The Power of

Academic
Pressure
The mental health of adolescents
today is steadily getting worse over
time. Around 13.9% of children and
adolescents aged 4 to 17 years met the
criteria for a diagnosis of a mental
disorder in the last 12 months. Since
young people today spend so much
time in school, academic stress is
considered to play a major role in
poor mental health.

According to research, excessive

levels of academic stress can result
in an "increased prevalence of
psychological and physical
problems like depression, anxiety,
nervousness, and stress-related
disorders." As a whole, the pressure
to perform well academically is put
on students from their family, the
school, teachers, society, and even
themselves.

Academic pressure may be put on

young people from family
expectations, the high standards they
set for themselves, stress placed on
them by society, or even tutors and
school administrators. This makes
students naturally prioritise
academic attainment above
everything else in their lives.

This pressure can cause:

obsession with grades
anxiety
extreme competitiveness
changes in appetite
working constantly
stimulant abuse (e.g. caffeine,
prescription medications, etc.)
sleep difficulties
inability to relax
social isolation
loss of interest in pastimes
Research has shown that academic pressure can lead to anxiety and
depression. It is possible that exposure to multiple academic-related
stressors may lead to persistent and uncontrollable stress. Research
has also shown that anxiety symptoms are correlated with academic
stress as academic stress is a risk factor for anxiety symptoms
among students.

A review study was conducted in 2019 by the American College

Health Association, and found the following data in relation to
academic pressure:

Two of students reported feeling

stressed about poor grades.
thirds

said they often worry about taking

59% tests.

reported having academic anxiety

Over half regarding test taking, even when
they felt prepared.

said they felt very tense when

37% studying.

of college students reported having

35% anxiety symptoms.

30% of college students reported

suffering from depression.

All these factors in turn can affect an individual's lifestyle, including

how they perform academically, resulting in academic pressure
having the opposite of the desired effect.

When experiencing anxiety or depression, students use most of

their mental capacity to create and process worrisome and
negative thoughts. This makes it challenging to have a positive
mindset and can be exhausting for students, impacting their
learning abilities as they have a lack of interest in learning, poor
performance in exams and on assignments, and reduce their
energy level, concentration, dependability, and mental ability. In
addition, the reduction in overall academic achievement can lead
to increased dropout rates.
 Being stressed, especially about academics, can result in negative
effects on relationships with friends and family. Some common effects
are regular arguments, fighting, and poor communication skills. It can
also hurt relationships with family and friends in general due to a
change in mood and energy. Often, people bottle up or keep their
stress to themselves, which makes it difficult for others to understand
what they're going through to provide support for them. Stress in an
individual can create a negative cycle in which people "catch" each
other's stress. Emotional problems such as depression, anxiety, anger,
guilt, and low self-esteem are some of the common causes of stresses
in a family household.

Academic pressure can also lead to dangerous issues such as

substance abuse, as today substances are becoming more commonly
used by younger populations as a coping mechanism. Students may
use substances to relieve the tension and decrease the feeling of
being overwhelmed, due to experiencing high academic pressure.
Students may also turn to substances in an attempt to improve their
academic performance.

Some substances being used to reduce stress or improve academic

performance may include alcohol and marijuana (often used to help
relax and relieve tension), sedatives (commonly prescribed to
patients to help with anxiety or panic attacks to increase relaxation
or sleep, but may be abused because of this), and stimulants
(commonly prescribed to patients to increase alertness, attention
and energy, mostly for those with ADHD, but may be abused due to
their ability to increase focus and attain consistent attention).

Overall, academic pressure has been proven to have negative

impacts on not only a student's academic performance, but also
their lives and even their future. Having the opposite effect on
academic performance, pressure on students to do well counteracts
the reason academic pressure is put in place initially. A decrease in
grades and overall achievement can impact other aspects of a
student's life, such as their mental health, which in turn impacts
their family life and relationships with others. It may also lead to
long-term issues such as substance and drug abuse, which impacts a
youth's quality of life.