May’s focus on mental health awareness insisted that students and staff come together to prioritize mental health during the toughest weeks of the school year.

May arrived, and almost instantly, students’ 11:00 bedtimes turned into all-nighters, energy drinks replaced their water bottles, and any and all of their free time was consumed by studying. Ironically, this was how the American education system kicks off Mental Health Awareness Month: by putting students through a grueling, burnout-inducing several week-long period of testing. AP exams, finals, SOLs, you name it; it’s all happening in May. While these tests are important and have to happen at some point toward the end of the school year, it is also crucial to consider students’ mental health during this time. 

Established in 1949 by Mental Health America, May was deemed Mental Health Awareness Month to highlight the importance of mental health and to reduce the stigma around it. Its emphasis on encouraging discussion about mental health begs that we consider students’ mental health, especially during testing season. Although end-of-year tests are undoubtedly important for measuring academic progress, they come with their fair share of harmful side effects on the mind: stress, depression, and burnout, to name a few.

While most Potomac Falls classes no longer do finals tests, “Finals week or my final week?” has become a nationwide slogan for the early-May testing season. Although this question is meant to be a lighthearted way for students across America to sympathize with one another as they all suffer through test prep, it also demonstrates the detrimental effects of testing season, implying that it might be “the death of” thousands of students. An English study demonstrated this literally, concluding that schools face an increase in student suicides during exam season.

This potentially-deadly student stress is often a culmination of factors onset by exams, such as fear of failure, anxiety about the future, and the perceived need to meet the expectations of parents, teachers, and classmates. These contributors are then exacerbated by physical struggles that arise around exams, including sleep deprivation and poor diet.

So what is Potomac Falls doing to mitigate the mental health issues that arise throughout the year, but particularly during May? School Psychologist Joey Clark listed a variety of school-based support systems meant to help students navigate their anxiety. “The ability to just come up [to the counselors office] and see if your counselor’s available is always an option. I suggest giving your counselor a heads up via email, or we have QR codes up front where you can do a QR code request.”

“We also have other supportive staff members. While counselors are usually your number one go-to because they see you the most and know you best, you also have access to me, our school social worker Ms. Khan might be available, and we have our student assistant specialist,” said Clark. 

Additionally, while Clark explained that PFHS does not offer therapy services, it partners with Care Solace to easily connect students to therapists in the community. “We can make referrals for families who may not have insurance or not know how to navigate that,” said Clark. 

These school-based resources provide stressed students with year-round mental support, though Clark agreed that there is indeed a yearly spike in student distress during the month of May. Clark also offered coping strategies for students to utilize outside of Potomac Falls, such as going on a walk, getting outside, reading a good book, or talking to a family member. 

Clark advises students to practice this stress management even when they are not feeling the pressure of exams. “If you are going to work on your own mental health and well-being at home, I always say it’s kind of like working on a muscle. The more frequently you practice positive coping strategies, even when you’re feeling good, the more prepared you’ll be to handle a stressful event later on,” she said. “Building these good habits can be really helpful.” 

Therefore, it is important that we practice mental health awareness, not only in May, but year-round. If more students recognize the strategies and resources to maintain and improve their mental health, they can be better prepared to enjoy the end of the school year despite having an abundance of ironically-timed exams.