STRESS, STRAIN, AND A HURTING BRAIN
How stress affects us as students and what it can do-
For starters, this is a very big topic to tackle, so I‘m not going to be able to cover everything, but I can speak from experience.
Stress is a big thing nowadays. In any adult with a busy life, or just a regular student. I’m almost 100% sure that if you ask any student if they’re stressed or have been by school, they will say yes. Students from middle school all the way to grade 12, are all going through a lot of worries, whether it be from school, homework, or some other reason.
Stress, when unattended, can lead to some dark outcomes, such as some hints of anxiety, depression, or even suicidal thoughts. Basically, the brain can get so overwhelmed and send you into a panicked yet numb state. Now I promise you, I’m not making any of this up, because I myself, have gone through a majority of these.
Stress, when left alone, can lead to devastating outcomes, including Now I promise you, I’m not making any of this up, because I myself, have gone through a majority of these.
I’m definitely not saying that I know everything about this, but I believe I know enough. Stress, in my case, has changed my life completely, and not in a good way. It made me look at things in different ways, for example, getting up in the morning seemed so much harder. I couldn’t find a reason to get up, as if nothing mattered anymore. I was too scared to look at anyone I knew because I was scared they would judge me or see me differently, wrong, maybe even dumber. I was too scared to face my teachers, because I was scared they would frown upon me when they see that I’m behind on things. Stress does some hurtful things, I’ll tell you that.
Stress can also lead to overworking, or the fear of not getting everything finished on time. It could force the brain to finish things ahead of time, which may seem like yeah, that sounds great. But, working ahead might lead to many mistakes, not changing things up as you learn more over time, which could also possibly allow you to gain the habit of being work-free and leading you to forget about deadlines, pouring a lot more stress on you. I’ve known people who has had this happen to them, and it’s depressing, really. Watching them be proud of what they’ve accomplished, just to have that overcome thing come back. It’s like its own tiny little monster, feeding off of you, and when you think it’s gone, it comes right back to bite you in the butt.
Now, for a student to go through that amount of stress is kind of impossible on their own, which is why councillors exist. They are there for everyone going through tough times, and are always willing to chat. For us, we have Marie-Anne Glavan, the high school councillor.
“I’ve seen hundreds of kids, all for different reasons. Sometimes for self harm, suicidal thoughts, death threats, stress, and for other things too.”
She has helped so many people in so many ways in such a different way than other councillors even try to think of going for. Her aim is to get kids to open up and share what they’re going through, so she can help come up with ways to get them through whatever it is they’re stuck in.
I find that teachers unintentionally choose to ignore these things. They choose to push them aside as if they didn’t exist. I completely understand that the school would do anything to help out students, but a lot of the time, they don’t understand what’s actually happening. Such as kids with anxiety. They’re usually too scared to tell the teachers or peers that they strongly don’t want to go up and speak in front of the class, or something along those lines. Most teachers just say to take a breath and it’ll be fine. I understand where they’re coming from but they just don’t understand. It could cause panic attacks or for the student to be frozen and being unable to speak. Trust me, it’s true. It has happened to me and it is definitely not fun.
I’m just proud of whoever came all this way and has gone through stuff like that. It’s really about the people who surround you and care about you. Stress and mental issues are really hard to overcome, and it really is amazing how people can overlook those tough things.