Ridgewood School District sees increase in student anxiety
Friday December 13, 2013, 1:14 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Depression among Ridgewood teenagers is an increasing problem, according to local officials and students.
Some teens are “self-medicating” with drugs and alcohol, some are “crashing” after high school, and more Ridgewood High School (RHS) students than ever are taking school leaves for social and emotional reasons.
The overall increase may, in part, have to do with feelings of competitiveness and pressure to achieve a perceived standard of success among Ridgewood peers, according to the officials and students.
Some Ridgewood teenagers, who spoke to The Ridgewood News on condition of anonymity, said that while they believed most students who party with drugs and alcohol are not self-medicating, some may be.