“Academic Weapon: An individual (typically a student) that acquires traits that are seen by many as scholarly.” – Urban dictionary.
A title swinging through the internet’s webs right now, romanticizing academic excellence and bringing a more competitive environment in our beloved gen Z. However, this pursuit of academic brilliance bears a hefty price tag – one’s mental wellbeing.
The same ambition that ignites a child's spirit can also burn out their mind. Academic pressure commonly manifests through teenagers setting herculean expectations for themselves, causing students to distort their work-life balance.
The haunting grip of grade obsession in India claims the lives of around 35 students per day. 74% of parents have put some kind of importance on academics as well, catalyzing this to an extent. This obsession tends to have a scary amount of influence on a student's mood as well. When certain expectations are met, a state of euphoria is reached.
Falling short of those expectations, however, a sense of dismay engulfs. Such control over the emotional state of a student can cause them to develop extreme stress, anxiety and even disrupt relationships.
One of the worst impacts is academic burnout: a state of complete mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress and overworking oneself. Burnout exploits the link of academic performance to self-esteem to its core. One’s brain repeatedly overworking itself to the point of cognitive fatigue can lead to lower self-esteem, depression, and development of bad habits. Most notably, it profoundly undermines one's mental state, rendering them increasingly susceptible to the fear of academic decline.
Many schools have their curriculum developed around a so-called “perfect child”. Someone who can have a healthy work life balance whilst maintaining all academic submissions. Colleges make matters worse by just accentuating this idea, only picking the cream of the crop, the top of the class where students give their all to be. This is why going through high school, one’s experience with academic pressure would worsen.
Indeed, while there exist various contributing factors, it is indisputable that just as one becomes adept at managing a certain workload, their burden increases.
As autonomy increases, and colleges start to approach, it becomes harder and harder for students to cope with anything that might be bothering them. Students are so engulfed in their academics that they forget to live their teenage years at all.
This begs the question; can one effectively cope with this pressure and still attain a sense of fulfillment? Academic pressure isn’t something that is widely given any credit for its positive impacts, it’s probably the richest source of inducing discipline in students and creating a positive sense of priority.
Even so, numbers like 37.7 thousand students committing suicide from 2019 to 2021, show the intensity of academic pressure and how much of a problem it poses. Academic pressure shouldn’t be shunned or ignored; it should be moderated.
It’s something that’s necessary for someone’s growth, but it can easily spiral out of control in innumerable ways. It’s always important to learn that academics aren’t what will define one’s future, you will. There are many coping strategies and to improve academic performance, but most importantly, to achieve that academic weapon title, one’s focus should most definitely be on what they can control.