Stress and the Student: How can we deal with life’s pressures?
More stories from Haliey West
With everyday tasks as well as high school demands, it’s easy to feel stressed and overwhelmed.
Stress is pressure or tension forced by someone else or a material object; it can cause a person to have a mental or emotional strain.
Stress is something we can not hide from. It affects almost all of us at some point in our lives.
Things to think about: how can you cope with stress and what are some ways to manage time and decrease the stress level?
Senior Chris McCullough said, “I deal with stress out on the football field and on wrestling mats. I think sweat is the greatest medicine next to laughter.”
Another good way to get things off your mind is music. Music can ease and leave a positive mark on you.
Freshman Nick Miller, who is in band, said, “During band practices and competitions I forget about the bad things going on, with the help of my instrument and the people around me. They are like family and music is the bond we share.”
Lauren Clay, sophomore, said, “I have to talk to my friends and family; that’s the best way for me to get things off my mind and to get a better understand of what is going on.
“I also run everyday. Not just for cross country, because that itself is stressful but because it is my stress medicine,” Clay added.
While students are probably most stressed out right now, teachers may be struggling o juggle it all as well.
Math teacher Panagiota Rouvalis, who just had her first day back on October 10 after being home with her newborn baby, said, “I was nervous. It’s definitely nice to come into my class for the first time and have students who listen and are nice enough to help me get back into the swing of things.”
If you think you are alone, just know there are plenty of people who are in the same boat as you. Stress has an impact on all of us. Just find the best way for you to deal with it, whether through talking it out, doing something physical or indulging in your artistic side. You can and will overcome any problem you may be having!
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Haliey West is new to Periscope this year. She is writing in the student life section. She is a senior this year and can not wait to start the next chapter...
Annie Griggs • Jan 17, 2015 at 6:01 pm
This article speaks to a lot of high school students. It’s something everyone experiences in their lives at some point, and it’s nice to hear of both students and teachers here at CHS that acknowledge this fact. This article is great in that it explores that fact and how to deal with it in better ways.
Abbey Poirier • Oct 31, 2014 at 11:04 am
I think that this article gives students great tips to relieve stress.
Lauren Clay • Oct 31, 2014 at 10:59 am
I like how you talked about teachers with stress and students with stress. It was awesome how you got many different points of view and a lot of different information coming together to create a great topic of discussion!
BrieAnn Arnsberger • Oct 30, 2014 at 12:18 pm
I really enjoyed this article and the tips that it gave. I am a high stress person, so this was a relatable topic. Between balancing school, work, and the college process, life is very busy right now. Being a senior is not all it is cracked up to be. Students are put under a lot of stress and pressure, and I believe that it is important that we learn how to handle it. I agree with the suggestions given on how to relieve some of the tension in my life. I find that going to the gym with my friends, and sometimes even making a list and crossing out the things that I have finished, helps to alleviate my stress. I know that stress can have many negative effects on the body, so I am trying my best to learn how to deal with it better. The most reassuring part of this article was when the author mentioned that everyone is in the same boat. It is comforting to know that I am not the only one dealing with stress.
Bego Sejmenovic • Oct 29, 2014 at 10:06 pm
I think a way to deal with stress for students is to have less homework, some of the teachers just don’t seem to understand that we each have more than 1 class, and they each assign about an hour of homework a night, its not fair, no one can work well while under constant stress, teachers should know that by now.
Claire Hillison • Oct 29, 2014 at 8:53 pm
For me, laughing is always the best way to deal with stress. It lightens the mood and can actually make you feel physically better. Also, a cup of tea never hurts!
Autumn Rowe • Oct 29, 2014 at 12:30 pm
This is a really good article because teenagers do actually have a lot of stress between school work, sports, extra curricular activities, and some peoples home life. It can become a lot. But I feel like every person just needs to find that one thing that helps relieve stress for them. But stress also can be helpful to people to be able to accomplish things.
Isabel Blumenthal • Oct 29, 2014 at 11:24 am
I love how you chose to write about something that everyone can relate to, especially around this time of year. I think it’s great that you offered possible ways to deal with stress! Sports, clubs, and other extracurricular activities are definitely helpful when overcoming rough times. Your last paragraph is flawless. The fact that you let the reader know that they were not alone in their times of hardship is really kind. I think this is a great piece of writing and thank you for sharing it with us!
Bry Youtzy • Oct 29, 2014 at 11:07 am
I think there is an amount of stress that can be healthy. I have stress in my life, but I think it helps me function throughout my life better.
Leanza Lopez • Oct 28, 2014 at 9:27 pm
I think it is great that this article mentions teachers dealing with stress as well. Sometimes we don’t consider how stressful the life of a teacher may be because we tend to focus on how stressful our lives are. Growing up with my mom, who is a teacher, has shown me that teachers have a lot of other life situations to deal with outside of the classroom. I think we are sometimes guilty of thinking teachers have only one job; teaching us.
C Lopez • Nov 12, 2014 at 2:03 pm
I think that your compassion, strive and integrity will lead you to great things. Taking into consideration those around you is the golden rule and I’m sure your mother has had a great influence in the way you think about others. She obviously did a great job with her family.
Sarah Ann Jensen • Oct 28, 2014 at 2:10 pm
This article is very accessible to not only students, but teachers as well. I think the incorporation of teacher’s perspective really helped emphasize the idea that everyone has to overcome stress, and no one is alone in feeling overwhelmed. I think the writer did a good job of providing the reader with different sources and view points of stress and how to beat it. She gave not only physical ways to overcome it but also more relaxing, artsy ways too. I think this is a good piece to appear on periscope because of the relevance and connection stress has to school (especially for seniors).
Sheyenne Hart • Oct 28, 2014 at 11:10 am
I think this is a great article. It really describes the stress from our point of view, and I like the section where she talked about the teachers too. All of us get stressed, including teachers and exercise really helps relieve stress.
Rebekah • Oct 28, 2014 at 10:05 am
This is a great article. Stress is something that we all deal with pretty much every day and it definitely takes its toll on us. Hopefully more students will read this and it will help them deal with their stress in a creative and positive way.
Kenleigh Peet • Oct 27, 2014 at 9:00 am
Very good article, it’s so relevant! I think and hope that if more people knew how to handle their stresses, more people would be nice! Stress makes so many people act all funky!
Brandin • Oct 24, 2014 at 7:32 pm
Stress is an issue that I’ve learned to deal with. Running and music really help me cope with the stress of life in general. Also, just being around my friends at school is a great time to ignore it. You dont feel stressed if youre having fun. If we decide to enjoy, instead of dread, going to school we might experience less amounts of stress.
Abigail Payne • Oct 24, 2014 at 2:11 pm
These are great suggestions for stress relief. The best ways to cope ultimately come down to the individual and their preferences. I like that you mentioned how no one is alone; everyone has stress in their life.
Julia Pantleo • Oct 24, 2014 at 1:38 pm
I like how you acknowledged that the teachers are stressed as well, it was an interesting take on the topic.
Alexis Spence • Oct 24, 2014 at 11:45 am
This article gives good ideas what to do when someone is stressed out. It is easy to become stressed in high school because we have lots of projects and tests and it could become overwhelming. When I am stressed I listen to music and talk to my mom. When I am stressed I mainly listen to rap or hip hop and that gets my mind off of things. I don’t listen to songs that would make me feel sad. My mom is like my best friend so she is always there for me and gives me advice. So this article is good with helping with stress because it is very common.
Marshall Powell • Oct 24, 2014 at 8:29 am
The article touches on some of the many reasons students here a CHS might be lacking in their academic studies. I know from experience that sports paired with social life and grades are a lot to deal with your senior year. For me it’s hard to reach out to teachers and other forms of faculty, but they’re willing to help if you ask. Good job on the article. Keep up the good work.
Mallory Ranck • Oct 23, 2014 at 9:28 am
I love this article! Stress is such a big part of our lives today and sometimes we feel like we are alone. It’s good to know that we are never alone when it comes to stress. Also, there are many good suggestions in this article as to how to reduce stress. Great job!
Belmin Beciovic • Oct 23, 2014 at 8:41 am
This is a really good article, cause lots of people can relate to this article, and it provides some good information on how to get rid of the stress people are having.
joe rodriguez • Oct 23, 2014 at 8:15 am
I think this article is a great write about stress but it doesn’t take a point against how school is a major stress factor. dealing with schoolwork day in and day out plus sometimes studding for multiple test in the same week, it takes its toile. Also not only the work that comes with school but also teachers in the school. Not saying that they are bad but simply stating a teacher’s grading, and production of work ethic she expects can wear students out at times.
Michaela McQuaig • Oct 22, 2014 at 10:38 pm
These are great ideas to help relieve stress! Sports, music, laughter and having a social life are all great ways to relieve stress. The teacher perspective is also very cool and interesting to hear about it, because many students forget how much work their teachers have to do. Teachers have to plan lessons for the whole school year, cater to each child to help them learn, and do all the grading for the things they assign to us- while having a family and dealing with the real world. Great article and well written!
Joshua Winton • Oct 22, 2014 at 9:31 am
I think this is a really good article because of how pertinent it is to today’s students. We all have stress and are struggling to put the pieces together, and it’s frustrating because often, teachers forget that we take other classes too.
Rachel Day • Oct 22, 2014 at 8:37 am
This is a good article, and I think it is something that every high school student can relate to. Unfortunately, stress is very common, and it is virtually impossible to avoid it, but it is important to have activities to help reduce stress.
Devin Stossmeister • Oct 16, 2014 at 9:39 am
This is a pretty good article. I will try these things to help get rid of my stress. Also whoever is the boy in the picture oh my goodness is he attractive. Someone should give him a movie role or something. Wish I knew his name.