High School And Stress

[J]

Ever since entering 10th grade my stress levels had rapidly increased. I feel as if I am always under pressure to do all my work but I don't want to really do it.  Don't get me wrong, I have great grades but terrible work ethic. Recently on the PSAT I took I even felt as if my academics won't hold. I seem to always worry about doing my work but  resist. Is there any way others have dealt with these problems?

[Frogfucius]

@J Grade school was stressful for me. I hated it. I wouldn’t go back and do it again. It’s a culture geared towards conformity and bullshit, arbitrary academic grading scales. At the time I just rolled with it and succeeded from what was expected of me, but looking back, the system is very unfair and rigged against the majority of children and teenagers. There’s no true guidance or help in a time when young individuals need it most. Instead, you’re pushed on through the conveyor belt system, shoved out into the “real world”, and become accustomed to chasing the dangling carrot that you’ll never be able to catch.

Not to sound like a pessimistic jerk off, my point is that you’re not alone with your stress. The majority of high school kids are under some psychologically grueling circumstances. Just enjoy life, enjoy the present moment, don’t take anything too seriously. Sure, do well in your grades, but don’t freak out over anything. Maybe in your spare time, do some meditation, research some philosophy, listen to speeches and read some books from spiritual leaders. Over time, these things will help ground you and get you back into swimming with the current of life, instead of swimming against it.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Frogfucius

[Zane]

Welcome to the Forum, I understand the increase in stress and that stagnant motivation and fortunately, I can recommend strategies. I realized that you shouldn't overwork yourself to get better grades or to work harder. I make sure to focus on balancing relaxation strategies with studying because if you study with relaxing than you're creating inner misery for yourself. I used to be neurotically motivated by grades and I disliked a lot of my classes because I had little to no passion for some of my subjects.  There are so many relaxation techniques and strategies like meditation, deep breathing, or drinking tea, or visualizing your happy place. The best academic strategy for success is working together with your teachers, having tutors, and seeking help from classmates because that will be extremely helpful and it will eliminate a lot of stress. I highly recommend Actualized.org's videos on How to Study, Advice for High School and College Students, his meditation videos, How To Focus, and Stress Management. 

[J]

Tlhanks for the advice. Hopefully it wI'll help!

[Christian]

Firstly, I would say that the number one thing that has helped me has definitely been meditation. Meditation calms the mind down and gets you in touch with the present moment. It sounds to me that meditation might be right for you as well as many other individuals including myself who is also going through this academic pressure which is highly stress inducing. 

Secondly, get a planner and organize your life. Something that I am looking into currently is lifestyle minimalism and tidying. If you have too much stuff around your study area and your house and it is not well organized, that will increase your stress levels.

I just finished a book called "the life changing magic of tidying" which helps one develop a clean organized space and minimalistic lifestyle. I highly recommend if my descriptions apply to you.

[Vaishnavi]

@J I can completely relate to you as I myself am in last year of high school. I've really stopped caring about grades cuz I realized that I was doing it simply because of maintaining a 'reputation' and 'standard'. I was so into this idea of getting grades and excelling at school that I completely ignored the other aspects attached to my life. 

Currently I'm working on improving my lifestyle, especially my diet and sleep schedule. 

I'd recommend you to take up the basic activities and work on them like exercise, diet and meditation. Write it on a piece of paper and stick it somewhere where you could clearly see it. Take up just one habit and try to be consistent at it. Don't be tempted to take everything at once cuz I've tried it and it only make things worse. 

Also try spending some time by yourself where you're just being. 

[TeenVisionary98]

@J Hi there! I've definitely been in the same boat as you, and I found the overall  reason for this was simply a lack of purpose in life. I used to want to achieve good grades to please my parents because growing up, I was highly praised and rewarded for doing good in school. The problem with this is that once we encounter some rocky waves, we will do anything to maintain those grades even at the stressful costs of procrastinating and cramming. Leo compared this to being like a dog jumping through hoops. The mentality that ultimately saved me from this rut was that we need to have an overarching purpose as to why we're trying to do school work. If work ethic is a problem, then visualizing whatever you desire in life will ultimately program your subconscious mind to do what is necessary to get to where you want to be. The desire for this future serves as a purpose to motivate you through hardships, and you will come to see how your mindset about school and life shifts in the process of visualizing yourself as already accomplishing your goals. Good luck!