"The Silent Struggle: Teen Stress and Its Impact.”

“83% of teens are stressed about their academics“

They stress a lot about grades and maintaining them and also force

themselves to get better and better grades. Stress decreases focus, increases

procrastination, and is experienced as fear or concern. It’s overwhelming. The

moment we are stressed will make us delay the task we have to do and this in

turn causes more stress. Procrastinating, such as waiting until the last minute

to study for an exam or finish homework, has been a recurring issue for

students. This is something that even I had to go through during my 10th

grade and hitting my head against the wall. It's worth noting that

procrastination is often an attempt to reduce stress by delaying the task.

While this might temporarily alleviate stress, it can lead to negative

consequences beyond poor academic performance.

As a result of the vast number of responsibilities students face, including an

array of subjects to study, numerous exams to prepare for, assignments to

complete, and extracurricular activities to participate in, the workload can

become overwhelming. The sheer volume of this work, coupled with the

essential need to manage time effectively and balance these various tasks,

can indeed lead to a significant amount of stress. This stress can have

profound effects on both the academic performance and the mental

well-being of students, making it a critical issue to address.

A good example of academic stress is the Entrance tests. In India, we have

exams like JEE and NEET whereas in the USA we have SAT and ACT. These

exams are a life-changing opportunity for many students as they help them

get into college. These exams are of high competition especially in India due

to the high number of applicants and the few numbers of seats which causes

significant stress among students. It is not only that we give these tests for

the admission process or is the only process for admission but nowadays

passing or cracking exams like NEET/JEE has become a symbol of recognition

which is not a good sign. Recently as we can see the NEET-SCAM has caused

big trouble among students who want to pursue a career in the medical field.

Due to this, a student attempted suicide in Rajasthan Kota which again is the

10th case this year (Hindustan Times).

Prevention:

● Students can prevent stress by managing their time and prioritizing

tasks based on deadlines so that they can avoid last-minute stress.

● They must always seek out someone to support them during their

stressful time by talking with their teacher and friends. Which will give

them a different perspective to look at things and provide more clarity.

● It is also on their parents who must realize that if the students don’t do

well or don’t meet their expectations. Parents must console them and

make them feel that it is okay to make mistakes rather than

pressurizing them and scolding them for their mistakes.

● Students must also make a plan B in case they fail to meet their

primary goal. This is a must in case of entrance exams. If you failed or

didn’t qualify then you must have another plan. It’s not that the exam is

the only way. There’s always another way.