Cara Burke, Year 10
As students, I am sure that many of us have either experienced anxiety or watched a friend go through it, and I’m certain that all of us who have experienced that can remember the panic which they felt whether it was their own experience or their friend’s. Watching someone you care about go through a rough time can be very hard, and when they, for the most part, do not receive the help which they deserve, it can make the whole ordeal even more stressful. The World Health Organisation has stated that adolescence can generally be a healthy time, but the third most leading cause of death for teenagers in 2012 was suicide; among the top five causes for YLD (years lost to disability) are, surprise, surprise, unipolar depressive disorders and anxiety. It has been found that anxiety affects around 25% of adolescents, meaning that, in secondary school, around 200 of us will experience some type of anxiety disorder at some time in our teenage years. This is obviously a huge number; however, it is somewhat unsurprising considering the fact that we have to balance schoolwork, such as tests and assignments, and keep up our good grades whilst also trying to balance a healthy social life and staying fit through exercise. Balancing all of this can be extremely difficult and is most certainly not helped by anxiety.
This is a serious problem which we should obviously work to amend; luckily, there are a few ways in which people can relieve anxiety. The National Health Service in the UK recommends two and a half hours of exercise a week to help relieve stress and tension, as well as encouraging the brain to release serotonin which helps to improve your mood. Learning to relax through meditation and yoga; avoiding caffeine, smoking and drinking; and contacting support groups are also recommended by the NHS to help relieve anxiety.
However, as I stated before, teenage-hood is a very busy time. With work and social life it seems as though many of us do not have time for things like sleep, let alone meditation, yoga or exercise. How many of you have stayed up until the early hours of the morning, struggling to finish a piece of work for school? Even if that is due to procrastination (I definitely know it may be in my case), having enough time to work on relieving stress can be extremely hard. From the feedback taken from students after classes in which meditation has been tried, there were many different opinions; many people seem to be relaxed by it, but many also claim they struggle to see the point. There is one psychologist for the secondary school, and though I think that that’s a very good thing, is it really enough? I think the school as a whole needs to help work with students to discuss things like anxiety, helping people know they’re not alone, allowing time for people to learn more efficient ways of managing their time to allow for a healthier lifestyle and eradicating any impression that anxiety and panic is simply one of those things which accompanies teenage-hood, because it shouldn’t be.
