Academic Anxiety
How to lower your school stress level.
by Michele LoBosco and Jacqueline J. LoBosco, Ph.D.

TWEENS & TEENS News February 2008

A recent survey conducted by Associated Press revealed some alarming statistics. Eighty-five percent of the young people polled said they felt stress at times, with 45 percent of the female population and 32 percent of the male population reporting frequent stress. When asked what was the top cause of stress, teenagers ages 13-17 named academic performance.

In other words, if you are a teen or tween who experiences stress regularly, you are not alone. But, why is it so common for students to feel stress?

The majority of middle and high school students today have a full life that includes school, hobbies, afterschool activities and homework. Extracurricular activities likely take up at least two afternoons per week until at least 7pm, prompting you to study into the wee hours of the night. Plus, lack of sleep and persistent anxiety can lead to wear and tear, even for the most resilient student. Moreover, in addition to your school-related responsibilities, you may be juggling household and family tasks, even a job like babysitting or tutoring, as well as an active social life. So, it’s no wonder that many of you feel overwhelmed.

The good news is that there are strategies you can use to effectively overcome obstacles, deal with pressure and diminish stress. And maintaining the right attitude regarding your work and responsibilities helps to keep such challenges from becoming major burdens.

Get to know yourself better
Observe your learning preferences and keep in mind that everyone learns differently. Some students are excellent visual learners and learn best when instructors draw pictures, graphs and diagrams on the board. Some kids are auditory learners and learn best when instructors speak lessons aloud. Some kids are strong conceptual learners, whereas others are good at memorizing facts. Some are good in algebra, others in geometry.

Realizing how to take self-inventory is an important and empowering skill. Developing a clear understanding of your own strengths, weaknesses and preferences allows you to navigate exams and homework assignments with minimal effort. Similarly, such self-awareness assists you in forming and sharpening the questions you ask your teachers.
The reason for this is when you know your strengths, you can effectively use them to your advantage. You can plan and strategize. You can get help in the areas you most need assistance and ask specific, rather than general, questions. Likewise, when you are aware of your weaknesses, you can develop strategies that help you compensate for them.

Get into the habit of classifying your skills. Identify which skills you possess and which need to be sharpened— which tasks and subjects come easily to you as well as which do not. After evaluating your knowledge, abilities and learning preferences, you will find that your efficacy increases. Also, take note of the methodologies that feel most comfortable to you. Once effective methods are discovered, you can implement them consistently until they become habitual, making academic success virtually effortless. After all, knowing the strategies that best serve you increases the efficiency of time spent devoted to class work and homework, and decreases the frustration that results from hours of inefficient studying. As the ease in completing assignments increases, you’ll feel less anxious about your responsibilities.

Set short, achievable goals
Another successful technique to decrease your anxiety is setting clearly defined goals. Although most students have a sense of the things they want to achieve, many neither state those goals— either aloud or on paper— nor create an action plan for achieving them. However, without a plan, having goals may provoke anxiety. That is, wanting something but not knowing how to get it may make the goal itself seem unattainable and overwhelming.

Here’s what you should do. Identify your long-term goal and then articulate the reasons why you want to achieve it. Ask yourself the following questions: Why am I trying to reach this goal? Is this goal in accordance with my dreams and aspirations? What does success mean to me? Answering these questions helps you create your own model of success and understand what’s important to you.

Many young people take on the goals of their friends, parents, siblings or guidance counselors without questioning what is really important to them. Steer clear of doing this. Instead, identify what is important to you. Becoming aware of why you want to achieve something gives you a deeper understanding of the nature and level of your personal motivation. And once you have identified what is truly important to you, set out on a path to support yourself in doing things that matter and are going to fuel your level of inspiration.

Next, choose a series of short-term goals that, if accomplished, would organically lead to the culmination of your ultimate aim. Focus on the first short-term goal, and take every step necessary for its achievement. After achieving that goal, focus on the next goal and take all necessary steps to achieve that goal. Follow this procedure until your long-term goal has been accomplished. In short, start with a good plan and follow it. Don’t doubt yourself and don’t give up!

This procedure is highly successful because it keeps your attention on the short, achievable steps that can be accomplished rather than on the long-term goal, which is often intimidating. Each time you accomplish a short-term goal, it is important to acknowledge your success.

Celebrate your successes
As you achieve each of your short-term goals, acknowledge and celebrate that accomplishment. Direct your attention on each success as you achieve it and break larger goals into smaller, easier to manage units. This allows you to celebrate the journey as well as the destination. Besides, each small success fortifies your confidence in your abilities and yourself.

Students often give more attention to their setbacks than to their daily successes. They focus on “failure,” and consequently wire themselves to believe that failure is a more likely outcome than success. But, it’s anxiety inducing to think that failure is a probable outcome. Therefore, each time you achieve a short-term goal and have accomplished a certain level of success, celebrate! Continually remind yourself that you have succeeded at many things and you are capable of succeeding in your present endeavor. You’re capable of accomplishing whatever you set your mind to— be it completing tonight’s English homework, writing your semester term paper or compiling a biographical album about your grandparents for their anniversary.

Put it all together
Incorporating these steps into your daily routine enables you to more successfully manage your academic responsibilities and your extracurricular activities. Taking responsibility for your tasks provides you with a strong sense of self and empowerment. With these steps, you better develop the self-knowledge, confidence and motivation to achieve your goals without the stress, strain and frustration experienced by many contemporary tweens and teens.

Michele LoBosco and Jacqueline J. LoBosco, Ph.D., are co-founders of Academics Plus Tutoring Center and authors of How to Ace the SAT Without Losing Your Cool and the The SAT Success System Personal Workbook (both by MJ Publishing). Academics Plus Tutoring Center is a tutoring and training company based in New York City that specializes in personal development, academic enrichment programs and test preparation for individuals of all ages. To learn more, visit www.academics-plus.com.