Dealing with Anxiety and Depression
Amy wakes up on a cold and dull morning struggling to get out of bed. The air in her room is crisp and dry, Perhaps her senses are not working yet. Inevitably she collects enough energy within to urge herself up but since sleep was on and off all night, she nearly falls back asleep. Moseying downstairs, her mom has made a pleasant, healthy breakfast of eggs and bacon but she rejects with small thought as to why. The bus ride to school is more miserable than it is on any ordinary day and when arriving at school, Amy feels anxious and her self-esteem has fallen drastically. School is so difficult to focus on, homework is piling up, and eventually, her mom gets so mad that intrusive thoughts tell her the answer to escaping this torment is self-harm or death. The burden of these thoughts is carried on her back every day.
Today’s modern teens are more stressed than ever before. Whether it be their school work that stacks up, a non-productive and negative home life, or social anxiety from peers around them, anxiety and depression are rising constantly as the world goes on.
The pressure from school is seen as the biggest piece of the puzzle to teens’ stress. Following the strict schedule of school, and feeling the pressure of performing well academically is weighing students down. “When I have a lot of work to do when I get home I’m wasting time for my work by doing other things,” said Aliviyah Mateo, an 11th-grade student at Kingsway Regional High School.
Anxiety is a factor in everyone’s life, but when it starts affecting your ability to do everyday tasks is when it becomes a problem. “Anxiety adds the potential to touch every part of life, sleep, ability to stay organized, it has the ability to prevent your function to do anything,” said Owen McBride, a guidance counselor at Kingsway.
A junior here at Kingsway commented on how anxiety affects her day-to-day life. She said, “I feel constantly overwhelmed and that affects how I interact with others. Sometimes I can be extra agitated simply because I’m stressed out”.
Depression and anxiety are one of the largest issues teens face in today’s world. The tension from school sets up pressure from their guardians if they ever underperform on their school work. Stress from school can tend to carry over into their social lives, teens will isolate themselves and lose interest in activities they once enjoyed. It becomes a constant cycle of stress and anxiety for these teens and learning to manage it can be difficult, but not impossible.
While anxiety and depression can feel uncontrollable, there are ways to manage this stress. Taking time to do the things they enjoy, and separating work from fun is very important. Getting regular exercise, sleep, and good nutrition will also help manage stress. If people get to a point where they feel hopeless, they can always meet with a mental health professional to manage feelings of stress and anxiety.
Fortunately, Amy started going to the gym and reached out to her counselor. Now, she still gets stressed but is able to manage it well.
