Stress is, and probably always will be, a part of student life. Heck, it’s going to be all throughout your life – but, that’s kind of good! If it weren’t for stress, humans probably would not have evolved as we did. Stress involves the same hormones that are involved in fear and anger – something called the Fight or Flight response in biology. Survival needs this response. Our distant ancestors were fighters (or fleers!); the most laid-back of them probably died.
Well, congratulations. You and your ancestors made it. But, the price you paid is a stress response that hasn’t changed since before the stone age. So, you have to live with it. Yes, you do. An entirely stress-free life is not only impossible, it’s probably detrimental. Realizing that you have a school deadline, seeing a yellow traffic light, or finally getting frustrated enough to clean your room all involve good stress. Reflecting on my own years as a student, I needed that structure. I needed deadlines. They kept me going and got me into gear to stop procrastinating and actually do whatever tasks I needed to do. Modern science confirms that there is, in fact, both good and bad stress. Prof. Firdhaus Dhabhar’s TED Talk will help you understand this better, but I’ll bet that you have experienced both in your life many times.
So, if you’ll never eliminate stress, what you need to aim for is managing stress. Many resources are out there, but here are a few:
I’ll throw in my final two cents about school stress, based on experience: the better you organize yourself and your time, the less you procrastinate or cram, the more you structure a routine for yourself will all reduce stress.
Stosich Science 