Every year, students around the county deal with tons of stress originating from all kinds of sources: school, family, extracurriculars and countless other causes. Limited stress is good and promotes productivity, but oftentimes stress can be very destructive, making students’ lives very difficult and worrisome. With all kinds of factors contributing to increase stress levels, students should develop some ways to cope with stress and quickly recover from it.
One of the biggest causes of stress is school, which can be very unforgiving on students. “I think the education system puts too much emphasis on grades and numerical results instead of the true substance of learning. This means that students will be more concerned with a letter grade than the mastery of the material, which causes lots of stress.” Kaya Clark, a junior at RM said.
Everyone has different ways of dealing with stress, and all stress is different. However, one thing is important: identifying the source of the stress. “I like to pinpoint the problem or problems,” Tejas Nazare, a junior from Richard Montgomery High School said. “This way, I can methodically come up with solutions to eliminate the stress. I always try to work hard in order to solve the problems that are causing my stress.” However, it is often difficult or even impossible to completely solve the problem. “When that happens, I just tell myself that it is out of my hands and try to forget about it,” Nazare said.
Other techniques for dealing with stress often align with students’ unique hobbies and interests. “When I still can’t get the stress out of my head, I like to work out,” Nazare said. “The weights help divert my attention, and working out is great for my body and health as well.” For those who do not like to pump iron when stressed, Richard Montgomery senior Kisha Yan has an alternative: baking. Regardless of personal method choice, it is important for students to do something that can help take their minds off of the cause of the stress.
As students in Montgomery County approach AP season, the amount of stress in high schools will begin to spike. It is important to keep in mind that the best way to minimize stress is to prevent it from being a major problem in the first place.
Article by Linsen Liu of Richard Montgomery High School
Graphic by Charles Wang of Walter Johnson High School