On their website, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation has a section specifically devoted to teens and stress. As part of this discussion, Dr. Nancy Brown explains in this article that balancing all one’s obligations including school, social life, sports, jobs, and daily activities, is critical to leading a healthy life. She presents six ways in which students can actively create that balance in the ways they go about their day. This article was helpful in building the claim that students are being overwhelmed and pressured to succeed in everything they do to the extent that it is causing problems for their wellbeing.

Barbara Greenberg is a well-known clinical psychologist who has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, and ABC Nightline. In her article, Greenberg directs her message to parents, asking them to ease up on the pressure they put on their teens to earn good grades, specifically straight A’s. She thoughtfully lists out the reasons why she believes striving for such high marks in school can actually be negative on the mental and physical health of these students. She closes her article by creating a space for dialogue and asking her readers to weigh in their perspective on the matter.

This USA Today news article provides simple graphs charts that clearly summarize the main points of the article. Throughout the article, statistics from reputable studies are used to support the argument that teens these days are facing the same, if not higher, stress levels than adults. It presents information from many different angles including who is affected, what causes the stress, how much stress the students are experiencing, how the stress is being manifested in everyday life, as well as ways that students choose to cope with stress. Overall this article is critical in forming a complete picture of the issue.

From the medical as opposed to the psychological perspective, the Mayo Clinic article presents a simple explanation of the health effects of stress. It emphasizes three areas that can be affected: the body, mood, and behavior. While listing the more common and milder symptoms of stress, the article also includes a section that advises readers about symptoms that are more severe and may require further help or intervention from health professionals.

This online publication from the CDC was instrumental in building the argument about suicide and the unfortunate reality of its high prevalence nationwide. These facts at a glance give striking statistics to support the claim that suicide is a major public health concern. The numbers and facts are also helpful in that they expand from the high school population and include all demographics of those who are affected.