Students hard at work studying for finals. Photo courtesy of reporter Leila Dragomir.

  Mental health is not a new topic of conversation for the students of San Luis Obispo High School. After going through lockdown and losing connection to each other, the students of SLOHS haven’t had it easy when it comes to their mental stability. 

  “I feel like we are seeing an uptick in anxiety on campus to start this school year. I believe we are still seeing fallout from the pandemic and a lot of students are struggling with balancing the social and academic pressures now that things are back to ‘normal'” says on site student counselor Chris Inman.

  The current generation of high school students have been through a lot in the past few years and it’s okay for students to not feel okay. Mental and physical health are most important, so even though with stress about the start of the new trimester, students should take time and make sure they are mentally okay. It’s extremely difficult to focus on learning new academic material while struggling with a bigger problem. Taking times to understand one’s own emotions is essential to the learning environment.