By Maya Kollarmalil
If you simply ask any teen in Yonkers how they’re doing, you get an almost reflexive response of “I’m fine.” But this “I’m fine” has a hidden meaning underneath. It’s truly a facade that hides the reality of the stress our brain endures daily.
And I know what adults are thinking: You don’t have the worries of working a full-time job, having to pay bills, or the efforts of putting food on the table. What stress do you have to endure that’s even measurably close? But for us teens, our “full-time job” starts at 7:45 am when that bell rings and doesn’t finish until all the homework is completed at midnight. Those “bills” are the crushing pressures of keeping up the GPA that determines our future. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying our struggles are the same—I’m saying they are just as real.
The “Brain Rot” Reality
There is often miscommunication when coming to terms with the idea of “procrastination”, when adults see us staring at our phones. But it’s actually often a state of “functional paralysis” where we don’t wait to start our work for so long because we’re irresponsible but because we are waiting for the panic of the deadline to finally become louder than the fear of not being perfect.
As a junior in high school, being in this year let me interpret that everything I do could determine my future; it’s important to understand that we aren’t “choosing” to waste time but experiencing a system overload. We trade our sleep for a few hours of digital numbness because our nervous systems are desperately seeking a moment of safety away from the constant cortisol spikes of Junior year. To an adult, it looks like a teenager endlessly scrolling; to the student, it is a neurological retreat. It is a desperate attempt to hit the reset button before the cycle of expectations starts all over again at 7:00 AM. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), this is a biological “freeze” response where the brain’s emotional center physically overrides the logical prefrontal cortex during periods of high stress.
Actual Resources You Should Know About
If you’re a student in Yonkers feeling this weight, or a parent trying to understand what this “brain rot,” here are resources that can help here in Yonkers:
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or Text 988 It is 100% anonymous and available 24/7. Whether you need to hear a voice or just type it out, this is the fastest way to break a panic loop.
- Yonkers Youth Bureau – “Mind Matters” (914-377-6443): A dedicated local space to talk about academic burnout and pressure.
- The Jed Foundation (JED): Visit their online Mental Health Resource Center. It’s a science-backed “manual” for navigating the pressures of high school and understanding your brain.
We aren’t just names on a transcript or numbers on a GPA scale; we are human beings who deserve to exist without being constantly exhausted. By recognizing that “I’m fine” is a code for help, we can finally stop measuring our worth by how much stress we can take before we snap.
Maya Kollarmalil is a student at Yonkers Middle High School and a contributor to Yonkers Rising and YonkersTimes.com. She covers local food establishments and other Yonkers-centric topics. Passionate about journalism and storytelling, she enjoys uncovering hidden gems, sharing local voices, and keeping residents informed. Have a story idea? Reach her at MayaK@Yonkerstimes.com.
If you are a Yonkers or Westchester based student who is interested in submitting a story for us to post and print, email us at info@yonkerstimes.com.
