Opinion: School Can Negatively Impact High School Students’ Mental Health

Has school ever made you feel like your drowning? I believe there’s many reasons school can cause a negative attitude on teenagers mental health. 

As I get further into the school year, I notice my mental health drops. I feel as though many other teenagers can relate to this. Missing assignments and bad grades can be stressful and overwhelming, this can effect students negatively and can make some feel drained. It’s not only the schoolwork that can cause people to feel this way, other teenagers can be harsh as well and put others down just to feel better about themselves at school.

A recent RHS google survey asked how school can cause stress. Freshman Pyper Taylor stated, “There’s a lot of pressure to get good grades and my parents at least are really strict with grades. School work can be difficult at most times when your behind no one really cares to help. It’s really up to you.”

I can relate to this as it becomes exhausting trying to please everyone and overworking yourself makes you feel worse. It can be difficult for some students to speak up when they need help or don’t understand. This can cause them to feel even more stressed and alone.

In an article titled “School Stress Takes A Toll On Health, Teens And Parents Say” an NPR healthy policy writer Patti Neighmond wrote, “Teenagers say they’re suffering, too. A survey by the American Psychological Association found that nearly half of all teens — 45 percent — said they were stressed by school pressures.”

It is important to know that if you ever do feel as though you are hurting because of school, you are not the only one. Many students struggle with school for different reasons and many students cope differently as well. It is also important to check up on your classmates and friends because they could be a part of that 45% too.

A recent RHS google survey asked how do teens cope with the mental weight of school many students answered saying they don’t have a way to cope. Others said they do things they enjoy to distract themselves, sleeping so they don’t have to think about it, and just ignore it. One student even said they cause self harm. Clearly everyone deals with their problems differently.

In conclusion, many students agree that school can cause problems to teenagers mental health and I am not the only person who feels this way. If you ever feel alone talk to someone you trust, bottling up your emotions does not help your mental health. Just speaking to someone goes a long way.