By: Brooke Kirkpatrick

Whether professionally diagnosed or self diagnosed, anxiety is a common mental disorder among students, especially in high school. We all know back to school time can be a very fun and exciting time, but it can also be quite stressful, especially with those suffering with anxiety.

Back to school anxiety amongst teens going into high school has been on the rise amongst children and young adults since at least the 1950s, said the National Institute of Mental Health in October of 2014. Whether or not you have AP, honors or regular classes, they all have the potential to add mass amounts of stress in your day to day life. “Having an AP class can bring some stress, especially when you have four of them like me. I try to remind myself that it’s just classwork, class discussions and it’s nothing to be worried about,” said senior Dana Simon.

There are many ways to help cope with your back to school anxiety. One key way is thinking through the situation and finding a positive solution. Teachers, parents and peers are great people to talk through your anxiety for back to school with, especially your peers because some of them may be feeling the exact same way as you. “My friends are definitely some of the people who calm me down about my back to school jitters because they are going through the same thing and help me understand that it isn’t as bad as I think it is,” said junior Carly Miller.
Freshmen probably have the highest amount of back to school anxiety because they’re coming to a new school with a just under 1800 students in attendance. Having to make friends, find classes, get to lunch and start your new school the right way. “I’m only a few days into my first year of highschool but it has been a lot more stressful than middle school already especially with there being so many more kids,” said freshman Eddie Burns.