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Jasmine Wong

Mr. Wood

English IV

27 April 2020

Heavier Than the Biggest Textbook

Freshman year of high school, I spent countless hours staying up at night with an uneasy

feeling. My heart fluttered around my chest, taking away my breath. I would lay in my bed with

my feet stirring, trying to distract myself from the chaos I felt. But why? Life was as ordinary

and as normal as it could be, but I was filled with a constant feeling of uneasiness. I could not

connect why my brain persisted to worry to any real fears or concerns. These surges of

overwhelming discontent became exhausting. I lost sight of the things I enjoyed in life and felt

like everything in my life had gone wrong. This struggle became a huge motivator for me in

school. School was something that was never extremely challenging for me and something that I

naturally excelled in. The relief I felt from seeing my hard work pay off, encouraged me to work

harder and take full advantage of the academic opportunities before me. Earning good grades

gave me hope for my future as I knew they would open doors for me. Seeing myself succeed

brought me an immense amount of confidence and self-worth that I had been missing in my life

for so long.

Even though I was able to find relief in earning good grades, the unsettled feeling still

seemed to creep up on me all the time. These bouts of gloom never failed to pull me away from

doing the things I loved and those around me started to notice. My mom took me to the doctor

and they referred me to a psychiatrist. I told my psychiatrist all of my symptoms; the feeling of
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my heart going to pound out of my chest any second, the constant unease, and the perception that

everything in my life had gone wrong. When she asked me how I did in school, she was shocked

to hear my response. I told her that I enjoyed school and that I got straight A’s. She was

astonished that I was able to maintain good grades and stay motivated in school. My psychiatrist

told me that most of her patients my age that experienced the same symptoms, declined in

school. She proceeded to diagnose me with depression and anxiety and prescribed me some

antidepressants and some therapy sessions. Every time I saw my psychiatrist after that, she never

forgot to tell me how lucky I was that I was able to keep good grades because that was not the

case for her other patients in high school diagnosed with anxiety and depression. This brought

my attention to how many of my peers and other teenagers struggle with depression and anxiety,

and made me question how it negatively impacts their academic performance in school.

Anxiety and depression runs rampant amongst teenagers in high school. There are a

thousand different factors that contribute to these disorders in the lives of millions of teenagers.

“According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly 1 in 3 of all adolescents ages 13 to 18 will

experience an anxiety disorder” (McCarthy). That is about a third of the entire student body at

every high school across the nation. But why has this number increased so much in recent years?

Three major trends that have influenced this increase in anxiety and depression amongst teens

include high expectations and pressure to succeed, a threatening and scary world, and social

media (McCarthy). In today’s world, achievement is a big pressure put on teenagers. If you

aren’t captain of a varsity sports team, don’t take multiple AP classes, or aren’t planning on

attending a college that has an acceptance rate lower than twenty-percent, it seems as if you are

doing it all wrong and your future is doomed. However these expectations that society puts on
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teenagers to overachieve is unreasonable and sets them up to feel like failures. Not everybody is

capable of achieving such high accomplishments and teenagers can lose sight of that when it

becomes expected of them. The world can also be very intimidating for teenagers. As they go

through this phase of extreme growth and development, teenagers are also getting ready to start a

new chapter in their lives as they transition from children to adults (“Complete Guide to Mental

Health”). This can be very daunting for teenagers making them feel overwhelmed. Social media

is most often credited as the main culprit as to why depression and anxiety has become an

epidemic amongst teenagers. Social media allows teenagers to constantly be aware of every little

aspect of their surroundings. It is very easy for this to develop into an unhealthy habit in the lives

of teens as there are constant pressures to look and act a certain way that is promoted through

social media. While outside factors play a big role in contributing to the anxiety and depression

of teens, there is a biological component that plays a role too.

Most commonly, people recognize anxiety and depression as a result of a sudden or

ongoing event in one’s life. While this is true, many people are unaware that there are biological

factors that also contribute to the development of anxiety and depression in teenagers.

Adolescence is a crucial time in brain development, making the adolescent brain sensitive to

stress. Since the adolescent brain is sensitive to stress, it also becomes vulnerable to depression

and anxiety (​Anxiety and Depression​). Teenagers are predisposed to experience anxiety and

depression because of the developmental changes in their brain. Through neuroimaging

technology, Dr. Carrie Bearden, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, was

able to observe the activity in different areas of the teenage brain (Jansen). She found that the

regions of the teenage brain that undergo the most development during adolescence are the
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regions responsible for motivation, self-control, and planning. With these regions of a teenager’s

brain growing, they can easily be compromised by stress and lead to the development of

depressive and anxious symptoms. Becoming a teenager comes with a lot of responsibility that

an individual has never had as a child. These changes in an adolescent’s life can easily tamper

with their mental health as their brains are in a crucial and vulnerable time of growth. Teens can

also have a genetic predisposition to developing depression and anxiety. “People who have a

first-degree relative with depression appear to have a two to three times greater risk of

developing the condition than the general public” (“Depression”). Depression and anxiety can be

caused by chemical imbalances within the brain that can stem from genetic components. These

genetic components can be passed down and cause similar chemical imbalances that lead to

depression and anxiety. Genetics and brain development are key, underlying factors that lead to

adolescent depression and anxiety.

In an interview with Dani Webb, a registered nurse who received a bachelors of science

in nursing and psychology, she describes what it was like to raise a son who developed

depression and anxiety as he became a teenager. Webb is from Fresno, California and received

her bachelors of science in psychology and nursing from Cal State Hayward. Her son who is now

an adult, has suffered from severe anxiety and depression since middle school. Webb revealed

that the development of her son’s depression and anxiety stemmed from the divorce between her

and her son’s father when her son was in middle school. “The divorce took an immense toll on

him,” Webb explains. “He did not explicitly tell me he was experiencing changes in his mood,

but as his mother I could tell that he was different.” Webb continues to describe that her son

became very distant from everyone, he pushed all his friends and family out of his life and
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isolated himself. “He was filled with so much anger and frustration, and started to fail in school

and I knew he needed help beyond anything his teachers or I could do,” Webb recalls. Webb’s

son was able to receive medical care from therapists, counselors, and psychiatrists. Anxiety and

depression continued to affect his life all throughout middle and high school, but the help he

received taught him coping mechanisms and tools to help him succeed. With the support of his

parents, teachers, and doctors, Webb’s son was able to maintain his grades and graduate from

high school. Even though he was able to manage his mental health, there were still times when

he would retreat back into his anxious and depressive episodes. And despite being able to receive

treatment, anxiety and depression never ceased to make school a struggle. This is true for the

majority of the high school students that experience the same hardships.

Anxiety and depression are diseases that are very treatable and treatment options are very

diverse and flexible. No matter what age or severity, symptoms of depression and anxiety can be

alleviated. However, a large percentage of teenagers who suffer from depression and anxiety do

not receive treatment. “Anxiety and depression are treatable, but 80 percent of kids with a

diagnosable anxiety disorder and 60 percent of kids with diagnosable depression are not getting

treatment, according to the 2015​ Child Mind Institute Children’s Mental Health Report​”

(“Children and Teens”). If eighty percent of kids with diagnosable anxiety and sixty percent of

kids with diagnosable depression are not getting treatment, that means there are a lot of kids that

are struggling. They may not even be aware that the anxiety and depression they feel is a real

disorder that can be treated. A lack of awareness and education of mental health and psychiatric

disorders leads to a lack of treatment putting them at risk for academic failure, substance abuse,

and many other repercussions (“Children’s Mental Health Report”). The failure of teens
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receiving mental health care stems from being unaware and uneducated of different mental

health disorders. Without receiving any knowledge about what anxiety and depression is or how

to treat it, teens are not able to recognize that they are in need of professional help (“Complete

Guide to Mental Health”). Unlike an injury or the flu where a teenager or child can express that

their leg hurts or that they feel sick, expressing feelings of depression and anxiety can be

intimidating. Like Dani’s son, most teens do not know what they are experiencing when they

have depression and anxiety, let alone be brave enough to tell someone how they feel. I asked

Webb if she felt that being a nurse and having studied psychology in college helped her with her

son. She responded, “I think it definitely helped me connect the dots and recognize that

something was really wrong, especially since he never talked to me about it. I think a lot of

parents will see depressive and anxious symptoms in their kids and simply see it as a phase

rather than a real problem. Being able to realize that he needed more help than what I could give

him was a big step towards improving his mood.” Not only do teenagers lack the knowledge

needed to confront their struggles, but their parents do as well.

Many students struggle through school carrying the weight of their anxiety and

depression on their backs. They trickle through the education system with little to no help, and

are left to their own devices to juggle life, school, and their emotions. With very few students

experiencing depression and anxiety receiving treatment, their academic performance pays a

heavy toll. “When anxiety and depression are not identified and properly addressed there are

long-term risks for students. A student dealing with one of these disorders can experience

negative effects on their attention, interpretation, concentration, memory, social interaction and

physical health” (“Impact of Anxiety and Depression”). Attention, interpretation, concentration,

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and memory are essential skills needed to succeed in the classroom. Feelings of anxiety and

depression can overwhelm students and distract them from the task at hand. It can become

extremely overwhelming making it impossible to focus and concentrate. Unfortunately, this is

everyday reality for many students. They sit amongst their peers consumed by feeling

unmotivated or nervous that something bad might happen, while many people do not notice..

Over time this can cause students to fail. Not having control over their emotions and feelings

causes them to lose control of their grades and academics (“How Depression Affects Learning”).

School requires a lot of effort and focus in order to be successful, however, focus becomes

virtually impossible for students with depression and anxiety. Struggling in school only makes

these students feel more overwhelmed and frustrated. In these ways, depression and anxiety

directly impacts the academic performance of students.

Depression and anxiety has an indirect impact on a student’s academic achievement too.

Teenagers who suffer depression and anxiety are more inclined to abuse substances like drugs

and alcohol (“Teen Depression”). Teenagers will often look to drugs and alcohol to numb their

depression and anxiety and give them a sense of relief. Drugs run rampant through high schools

and are easily accessible. Teenagers easily become addicted and can stay addicted into

adulthood. Drugs and alcohol further inhibits their performance in school as it impairs cognitive

function (Winters). Depression and anxiety can also force teens to skip school. The irritability,

frustration, and lack of motivation from depression and anxiety often encourages students to stay

home (Flannery). Their symptoms can be so severe and overwhelming that they need to stay

home for days or weeks at a time. When a student does not go to school, they lose valuable

information and discussion that can only be found in the classroom. They can fall even further
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behind in school as they constantly have the play catch-up. School is a vital and central theme in

the lives of teenagers, and if left untreated, depression and anxiety can devastate a student’s

opportunity to learn.

In an interview with Sydney Alvizuri, a senior from Clayton Valley Charter High School,

she shared her experience dealing with depression and anxiety as a student. Alvizuri struggled

with anxiety and depression since she was little. Alvizuri recalled, “I’ve experienced anxiety for

as long as I can remember but I didn’t know what it was until I was in middle school. I would

always feel scared and nervous for no reason.” When she was in middle school she learned about

anxiety and depression from her friends. It wasn’t until high school that she decided to seek

professional help. Alvizuri explained that she did not decide to get help until high school because

she was always too scared to, and school became harder and more serious. Not only did school

get harder and more serious but so did her depression and anxiety. “I dreaded going to school

everyday, and nearly had a panic attack every time I sat down to take a test. My anxiety made me

so exhausted, that I would come home and want to turn everything and everyone off.” Alvizuri

seeked help and began seeing a therapist. Having a therapist gave her an outlet to share her

struggles and her worries. Working with her therapist she was able to learn coping methods and

different perspectives to help ease her anxiety. She was able to manage school so much better

after reaching out for help.

Anxiety and depression is a huge epidemic plaguing teenagers across the globe. Not only

are teenagers in an extreme time of personal, physical, and emotional growth, adolescence is a

big part of life that comes with many pressures to set the path for your future and discover who

you are. As my high school career comes to an end, I am excited for my future as I have learned
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a lot over these past four years. Not only did I learn a lot from my teachers, but I also learned a

lot from my struggle with depression and anxiety. While my depression and anxiety bore a heavy

weight on me emotionally, I became a stronger person and better student because of it. With the

support of my teachers and loved ones I was able to overcome my struggles and maintain my

goals. Teenagers should be able to identify the disorders they struggle with and receive care.

This starts by creating a community that does not shame or stigmatize mental health issues.

Teachers, parents, and peers need to approach each other with an open mind and heart.

Adolescent depression and anxiety can be detrimental to the academic success of high school

students, however it is something that can be treated and worked around to bring out the best in

each and every student.

Works Cited

Print Sources:

“Complete Guide to Mental Health” ​Centennial Health.​ 2019. Print

Web sources:

1. “Anxiety and Depression in Adolescence”​. Child Mind Institute.​

https://childmind.org/report/2017-childrens-mental-health-report/anxiety-depression-adol

escence/
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2. “Children and Teens”. ​ Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

https://adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/children

3. “How Depression Affects Learning”. ​Foundations Recovery Network.

How-depression-affects-learning

4. “Depression”. ​US National Library of Medicine.

https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/depression#inheritance

5. Jansen, Jaclyn. “How the Teenage Mind is Primed for Anxiety and Depression”​. Brain

and Behavior Research Foundation.

https://www.bbrfoundation.org/blog/how-teenage-mind-primed-anxiety-and-depression

6. Winters C. Ken. “Adolescent Brain Development and Drugs”​. US National Library of

Medicine National Institutes. ​https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3399589/

Primary Sources:

Webb, Dani. Personal Interview. 16 February 2020.

Alvizuri, Sydney. Personal Interview. 7 March 2020.