How Anxiety and Depression Affect School Performance and How to Manage Them
Mental health concerns like anxiety and depression can have a significant impact on a teenager’s or young adult’s academic performance. Keeping up with the demands of school (in addition to working, extracurriculars, family obligations, etc.) can be stressful and overwhelming for anyone. The added burden of a mental health concern can make those difficulties exponentially more complicated.
We get it.
And you’re not alone. 61% of undergrads experience anxiety, and 70% of teenagers report anxiety and depression as “a major problem” among their peers.
If you (or your child or a friend) suffer from anxiety or depression it’s important to anticipate how it may affect academic performance. It’s also important to develop certain skills that will help you succeed as you manage your mental health concern
And if you’re a parent or teacher, it can also be helpful to know how to recognize academic anxiety and/or depression. Sometimes academic stress can incite anxiety or depression in a student who may never have experienced either.
How Anxiety and Depression Affect School Performance
Anxiety and depression negatively influence:
Sleep
Social interactions
Executive functioning (including working memory and creative thinking)
Pace of work
School attendance
All of these influences lead to poor academic performance. Specifically:
Higher levels of anxiety are associated with lower test scores in college students.
Several studies have demonstrated that depression affects academic performance, and not vice versa.
Depression in students correlates to lower grade point averages and higher drop-out rates.
It’s no surprise that 22% of college students report that anxiety negatively impacts their academic performance, or that 14% report the same for depression.
How to Be a Good Student (Even as Your Manage Anxiety/Depression)
The first step to improving your academic performance is to start talking with a counselor or therapist who can help you deal with anxiety or depression. Mental health concerns do not go away on their own, and they are not difficulties that people just grow out of. (In fact, they tend to get more consuming and deep-rooted the longer they are ignored.)
If you are suffering any mental health issue, please find a licensed professional who can help. This isn’t just about your grades—this is about you.
In addition to counseling, there are some skills and strategies that have been proven to help anyone improve their academic performance, especially those with pre-existing anxiety or depression.
1. Set goals.
Setting goals can help to lay a very practical, clear path before you. When you commit to where you want to be, and create a strategy for how to get there, you always have a next step. Achieving a goal, no matter how small, is also the boost of confidence we all need to do something a little harder next time.
Goals don’t have to be academic, and they can be as “big” or as “small” as you need them to be. The key is to set a goal that requires you to stretch just a bit out of your comfort zone, even as your comfort zone continues to grow.
There are several good strategies for goal-setting, such as “SMART” goals. This strategy dictates that the goal you set should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time sensitive.
2. Make plans.
Once you have a goal established, you need a plan for how to get there. Planning is what turns big goals into manageable processes. Because sometimes big goals are handed to us: You need a certain GPA. Your final report is due on a specific date. You have to manage a set number of classes or responsibilities.
It’s easy to let anxiety or depression take over when you don’t know where to start, so learning how to plan is a crucial skill.
You might start by writing or typing a list of the steps necessary to complete the project. If you can’t think where to start, try working backwards from the end. Then, spread those steps out over the time you have left to reach the goal. Finally, be prepared to make adjustments as you go: No plan is ever perfect the first time.
3. Get organized.
Organizing your school resources can clear away a lot of the excess mental clutter that makes anxiety and depression so unbearable. It can be hard to get organized on the outside when you feel a bit chaotic on the inside, though, so this is a good opportunity to get some help.
If you don’t know where to start, reach out to a parent, friend, counselor, or coach who can help bring some order to your school work. Everyone prefers different strategies and tools, so learn from someone more organized than you, but also work with someone who will listen to your input about what you can maintain.
4. Learn how to manage your time.
Similar to organizing your physical world, learning how to organize and manage your time is a huge win for anyone, but especially students managing anxiety and/or depression. A meaningful schedule and prioritized To Do list can prevent you from getting overwhelmed and help you stay focused.
As with getting organized, there is no end to the time management techniques and strategies, so this is another great opportunity to reach out. A counselor or academic coach can help create a schedule and teach you some basic principles that work specifically for you.
5. Learn some key study skills.
Every student has different study methods that they prefer, but if you haven’t discovered or established any of your own, especially in college, you won’t be learning as well as you could be.
There are so many strategies related to any area of schooling, that trying to figure this one out on your own can be overwhelming all by itself. Everyone has different tips for how to take notes, how to actively read, and how to memorize. Do you work better in silence or with background noise? In the morning or evening?
An experienced mentor or academic coach will have a long list of study skill tactics, and can help you walk through them one at a time until you discover what works best for you. Knowing how you learn and study best—and what doesn’t work for you—can make a huge difference in your academic success!
Parents and Teachers: How to Recognize Anxiety and Depression
If you know that your child or student already suffers with anxiety or depression, you probably expect that school work and commitments are not exempt. Support them as much as possible by helping them set goals and make plans, etc.
If your child has never experienced or demonstrated anxiety or depression, a difficult school year can change that. Academic anxiety may be your child’s first experience of anxiety, for example. Additionally, poor academic performance can be a warning sign of anxiety or depression, even if school is not the cause.
Some signs to watch for include:
Inconsistent academic performance — Anxiety and depression are inconsistent, and can lead to inconsistent performance.
Skipping class — Students with anxiety or depression frequently skip class because they’re overwhelmed or overburdened. This can lead to dropping out of school altogether.
E-Learning and Academic Anxiety
Anxiety and depression were on the rise among teenagers and college students prior to 2020 and COVID-19, but that upward trend may have gotten steeper since schools and campuses started to close.
While one year is not enough time to thoroughly analyze the effects of e-learning on a young generation, some early studies have concluded that:
The sudden move to primarily e-learning models has produced anxiety and/or depression symptoms in “a significant portion of students.”
College burn-out increased when classes moved to primarily online learning.
Many students and families, however, don’t need a study to tell them what they already know. There are several reasons why e-learning is increasing anxiety and depression among high school and college students.
New technology creates a learning curve.
Webcam anxiety is a real issue that parents and teachers are trying to deal with from both sides.
Isolation has a negative effect on high school students, and especially on college students who may be living alone.
Economic disparities mean it is difficult for some students to get a consistent, reliable computer and internet connection every time they need it.
Whether you or your child suffered from anxiety or depression before COVID-19 closures, it’s no surprise that you may be experiencing new or worsening concerns.
Mental Health and Academic Success
Anxiety and depression take a toll on every facet of a person’s life and school is no exception.
The first step to improving academic performance is to remember that you are more than your grades. Find a therapist or counselor you can talk to, to start managing your mental health in every way—not just for your schooling, but for you.
Then, consider finding a mentor, counselor, or academic coach who can help you set goals, make plans, stay organized, manage your time, and find the study skills that work best for you. These are key skills for everyone, and are extra helpful if you already suffer from anxiety or depression—especially while e-learning is a major part of our education system.
If you think an academic coach might be helpful for your situation, check out NeemaStudy and meet our coach, Julianna Garcia!