Academic Pressure in Teens: When School Stress Becomes Anxiety

When School Stress Becomes Academic Anxiety

Many teens experience temporary stress at school, such as not sleeping well the night before an important exam, or feeling nervous just before giving a presentation to their class. But for some adolescents, school-related stress may turn into something bigger and longer lasting: anxiety. 

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a normal emotion that everyone experiences. It might feel like dread or uneasiness, or cause us to worry about the future.^[1]

When it works properly, anxiety can keep us safe, like making sure we look both ways before crossing the road. However, it becomes a problem when we begin to see things that are usually safe as being scary. This is when it may cross the line into an anxiety disorder. 

Anxiety disorders are fairly common and affect nearly a third of adolescents in the U.S.^[3] Academic anxiety isn’t a diagnosis in itself; it’s an anxiety disorder that’s triggered by the academic pressure teens may face from school demands.^[4]

Anxiety disorders can affect people in different ways. For instance, if a child experiences a constant stream of worries going through their head, they may have symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. On the other hand, if a teen has a fear of reading aloud or speaking up in class, these might be signs of a social anxiety disorder. And a teen with severe test anxiety may even experience panic attacks before an exam.  

Unfortunately, having school-related anxiety can make it difficult for teenagers to focus in class, complete assignments, or even attend school.^[4]

Stress vs. Anxiety

It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish stress from anxiety, so here are the key differences:

• Stress is a temporary reaction to events like tests or deadlines.
• Anxiety is persistent and continues even once the stressful event has passed.

It can also be helpful to understand how stress and anxiety affect thought processes, as well as how long the symptoms last. Consider the following examples:

1. You have a test coming up in a couple of days. You might think, I need to study to pass this test. So, you work out a study schedule to ensure you know the key points you need to pass the test. You feel under pressure, but that feeling goes away once you’ve taken your test. 
2. You have a test coming up in a couple of days. You might think, What if I fail? Or, What if I disappoint my parents? You can’t seem to shake the worries and feel unable to focus on studying. These worries stay with you even after you’ve taken the test. 

The first example shows a typical stress response, which encourages you to study for a test. The second example illustrates what happens when anxiety kicks in, leaving you stuck in a loop of worry and negative thinking, which disrupts your ability to study.

How Stress Can Become Anxiety

Temporary stressful feelings can transform into persistent anxiety. This can happen when the academic pressure teens face causes frequent stress. 

Stress triggers the body’s “fight-or-flight” response, preparing us to respond to danger. This can lead to symptoms like our heart beating faster, clammy hands, feeling sick, and a sense of dread. Our body and brain become highly alert to danger. 

When stress occurs frequently, it can overwhelm the nervous system, meaning it can tip over into a near-constant state of being on high alert, rather than being a temporary reaction. This is how stress can turn into anxiety.^[2]

With a clearer idea of how stress can become anxiety, let’s take a closer look at some of the key signs that academic pressure may be affecting a teen’s mental health.