What is it?
- School stress can lead to anxiety, depression & burnout.
- Seek support from trusted adults, like parents or counsellors.
- Prioritise self-care & stress management techniques.
- You don’t have to navigate these challenges on your own.
Here's more detail
Description
School stress can be a significant trigger for emotional problems among young people. The demands of academics, exams, extracurricular activities and social pressures can create a whirlwind of stress. This can lead to emotional issues like anxiety, depression and burnout. It’s important to recognise that it’s okay to feel overwhelmed by school-related stress, and you don’t have to navigate these challenges on your own.
When school stress starts to affect your emotional wellbeing, it’s crucial to seek help and support. Talk to a trusted adult, such as a parent, teacher or school counselor, about what you’re experiencing. They can offer guidance, resources and sometimes even accommodations to help you manage the workload more effectively. Additionally, you may find it helpful to prioritise self-care and stress management techniques like exercise, relaxation and time for hobbies and social activities.
Description
- Learn more
YoungMinds explains that everyone worries about things that happen at school from time to time. There’s a lot of pressure to get good results, make lots of friends, do well in every subject and be a ‘good student’. These stresses during school can sometimes feel too much. The important thing is to recognise when there’s a problem and ask for help as soon as you can.
Struggling with school-related stress can negatively affect your mental health. It might make you feel anxious, withdrawn from your friends, less confident, less motivated, physically unwell or stressed and angry.
Here are some tips from a young person on how to navigate school with mental health difficulties:
- Speak to someone you trust at school about what’s going on for you
- Remember the basics of self-care – make sure you’re getting enough sleep, exercising, drinking enough water and eating a balanced diet
- Ensure that you have enough time to rest and have fun
- Try not to put too much pressure on yourself
You may want to consider getting help for school- or university-based stress if:
- You’re struggling to cope with it
- Things you’re trying yourself are not helping
- It is affecting your life or school/ university work
You could try speaking to friends, family or your university tutor. A GP is also a good place to start and they can help you with advice or access to treatments if you need them.
To learn more about school stress and mental health, visit the links below.
Fact
An online UK stress survey found that 60% of young people (aged 18 to 24) have felt so stressed by the pressure to succeed that they have felt overwhelmed or unable to cope.
Video
In this video Kate, a trainee health psychologist, explains the Stress Bucket which can help you identify what is causing you stress and what you can do to reduce it.
Voice
Whilst we hope that every childhood is free from worry, stress is a part of life. We can’t protect children from experiencing stress, but we can encourage them to find ways of managing their own wellbeing. It might be difficult for children to articulate abstract worries, and encouraging other means of expression such as drawing or writing might be a first step to get them in touch with the root of their stress.
- Helping young people manage stress, Nip in the Bud
Some resources that may help:
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