Anxiety
By Tiffany Zheng
For the majority of people, experiencing anxiety is simply part of life. Anxiety is your body’s natural response to stress, such as preparing for a competition or having an important project due soon. These are feelings of apprehension or fear of what is to come. These feelings become excessive and all-consuming, and they interfere with daily routines. While anxiety comes in many forms, there are five main types of anxiety: Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder). Sadly, people can develop some forms of anxiety during their teenage years or even childhood and can also negatively influence their personality, resulting in them getting easily flustered, being timid, lacking self-esteem, and more.
Most students experience generalized anxiety because they often handle and worry about responsibilities, academic performance, and high expectations from school. For children aged 3-7, 37.9% have behavioral problems, and 32.3% have depression. Anxiety occurs in students aged 3-17, but the students with the highest amount of anxiety are aged 12-17. The three main factors that contribute to the anxiety of students, especially teenagers, are early school schedules, large amounts of homework, and the current grading system.
How exactly does the school schedule cause anxiety in teenagers? Well, teenage “brain clocks” are about two hours behind those of full-grown adults. The delay may be a way that the brain has developed for more rest, recovery, growth, and development. The current school system has schedules that start as early as 7 A.M. even though the teenage brain is fully awake at around 10-11 A.M., meaning that while the teachers’ brains are fully awake and functioning, teenagers’ brains are barely waking up. This thus causes issues such as lack of sleep, losing focus, sleepiness throughout the day, and more for these adolescents. Unfortunately, teens can face additional forms of anxiety as to how adults respond to such issues, as most students can recall their teachers brushing off these problems and replying with “Just sleep earlier.” Some would go as far as disciplining students for their sleepiness or lack of focus in class caused by the unfit school schedule.
The following is an anonymous testimony from a sophomore student at The Bronx High School of Science:
“Many adults say that students are procrastinating, but deep down it is just us trying to find time for ourselves, so we don’t overload on anxiety and all this stress. All of us have pushed our limits to excess, but sometimes it’s just not enough to accomplish everything with satisfaction.”
On average, a high school teacher assigns about three and a half hours of homework each week. Assuming a student has at least six classes with different teachers, that could mean they get as much as 21 hours of homework a week, averaging four hours per day. With the current school system, most schools usually end at 3 P.M., so by the time students finish their homework, it would be around 7-8 P.M. without transportation and meals factored in. Most students have to travel to get home, meaning they would typically start homework around 4 P.M. Finishing all their homework for the day, they would finish at around 8:30 P.M., which leaves little to no time for themselves, their families, or other interests.
As high school students, teachers and professors expect them to participate in extracurricular activities, join organizations, volunteer, and contribute to the community. However, the homework load mentioned above does not give time for most students to participate in extracurricular activities, leading to students worrying about not having enough time to do both or balancing a consistent routine for their interests and college resume.
The following is an anonymous testimony from a sophomore student at Brooklyn Technical High School:
“Ever since school started, my stress level spiked. I have neck pain from sitting for more than 10 hours for homework and classes that are 77 minutes long. I have to balance internships, clubs, and normal school work, and I literally am behind on all of the tasks for internships and even had to quit one. Everything you do matters.”
When a student receives a bad grade, they may experience a spike of cortisol in their bodies. It happens because of the U.S. grading system. In such a system, A is the highest grade, F is the lowest, a failing grade. A is 100%-90%, B is 89%-80%, C is 79%- 70%, D is 69%-65%, and F is 64% and below. Now, most high school students can tell you that grades can make people become competitive. Additionally, the high standards that teachers and parents expect from students cause teens to worry more about keeping their grades up rather than their learning. It also makes teens believe that grades define who they are, and that bad scores mean that they aren’t smart or good enough.
The following is an anonymous testimony from a freshman student at Harlem Village Academy High School:
“I can have 12 assignments due at the end of class, and it’s hard because I don’t want a bad grade, but I don’t want to stress.”
Whether you’re an adult or a teenager yourself, please remember to take care of yourself because, at the end of the day, your mental health is far more important than a test grade or a project that is due soon. Some common symptoms of anxiety to look out for are fidgeting, body language, physical changes, poor school performance, word choice, and any overall subtle or extreme changes in behavior. If you observe such symptoms in your friends or coworkers or anyone that you know, please talk to them! Sometimes, people might simply need someone to talk to and rant and let their emotions out. If you know anyone that is heavily affected by anxiety or stress, please seek help for them!
