A junior downs another energy drink, their third one of the evening, preparing for yet another all-nighter to cram for their midterms. A sophomore succumbs to the need for sleep in the early hours of the morning, their head on their desk, hair splayed across an honors chemistry textbook. A senior rocks back and forth in a spiral of panic, college applications, upper-level courses, and extracurriculars piling up in their mind like cinder blocks. In these moments, stress, anxiety, and fatigue have completely overwhelmed these students. But come first period, every one of them will be joking with their friends, bouncing stories back and forth to see who truly had the worst night.
I cannot count how many times I have overheard battles for bragging rights, where the winner is the one who is closest to the edge. Who cried the most last week? Who slept the least? Who will be the next to crack in class? It is hard to listen to, but even harder to admit that I am by no means immune.
The harmful effect that this kind of environment has on students has become normalized, making it all the more damaging. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), approximately one in five youths aged 13-18 in the United States struggles with mental illness. Within Piedmont, the statistics are even higher. According to the 2017-2018 California Healthy Kids Survey, 27 percent of 9th graders and 27 percent of 11th graders had experienced “chronic sadness or hopelessness” in the previous 12 months. 12 percent and 13 percent, respectively, had contemplated suicide in that same amount of time.
These statistics, and the actions taken because of them, are just some of the effects of what increasingly appears to be a national trend. According to Corporate Wellness Magazine, the United States may very well be moving into a state of what they have dubbed “cultural stress”– that is, a national identity that normalizes overwork, economic anxiety, and constant competition. Though initially acknowledged in the corporate workplace, recently, many of the country’s most elite colleges and universities have turned a critical eye towards their own “stress cultures”, examining student mental health and the overall school environment. It is past time for Piedmont to do the same.
These issues are deep-rooted, and the way we examine them must be nuanced. While the conversation about mental and emotional illness is an important one, it is essential that we have it in a way that focuses on solutions rather than glorifying the problem.
The faculty and administration have not ignored this issue. They have met extensively to tackle scheduling conflicts and established the Wellness Center, a safe, quiet space that is open all day to all students, whether dropping in or seeking long-term counseling. But their work is far from done. Stress minimization is integral to creating an environment in which students can thrive. This could take the form of more built-in study time, or increased awareness surrounding mental well-being– overall, examining the educational process with the goal of reducing pressure and anxiety. This is a college preparatory school with high-achieving students. We want to succeed, and ultimately, many of us will do so whether or not the methods that we use are detrimental to our health. So to the professionals: please keep this in your consciousness, and help ensure that student mental health is as much of a priority as learning and growing, because one cannot successfully exist without the other.
In the meantime, we can make individual adjustments to improve our quality of life. We can eat three meals a day, and sleep, even when those things don’t conveniently fit into our busy schedules. We can take time for ourselves and use the resources already in place, like the Wellness Center. And perhaps most importantly, we can stop playing the stress game. This does not mean losing our collective sense of humor, or silencing ourselves when we are struggling. But the competition, the need for each of our anxieties to be validated as the worst… it has to end. The sooner we realize that we are on the same side, the happier –and healthier– our school environment will be.