress on students in high school can greatly affect their academic performance, it will eventually affect their attitude, and it's going to have a great effect on their mental and physical health. In the next few paragraphs, I will be explaining the causes of stress on high school students.

Based on these findings from research done previously I feel that this study is important. Firstly, we need to understand what causes the stressors and how it affects the individual. For example, if you have an entire university with stressed students, not being productive, not performing well academically perhaps thinking of dropping out of university because of the overwhelming anxiety; it can be detrimental to the institution in terms of status and students in terms of individual realisation. Secondly, we soon have to formulate effective and efficient stress management guidelines as we