Roots of Pressure
School Environment
From a young age, school becomes a second home for everyone; people establish strong bonds, discover their interests, and discover who they truly are. In recent years, however, schools have become a stressor for many students, initiating levels of anxiety, stress, and eventual mental health issues.
Symptoms
While study burnout manifests in many different ways, it originates from stress. This is why it is crucial that one recognizes the symptoms of stress and addresses them as early as possible. These symptoms include:
-
Insomnia or excessive sleeping
-
Intellectual exhaustion
-
The inability of the brain to absorb further information
-
Lack of motivation
-
Procrastination
-
Forgetfulness
-
Frequent headaches
Causes
-
With more students and the same amount of opportunities, the college admissions process has become an entire stressor on its own. With a complex system, it has startled many teenagers from a young age. Many begin to worry about the admissions process from their Freshman year (age 14) and continue to worry until the arrival of their admissions notification.
-
Another factor contributing to stressors related to the school environment arises from parental pressure. With many parents placing endless pressure on their children, many begin to focus on how to please them without necessarily disappointing them. This also connects to a feeling of endless anxiety, and a need to perform well while also feeling academically validated by both teachers and parents. It's an endless cycle and a process that continues into their eventual adulthood; making them feel the constant need to please others with their performance.
-
Schooling is a period of discovery and lasts throughout all children’s years of development and growth. This is essential to the development of one’s self-esteem, character, and personality; the need for a supportive school environment is necessary for growth and maturity. High School is also a time for big changes, such as puberty and developing who they are; teenagers need time to properly discover themselves and understand who they want to be. With a pressurizing school environment, this becomes hard to achieve and develops into a bigger issue as they go into adulthood.
-
High School is also an environment where outside pressures can interfere. Family issues, mental health issues, and diagnosis can all interfere with academic performance and self-esteem, as well as their social behavior. With constant pressure on both the home and school environment, students weaken to the point of developing other issues. It is important to keep constant mental health checks, and communication, while establishing a strong support system to maintain a balanced well-being.
Effects
-
Academic burnout can lead to serious physical, emotional, and behavioral symptoms, significantly impacting a teen’s well-being and daily functioning. Students mostly experience constant fatigue, regardless of how much sleep they get, which can lead to a decline in health. Most importantly, stress has such a negative effect on a person’s body that it can result in headaches, insomnia, digestive problems, and even heart palpitations.
-
Burnout can also affect students’ physical health as students tend to experience more illnesses due to a weakened immune system, as well as promoting unhealthy coping mechanisms like overeating or substance abuse.
-
Furthermore, disinterest in hobbies, school, and social activities may occur, contributing to a sense of dissatisfaction with life. They may experience a tendency to withdraw socially and disconnect from their friends and family.
-
Getting to a point of burnout after prolonged stress has several physical and emotional negative effects, which is why it is crucial to address academic burnout to enable teens to thrive in their personal, social, and academic lives.
Correlation with Anxiety
-
With academic pressure, burnout, and a toxic school environment; these issues can lead to the next stage of mental health issues, mainly anxiety. Different studies prove that a positive school environment will positively impact teenage mental health; meaning they will be less likely to have anxious, stressful, and harmful thoughts. Meanwhile, students who encounter a negative school environment (specifically stressful in terms of academics, ignorance of mental well-being, and prioritization of academic results) are more likely to develop anxiety and other complications that can develop into more complicated issues as they grow older.
