“I’m actually going to have a mental breakdown.” “Oh my God, I’m going to kill myself that was so embarassing.” Both laugh. Conversation moves on. If you’re anything like me, then that exchange should not seem foreign to you. You’ve probably heard it a thousand times; after a test, an awkward interaction, a bad night’s sleep. The disquieting thing is that sometimes it is funny. And sometimes there’s more truth in there than you’d like to admit. When did joking about how badl

Year 11. The big year. At least that's what all the teachers say and have been saying for the past 5 years of our lives, and are they correct in some aspects? Yes, but truly GCSEs aren’t everything and if there was one thing I could have convinced myself of when I started year 11 it was that it’s the little things that count not only to your final grades but also to your sanity when it comes to the actual exams, and googling ‘is my English language GCSE important’ the night b

When I was 15, I started doing theatre. You could say the timing was a bit late, considering it had been my passion since I was a little girl. Looking back, I can say that I have always been an artistic kid. I remember making crafts from colorful paper, shaping clay to make little animals, and drawing myself as people I wanted to be in the future. The arts have always been a way of escaping the real world for me. For some reason that I couldn’t explain, I was always the happi

That summer when my parents took my phone from me, I was so mad. Not just “frustrated with my screen time limit” mad, they took it from me for the entire summer. At the time, it seemed like an unjustifiable punishment, mostly because I believed I was going to fade into oblivion in the eyes of my peers. For the first few days of the summer, I would reach for my phone without thinking. When I saw something funny, the first thing I would think about was who I wanted to share it

Parents don’t usually mean to put pressure on their kids. Most of it comes from love, or fear, or wanting to protect us from struggles they went through themselves. I know that, and I think that’s partly what makes parental pressure so difficult to deal with. It’s much easier to be angry at someone when you think they’re trying to hurt you. For me, the pressure has never been particularly obvious. It’s more the accumulation of small comments: hearing about someone else’s grad

I used to think friendship breakups didn't count as real breakups. I'm not sure where I picked that up, maybe from every film where the heartbreak plot is always romantic and the friends are just there to hand over tissues and ice cream. So when a friendship of mine fell apart earlier this year, I kept waiting for permission to be as upset as I actually was, and it never came. We'd been close since year 7. By then I'd picked up all the small habits that made her so special to

When you’re struggling with your mental health, even everyday things can start to feel difficult. Getting out of bed, replying to a message, going to school or university, seeing friends, or doing something you normally enjoy can suddenly feel like a huge effort. There any many ways to approach this, one of them being Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT is based on the idea that our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are connected. Changing one part of this cycle can some

The past few months have been a very busy time for most of us, what with exams, whether that be GCSEs, A-levels or finals. Alongside stress, one other thing I felt was loneliness, as can be the case during long periods of revision. Although particularly exacerbated by the stress and pressure of exams, loneliness - particularly during teenage years- is a topic worth discussing. Firstly, what is loneliness? Scientists have discovered that loneliness is much more than just an em

You know the anxious pit you get in your stomach accompanied by the resigned sinking feeling that always seems to arrive after an exam? Yeah that’s the consequence of lingering self doubt, fear and worry about the outcome of the exam. This is something often triggered by a fear of failure or high expectations either from yourself or from others. Oftentimes it can manifest itself as physical symptoms too such as insomnia, nausea and headaches; all of which are not things you w

Whether you are a particularly sporty person, or like me and don’t have a sport that makes you want to go out and train, no one can argue that exercise benefits our physical health. Whether that's cardiovascular health or personal physical goals. However, studies show that exercise is also incredibly beneficial in keeping our brains active and alert. Whether it’s running, swimming, dancing, cycling or even walking, regular physical activity has an incredibly powerful effect o

Whenever I find myself defending social media, I always return to the same point: connection. We can stay in touch with friends and family across the globe, learn about cultures entirely different from our own and share our lives in an instant. Yet, something I hadn’t ever really considered is that perhaps we are too connected. What I mean by this is that whilst yes, it’s incredible being able to constantly be in contact with friends, family and the occasional niche influence

Art by Jia Agarwalla There is this particular type of stress that kicks in during exam season, which, in my opinion, is the worst one. Alongside the pressure you are under, the common lack of confidence that comes with it eats you alive. Not believing in yourself and having a constant fear of being unsuccessful can lead to worsening mental health. However, the silver lining is that you do have the ability to prevent this. What is often forgotten in these moments is that this

Art by Saya Sijo To start with, what is burnout? “Burnout” is recognised by the World Health Organisation as a syndrome, meaning a collection of symptoms or signs associated with a specific health-related cause. It is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. It often stems from experiencing long-term stress and constant pressure. Exam season often requires a lot of persistence, resilience and long hours of studying, which is why it is especially important to make

Art by Jia Agarwalla Improvement seems to require major changes and efforts, such as getting out of bed at five o'clock every morning, following strict dietary guidelines, or being constantly productive and organised. However, self-improvement does not work quite like this. In fact, it may well come down to minor but persistent tweaks in people's everyday lives. Small steps also remove the pressure of perfection. When goals feel too big, it is inherent human nature to procras

Art by Jia Agarwalla Exams are probably the single most daunting task we as students are forced to undertake throughout our academic careers; they are bearers of misery, stress, and anxiety. Believe me, I hate them too. But what if I told you that the key to maintaining an efficient and low-stress balance (or as low stress as possible) throughout your school life consists of only three things: Pressure, priorities and productivity. These three things are the absolute necess

You know those days where everything just…sucks. Your coffee order was wrong, your bus was late, the outfit you planned for days doesn’t fit right. The default reaction, and the one I know I am prone to, is just getting into bed, turning off the lights and beginning the endless doom scroll. It feels comforting to know that whatever happens that day, you can always just get into bed and scroll. But whilst it feels like it's relaxing you, it’s actually just making you feel wors

Art by Jia Agarwalla It’s the classic situation: it's 2 a.m., and you’ve decided to rebrand your life in a desperate attempt to feel something other than an overwhelming sense of doom and despair. All’s well and good until your alarm goes off at 6.30 for school and your reminders are flooded with deadlines, group chat spam and home responsibilities all demanding your immediate attention. We’ve all been there, when everything feels equally urgent and overwhelming. But how can

Art by Jia Agarwalla Teenage mental health is closely tied to biology, and hormones play a measurable role in shaping how adolescents think and feel. Rather than just ‘causing mood swings,’ which is the most common myth, hormones interact with brain development, stress systems, and social processing. During the onset of puberty, levels of sex hormones such as oestrogen and testosterone increase significantly. These hormones influence the development of key brain regions, par

Art by Saya Sijo Friendship is often seen as integral to an enjoyable time at school. Making those trickier days easier through communication and support. But for so many students making and maintaining friendships isn’t as easy as it should be, making the school environment feel hostile and scary. There are many challenges causing friendships to feel confusing, stressful and upsetting. According to a survey produced by Accenture Uk 24% of university students in the UK report

Why settle for good when perfect is possible? This is a thought of many teens globally and doesn’t seem like a problem. To be honest, it doesn’t have to be a problem at all. According to the American Psychological Association, around 30% of us have perfectionistic traits at varying levels. Perfectionism only becomes a problem when you inflict excessive amounts of pressure on yourself to perform the best you can, and it becomes detrimental to your mental health, affecting self