The American Psychological Association reports that 59 percent of adolescents say balancing all their activities causes stress. Stress is something that hinders almost all teens and it needs to be readily addressed. 

First, though, we need to take an objective approach. This can be difficult, as it is human to shrug our shoulders and assign blame to someone else, but this may be the attitude that prevents so many from solving stress. Take for example school workloads, which a staggering 83 percent of teens report is the main cause of their stress. Some say that the stress induced is entirely at the hands of teachers, who overassign, rather than the students who neglect their work. 

While teachers may be partially to blame, this is of little matter to us, as there is simply little we can control when it comes to teachers. Instead, we must manage what we can given what we have. This ideology applies to not only the issue of stress from school, but also to stress from practically any situation. 

So is this the key of tackling school induced stress; managing what we can? I think so. 

We overbear ourselves with numerous AP courses, dual credits, and Pre-AP classes and as a result we drown in the workload that we created. 

This actually perpetuates stress, as well, since these things keep one from spending time on things that would normally alleviate stress, such as hobbies. 

Some argue that if they devote their time to extracurriculars, their grades will drop and that will prevent them from getting into a good college. This is not the case, however, as most colleges actually prefer admitting students that are well-rounded and cushioned with extracurriculars.

So now it’s up to you to take the initiative and seek a more stress-free life by taking steps to reduce your workload in school.