Counselors and teachers all around campus see the stress students endure, possibly adding to it or trying to help their students with it. However horrid it may seem to a student though, these same teachers and counselors have a different, outside perspective that could really help students manage and understand the stress they are going through.

Many students feel as if they’re drowning in the stress they endure, as if their parents just couldn’t understand what it means to be a highschool student in the 21st century.

When asked if this is true, whether stress has increased since the time he was in high school, Counselor Nick Archibald of SLC A2 said,“I think it [stress] has increased and will continue to”.

According to Art and AP Studio Art teacher Mrs. Allen, stress has increased at least 30-40% more from when she was in high school.

A lot of things contribute to this increased stress students feel. While Mr. Rust, the Mock Trials, AP US History, an regular US History teacher, believes that stress from classes generally hasn’t changed for many students, he does believe that today’s students overbook themselves way too much, especially with all the AP classes available to take.

“Take classes you know you’re going to be good at, don’t  take too many of those challenging classes” Mrs. Allen advises.

There are things such as friends and family that Mr. Archibald, Mrs. Allen, and Mr. Rust all agree affect students and always will.

“High School is very social, there is a lot of anxiety in trying to be popular and it’s just a natural thing at that age. There is also unnecessary drama” Mrs. Allen said about how friendships can contribute to stress.

Often times family and pressures to do so well in school add to the weight upon a student’s shoulders. Mr. Rust talks about how sometimes parents can make a student believe that if they aren’t getting into a certain college, they just shouldn’t go to altogether.

Mr Rust says, “Don’t see this as the end” talking about applying to college and not getting into your first choice, “pick carefully and plan for the future, don’t plan for results”.

One thing many students don’t realize adds an excessive amount of stress is social media.

Mr. Archibald says, “It’s hard to see when it’s always been a party of life. It has in many ways created unrealistic body goals and unrealistic goals”.

Many things create an enormous amount of stress for a high school student. They challenge themselves to the extreme in order to make it into college, friendships and family, even social media all makes on impact on the weight they bear on their shoulders.

There are many ways to try an destress, So Mr. Rust advises,

“You have to get some exercise, even if it’s just taking a walk or meditation techniques… develop healthy reactions and mindsets to deal with stress”

“What helps to settle me is having confidence in myself and patience and knowing everything will be fine. Also, breaking it into pieces, let me knock out today while it’s today” Mr. Archibald says.

Finally, Mrs. Allen says, “Having a balanced life. I think that’s very important, being more balanced in everything they [students] do. Maybe it’s yoga, exercise, simplifying things or decluttering their life”.

Taking these ideas and advice could help more students get an insight as to why they are feeling so stressed, target that reason and help destress in positive, helpful ways.