The Negative Correlation Between Low Temperature and the Levels of Stress and Anxiety in Pinewood Students

ea Tela

With assignments and tests becoming more frequent as the school year progresses, there has been a noticeable change in the stress and anxiety levels of students at Pinewood. When walking through the school’s hallways, you can see students furiously writing notes and cramming last minute–literally–for an exam they have next period, working on projects they have due the other day, or spending the few minutes of break time they get at breakfast and lunch to talk and rant to their friends about the tremendous workload and how it is affecting their mental health.

It seems that the large drops in temperatures, which have now reached below zero, bring with them elevated levels of stress and/or anxiety. As fellow Pinewood students who experience this first -hand, Pineword has thought of giving some recommendations on how to cope with stress and anxiety from our own research. In addition, we’ ve decided to include a couple of words from our own expert on mental health issues, Ms. Anastasia Panidou, the Pinewood school counselor and Psychology teacher.

First of all, it is important to understand the factors that can cause stress. In an interview for Pineword, our school counselor said that some common areas that might be stressors for teenage students are mainly related to friendships and relationships created among peers, academics (i.e. performance and large workload), and family settings depending on the relationships that the students have with their family members. Additionally, she notes social media as a large source of stress for students, particularly due to the phenomenon of the fear of missing out–the “feeling of fear that one either does not know or that one is missing out on information, events, experiences or life decisions that could make one's life better.” Understanding the stressors in your life can help be the first step towards removing the source of stress/anxiety, in turn reducing stress and anxiety levels.

After identifying the source of these emotions, it can prove challenging to deal with the stress and anxiety. We can often feel powerless, weak and clueless when thinking about the necessary steps to improve our mental well-being. Never fear, Pineword brings the latest insights from psychological research and experts on mental health issues. Here is some advice from the APA, American Psychological Association on reducing stress and anxiety.

1. Seek social support: It is said that social support can improve resilience to stress and anxiety. Talking to some friends or family members who may be good at listening and sympathizing can help in overcoming it as well. They may also be able to offer practical help, for example, advice on how to deal with the situation that might be bringing you all this stress/anxiety. If the stressor is related to academics, a friend proficient in the subject might also help with tutoring, which you can even repay with tutoring them in a subject of your expertise.

2. Practice meditation: Research shows that

Wednesday , March 1, 2023 | Pinewood International American School of Thessaloniki

M arina Nazeraki

Wednesday , March 1, 2023 | Pinewood International American School of Thessaloniki mantic relationships, especially for teenagers. Wouldn't it be empowering to redefine our understanding of love and create healthier, more fulfilling relationships for ourselves and future generations?