Educators, youths work to reduce student stress

The teens sprint to the chairs, burying their faces in leather headrests as therapists dig fingers into their tension-filled backs. Massage therapy has arrived at a suburban high school.

Junior Erica Vonachau would like to hang onto that relaxed feeling. “You can come home with me if you want,” she joked to the masseuse afterward.

That’s exactly the reaction Glen Ellyn, Ill., counselors and student leaders were looking for when they kicked off a year devoted to combating unhealthy teen stress.

Schools have tried other ways to deal with stressed-out teens. Some have eliminated class rank. Others have forced kids to take a lunch break rather than cram in extra classes.

Younger kids are not immune to the syndrome. The American Academy of Pediatrics released a report last month saying too many children have too much to do and miss out on spontaneous, free playtime.

In another suburb, Naperville, a community partnership formed by the mayor was so concerned about youth stress that members held focus groups with sixth- through 12th-graders and health providers over the last year. The groups identified three main concerns exacerbating the stress: too much academic, sports and materialistic competition; over involvement in activities; and struggles with living up to the image of “the perfect Naperville.”

The group is formulating a plan to address the concerns.

In hard-driving communities where students are expected to attend elite colleges, there’s not much agreement on what more could, or should, be done to stem the tide of overextended achievers.

Rigorous standards and increasing enrollment in Advanced Placement courses are signs of a more challenging curriculum. Students are encouraged to get involved in sports and clubs that make them well-rounded and more engaged in school.

“Most stress is actually good for kids. It’s stimulating and it helps us be more productive,” said Dan Detzner, a high school counselor. “What we have to look out for is when it turns incapacitating, when kids start to feel really overwhelmed.”

In Glen Ellyn, some students and counselors worry that more students are losing perspective on how to live a balanced life.

“Part of it is that colleges seem to demand more and more. Kids have to not only be No. 1 in their class but in every club at school, and then on Saturday morning find a cure for cancer,” said Gilda Ross, a counselor who helped organize this year’s efforts to combat stress.

The massages are offered free by a local massage-therapy school that wants to give its students real-world experience. The monthly lunchtime ritual is only part of the campaign, which also includes guest speakers.

The first speaker, Naperville clinical psychologist Margaret Wehrenberg, drew more than 150 parents as she discussed the “overindulged adolescent.”

A Glen Ellyn group called Students for Students raised the stress issue after hearing peers complain about hurried lifestyles. Many said they felt trapped by too many activities. Others said stress could lead to anxiety disorders, alcohol and drug abuse.

Wehrenberg sees a steady stream of anxious parents and teens in her practice.

“Parents are feeling stress from trying to give their kids too much,” Wehrenberg said. “My message is that it’s not only OK but it’s necessary to cut back on activities.”

But even as students complain about stress, they relish stressful activities.

Claire Cochrane, a senior and co-president of Students for Students, is in the top 20% of her class. She has four Advanced Placement classes and two honors classes. She’s also Spanish Club secretary, a student council member, a student mentor, and a board member and top competitor for the speech team, spending most Saturdays at competitions. She also volunteers each week at a community agency that helps refugees.

“I don’t sleep. I stay up doing homework until 2, sometimes later,” Claire said. “A lot of it is because I love all my activities. It’s so hard to let go of something.”