Resources like F-14 help students cope with academic pressure and mental health struggles.
According to New York University, around 49% of students feel stressed out because of their grades, homework and the idea of preparing for college. Freshman Lucía Bellver Eymann touched on many points surrounding academic pressure and how it affects the mental health of students. Bellver Eymann is taking an Advanced Placement (AP) class as a freshman, and comes from a middle school that had around 700 students, while Woodside has around 1,600 students.
“I think there is this need to be able to prove and prove that you’re worth being in that class,” Bellver Eymann said. “In middle school I came from, [I was] sort of the top of the class, but it’s a change now in high school, with a lot more students. I’m not [in] the top of the class anymore, and that creates stress.”
Elizabeth Harris, the site manager for the team of adolescent counseling services, mentioned how academic pressure can often have an impact on the mental health of students. An article from New York University states that stress can lead to mental health problems like depression and anxiety. Harris said that a lot of students feel pressure from their peers and family.
“Students, [often feel like they] have to take hard classes and get great grades and go to a great university, or [their] parents will be disappointed in [them],” Harris said.
This pressure has increased over the years according to Harris. When she was in high school, she noticed that there was significantly less pressure surrounding academics than there is now.
“Before there [were] reports out ranking colleges, I think people wanted to do well in school, but there wasn’t as much pressure about applying to so many different colleges and ranking so many different colleges,” Harris said.
Kathy Holmes, the mental health specialist at Woodside, had a similar opinion to Harris.
“I went to Sequoia High School a very long time ago,” Holmes said. “Expectations have definitely changed for students, especially those who are considering applying to four year colleges.”
Junior Anica Gaggar, who plans on applying to four year colleges, expressed feeling pressure.
“There’s definitely that added pressure about trying to get into college,” Gaggar said. “I do think from a personal standpoint, I’ve sort of loosened pressure on myself.”
Gaggar talked about the need to not put too much pressure on yourself freshman year. She remembered putting an intense amount of pressure on herself freshman year.
“Let yourself not care if you get a C-plus or B-minus on a test,” Gaggar said. “Retake it, but don’t stress about it. The world is not ending.”
There are resources at Woodside that can help students. Students feeling overwhelmed or stressed in class can take a 15 minute break at F-14, if they have a pass from their teacher. Woodside also offers counseling services to students, free of charge.
“I feel like students really need to make a point of taking care of themselves,” Holmes said. “[Don’t] only [focus] so much on academics. Also spend time with your friends [and] spend time doing things that you enjoy. There needs to be a balance.”
