Advanced courses can cause mental drain

While pushing yourself can be a positive thing, too many advanced courses can cause burnout

BeReal With Tori students are pushed into multiple honors or AP classes from their freshman year forward.

As a freshman I was taking pre-advanced ELA, then as a sophomore I was taking AP world history as well as honors ELA II. By junior year I had dropped out of government and was still in AP ELA, but I was also put in honors chemistry. Now that I have hit senior year, I am burnt out.

While AP classes are an amazing way to academically challenge yourself, they can also be very stressful.

AP students are typically very high achieving students and they usually make their decision to enroll in these classes around practicing for college.

However, students in AP classes found that they are having a negative impact on their mental health. The pressure from these classes is intense and we all feel as if our mental health is put on a pedestal.

According to collegeboard. org, from 1980 to 2016, there was a 95 percent increase of student participation in an AP classrooms. Often,

I was taking all of these honors classes I had not signed up for. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed them. However, I just wasn’t a kid who knew how to ask for help, nor was I informed I would be doing anything but honors ELA.

Being in AP classes ripped some things away from me. As much as they benefited me, they also made me feel overwhelmed, burnt out and were the root to most of my anxiety.

Most times if I felt like I didn’t understand something or if I needed help, I felt like I couldn’t ask for it. I felt that I would be presumed as stupid or incapable of being in a class if I was academically challenged, which led to deep feelings of inadequacy.

It’s important for students to prioritize self-care when they are in these classes, which is something I have struggled with. I know that the system was not built for students who struggled, but there should be some things in place for people like me who are capable of taking the advanced classes, but often get overwhelmed.

It is important for students to feel comfortable enough to seek help and it would also be amazing for schools to provide resources for students to manage their workload while trying to prioritize their mental health. My point in bringing this topic to attention is not to stray anybody away from taking AP classes. I think everyone should take them if they feel that they are able. Especially if you are feeling like your regular classes are too easy for you.

My point in this is to tell you to only take classes that will not make you feel like you are a failure. If you feel like it is a struggle for you early in, get out. Don’t force yourself to stay because you feel you are going to be looked down upon. I promise you are not. As much as a priority as AP classes can seem to be, just make sure that you are making yourself a priority first.