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The Impact of Academic Stress on Student Mental Health

When

Tuesday September 30, 2014: 7:00pm to 8:30pm  Add to Calendar /   Add to Google Calendar

Where

Downtown Library: 4th Floor Meeting Room

Description

Some level of stress is a part of everyone’s life, but almost 40 percent of parents say their high-school student is experiencing a great deal of stress from school, according to an NPR poll conducted with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. In most cases, that stress is from academics, not social issues or bullying, the poll found. Teenagers say they're suffering, too. A study by the American Psychological Association found that nearly half of all teens — 45 percent — said they were stressed by school pressures.

“Everyday stress” is a normal reaction to a variety of situations that we encounter in the real world, and can even be beneficial, motivating us to accomplish a task, or to avoid a situation that might be harmful. However chronic stress can lead to long-term health issues, affecting both physical and mental health – and can also negatively impact school performance, extracurricular activities, and relationships with family and friends. While it’s not possible to completely remove all of the stress from our lives, the good news is that there are strategies that students (and their parents!) can use to help manage their stress and improve academic performance.

To learn more about the impact of academic stress on student mental health, including strategies to prevent and manage stress, the University of Michigan Depression Center and the Ann Arbor District Library will present a Bright Nights community forum entitled, “The Impact of Academic Stress on Student Mental Health” on Tuesday, September 30, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. in the 4th Floor Meeting Room of the downtown Ann Arbor District Library (corner of S. Fifth Ave. and William).

Elizabeth Koschmann, PhD, Research Investigator in the U-M Department of Psychiatry and a member of the U-M Depression Center, will give a brief overview presentation outlining the connections between stress, anxiety and depression, and providing useful strategies to help relieve stress. This will be followed by questions and discussion with a panel of experts including Kate Fitzgerald, MD, Assistant Professor, U-M Department of Psychiatry; Amy McLoughlin, EdM, Counselor at Skyline High School; and Tom Atkins, MD, a private practice clinician in Ann Arbor.

Bright Nights is open to the public and there is no charge for attendance. For more information, please visit the Depression Center website at www.depressioncenter.org, or contact Trish Meyer, 763-7495, or meyerpa@umich.edu

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