EYE OF THE EDITORS: Managing Stress and School Workload
Students should keep mental health in mind when making decisions about their classes, activities and how they spend time in general.
May 22, 2018
With multiple AP courses, extracurriculars and standardized tests to worry about, it’s no surprise that the average Diamond Bar student seems to be overstressed and unhappy. While this culture of sleep deprivation and stress-crying is normalized at Diamond Bar, students and teachers should be more conscious in their efforts to prioritize their mental and emotional health over their grades and academic rigor.
Faced with intense competition and parental pressure, students seem to face their daily lives with a singular goal— to get into the college of their choice. Students in every class find themselves constantly competing with those around them, and forcing themselves to do extra extracurriculars or pile on AP classes just to compete.
Much of this work is not created from personal interests or passions, but the desire to match up to personal and social expectations. This mindset might play into the harsh work ethic that most Diamond Bar students subscribe to, but fails to put weight on balance and being able to maintain an emotionally healthy lifestyle through focusing on passions and getting help.
By overstressing about academics in lieu of addressing anxiety or stress head on, students put themselves at risk of developing unhealthy ways of coping with their problems, pushing aside happiness for work.
The high school experience is not solely checking off volunteer hours and extracurriculars. High schoolers cannot rely on unhealthy coping habits such as stress eating and self deprecation to solve their problems, or allow mental health problems such as depression and anxiety to go unchecked. Students at DBHS need to realize that as important as their education is, they also need to ensure that they are living life in a well rounded way.
With this singular mindset of getting good grades and getting into college, it’s difficult to see the bigger picture— that personal fulfillment also comes with an investment in one’s mental and emotional health. Students need to make time for relaxation and stress relief, and also choose to move past stereotypes by reaching out when they are battling depression or anxiety. Whether to family, friends, or even the school Wellness Center, taking the opportunity to get help shouldn’t be seen as weak.
In this critical time period when high schoolers are learning who they are and who they want to be, students should allow themselves room to grow and develop emotionally instead of endlessly stressing about their GPA.
