Stress, no matter how annoying, is an important part of life. One could even say that experiencing stress is something people from all walks of life go through. 

Students experience stress every day from school, jobs, and even social and family life. Stress can hide in activities that are meant for fun. It shows upright as you go to make the most important shot of the game, making you question your abilities. It makes your toes curl and brings sweat to your forehead. 

Students have unique ways of dealing with stress outside and inside of school that range from listening to music to putting on insane amounts of hand sanitizer. Some students have unconventional ways of dealing with stress, not just the average breathing exercises.

”I just forget about [my stress and stressors],” said Drew Perigo (‘23). Neglecting and procrastinating is the most effective way to get rid of that pesky homework. Like any normal person who puts off their tasks in hopes that they will just disappear, it rarely seems to work.

Maddie Blake (‘21) said she gets an average hour to three and a half hours of homework every night from her AP calculus, AP government, Spanish, and English classes. “When I’m stressed, I usually take an hour-long shower which doesn’t help my situation, but it calms me down,” Blake said.

Minsun Morales (’20) said that she deals with her stressors by “zoning out and playing music on my headphones until [she feels] good enough to do [her] homework.”

Students Bella Longbrooke (’23) and Torren Clemens (’22) both said, “I just cry.” Sometimes people just need to cry in order to be able to focus on their tasks at hand.

Fernando Contreras (’21) and Mrs. Cassie Sonnenberg, an English teacher at MHS, use running as a stress relief activity and to take their minds off of their responsibilities.

If you find yourself in a stressful situation, don’t be afraid to take out your running shoes or hop in the shower to cool off. You might even discover a new and unusual way that you deal with stress.

Many students who are dealing with stress are unable to put it out of their minds and have fun. Students tend to overthink these tasks and procrastinate. They put too much pressure on themselves to get it all done in time which adds to their already existing mound of stress.   

Healthy ways to deal with stress for students is to not take getting it done too seriously. Though schoolwork is important, it is not worth having a mental breakdown over. High school students regularly deal with large amounts of stress and it’s important to find healthy coping mechanisms that work for you. To learn more about stress in high school students, check out this article by the Atlantic.  Students should quietly play their favorite music and then begin working. Don’t be afraid to bop your head or break out into a dance routine once or twice. Homework will be more stressful if you don’t allow yourself to have any fun.

If you know that once you start dancing you can’t stop, then grab a snack and then try to tackle your homework. It will be easier to do your homework with an energized brain and a full stomach.

For further tips, read ”Help me, I’m stressed!” an advice article by Shelby Lewis.