This month of April is stress awareness month; it is important to know it exists. With stress comes many factors like anxiety, depression, anger, and irritability. Stress can be caused by big changes, pressure, and being overwhelmed.  Stress can cause a shift in attitude, mental health, and eating habits. One big side effect of stress that many students tend to deal with is insomnia, which then leads to them missing school and being more stressed. Coping with stress is very important because it affects your body in many ways. During April it’s important to take care of your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. 

There has also been a long history of stress awareness, originating from the UK in 1998. It had originally only started as a day but then turned into a whole month. 

How to deal with stress 

There are many ways to deal with stress such as taking care of yourself by taking breaks from social media, or homework. Having time to yourself is important because it helps relieve stress from your mind. Talking to friends or someone you can trust is also important because it might be a way to disconnect from the world. Taking time to destress is very important because it might help relieve you even if you don’t think it will. Something positive that might help you de-stress is to think about what you’re doing the best you can do. If the outcome could be better you know you did what you could. 

 Stress over school and work

School can be a source of stress for many high school/college students. Most students tend to stress about school because they have the mentality that they need to impress their parents and teachers. After all, they have high expectations from them and want them to succeed. According to Jannik Linder, 83% of students report that school is one of the main reasons they are stressed. 45% of students say they deal with stress daily. Stress not only affects students but it can affect everyone in their everyday life. As stated by, the American Institute of Stress 83% of US workers suffer from stress and tend to miss work. In the words of, John Kenneth White, one-third of adults feel stressed and overwhelmed daily. All in All, not only students but teachers and parents can be stressed too. Not everyone shows they are stressed but it is okay to show you are stressed because there are many resources to help you de-stress. 

Stress in the U.S. 

Ever since COVID-19 stress rates have gone up dramatically, as mentioned in the article Stress in America 77% of Americans’ stress levels have gone up since the pandemic. This stress has affected students with their future because it leads them to unnecessary problems that lead them to not go to school. Since COVID stress levels have gone up for many things like healthcare, mass shootings, immigration, and climate/global warming. 

What do parents notice? 

So many adolescents struggle with stress, but where do parents come into this equation? Parents tend to notice the small things their children tend to hide but never what the students try to hide. Parents are the ones who have to suffer with their children when they are going through something. They are the ones responsible if a student no longer attends school, and has conflict at school. Many times, when a student is stressed, is because of school and often tends to not go to school which can affect the parents as they would have to go to court to get their kid to go to school. CBSNews reports that 22% of parents notice mental health challenges such as stress in their child, which shows that parents do take notice of what their children are dealing with but parents cannot always be on top of their child emotionally. Especially with our generation, we tend to hide our flaws and imperfections from our friends and family which can lead to loneliness and the feeling that no one is there to help.

If you ever feel stressed over a class where work has piled up, reach out for help and ask your teacher if they would allow an extension to your work. Teachers are there for you to learn and grow. They are there when you need help.

On campus there is always a safe place where you can sit and stay if you need to de-stress on campus which is called the Coyote corner. A lot of students find the coyote corner to be a welcoming and safe place where they can talk to someone if needed too. 

Student Interviews

The first person we interviewed this month was Jayden Zermeno. We started off the interview by asking if he had dealt with stress lately. He said “Yes”. His reason was because of homework. He deals with stress by “listening to music”. One thing he shared that might help others deal with stress is listening to music. One thing that brings a smile to his face after a tough day is listening to music.

The next person we interviewed was Freshman, Gerry Martinez. We first asked him if he had dealt with any stress lately. He said yes, and the reason was “because of school”. The next question we asked was “On a scale of 1-10, how stressful is school? He said “10”. He deals with stress by listening to music. He thinks that doing whatever makes you feel happy might help others deal with stress. One thing that brings a smile to his face if he’s feeling stressed is drinking Coca-Cola.

We then interviewed David. We asked him if he had dealt with any stress lately. He said, “Yes sometimes”. The reason he’s stressed is “grades, school, and balancing everything”.  The next question we asked was “On a scale of 1-10, how stressful is school?” His answer was “Like a 7”. He deals with stress by doing something he enjoys, something fun. He thinks that being involved in activities has helped him, so he thinks it could help others as well. One thing that brings a smile to his face no matter how tough his day is, is theater.

The next person we interviewed was Jesus. We started by asking him, “Have you dealt with any stress lately?” He said “Yeah”, and the reason why he’s stressed is because of school. Then we asked, “On a scale of 1-10, how stressful is school?” He said, “Like a 6”. One way he deals with stress is by going out with his friends and in his free time he plays soccer. He thinks that focusing on yourself and trying to be happy is the best way to deal with stress. One thing that brings a smile to his face no matter how tough his day has been is seeing his family happy.

Then we interviewed Janelle. We started the interview by asking if she had dealt with any stress lately. She said yes, and the reason is because of school. We then asked, “On a scale of 1-10, how stressful is school?” She said, “Like an 8.5”. She deals with stress by going on walks. She thinks staying off of electronics and going outside to look at nature is a good way to deal with stress. One thing that makes her smile no matter how tough her day is, is family and friends.

The last person we interviewed was 9th grader, Camila Pedroza. The first question we asked her was if she had dealt with any stress. She said “Yes”. Her reason for being stressed is because of schoolwork. We asked her “On a scale of 1-10 how stressful is school?” She said “8”. She deals with stress by thinking of other things and trying to find out the problems. She thinks that focusing on other things or looking at the bright side of things is a good way to deal with stress. Her friends bring a smile to her face no matter how tough her day is.

In honor of Stress Awareness Month, we dedicate this article to raise awareness. Stress goes back many years, lots of people from 1998 to 2024 and many more years to come, have and will experience stress. Some ways students cope with stress are by hanging out with friends and listening to music. Stress is a normal thing. It’s okay to feel stressed and there are many ways to cope with it.