With entire Instagram and Twitter pages dedicated to sad quotes and memes about never being enough, one of the most common sayings among teenagers is “stressed and depressed.” Many students say they are “stressed and depressed” as a result of school, grades, and peer pressure from other students, but this may not be entirely accurate. Do students have the right to blame schools for their problems, or are there other factors that might be causing them?

According to statistics, students work about three hours a day, have an average of 3.5 hours of homework, and have about two-three hours of sports practices (not including game days) or other extracurricular activities. On top of that, teenagers need 9.5 hours of sleep. Students spend seven hours at school, leaving seventeen hours left in the day, but around nineteen are needed to finish everything. Children are expected to be both happy and well-rounded by juggling school, a job, sports, clubs, homework, and other outside factors. Students cannot be happy with a schedule like that; in fact, many have problems with sadness and depression because of the work load.

There are many causes to depression among teens including grades, social status, sexual orientation, family life, and environmental stress. Depression changes the way teens think and act, causing them to become withdrawn, have no motivation, sleep excessively, change their eating habits, or perform minor criminal activities. Many students would say they experience one, if not many, of these symptoms every day, but do not believe that they are depressed.

Teachers and parents bring up the point students don’t have to work or do sports and clubs if it negatively affects their grades. Many students have to work to pay for necessities like gas and insurance because their parents can’t support them. That in mind, some parents can’t drive their kids everywhere because they’re too busy with work. As for sports and clubs, they are necessary for many colleges when applying. The more deeply involved you are with extra-curricular activities, the better.

Some students handle school stress better than others do. One student with the same classes and activities as another might be diagnosed with depression while the other is perfectly fine. But the stress that school causes on students is something that needs to be addressed, not just brushed away as if it was a minor technicality. Every student matters, and how they feel matters too.