If you dive deeper into the tight-knit, junior high community, you’ll find that many middle schoolers gravitate toward drama, with topics that range from friendship to relationship issues.

Some people might say it’s for personal entertainment, while others suggest it’s simply part of the junior high experience. Regardless, students have to deal with drama all the time.

Many students try to avoid drama because it is emotionally exhausting. Yet it still seems like middle schoolers can’t stay away from it.

“I am always dealing with some sort of drama. It always takes so much time out of my day to think about it; the drama just makes me stress,” said Joshua L.

Drama truly takes a toll. Many kids at school feel as if their mental health has declined because of the conflict surrounding them. Having so much on their shoulders can completely shake their emotional stability.

“It’s not healthy. It shouldn’t be bringing down this many kids. It’s really unnecessary,” said Noah R.

Most students agree that drama is mentally draining. It makes them feel as though they are buried in chaos. Drama comes with a price as students often fall behind in their school work once they’re consumed with issues on campus.

“The drama takes over you, almost like it’s in control. It takes your mind away from paying attention. I feel so stressed out. It’s also much harder to learn with drama going on,” said Maliya N.

Drama can be overwhelming, and so distracting that academic responsibilities are set aside. Homework is forgotten and studying is postponed. At that point, students quickly fail to do their best.

When drama starts to consume kids’ attention, it’s not long before it is all-consuming. At the point of realization, it feels like it’s too late to do anything.

Students soon get overwhelmed with missing assignments and are tempted to succumb to the urge to give up.

“It forces me to focus on the drama that distracts me from school, which causes my grades to drop to around a D. All that makes me feel overwhelmed and want to start giving up,” said Joshua L.

The cost is a loss of friends. And it doesn’t stop there. The drama that occurs at school can even follow students home, delaying positive after-school habits and routines that allow students to perform at their best.

“I just felt sad that I lost such a close friend for something that wasn’t even my fault,” said Ayana G.

Kids have to deal with knowing that a once strong friendship has broken apart due to a minor argument that sprouted into a much larger dilemma. Anxious thoughts are consuming, replacing confidence with sadness and depression.

“I had to go to the counselor’s office a lot. And you know, it wasn’t good. I had no friends,” said Bella G.

Those who seek help find that a weight is lifted from their shoulders. Still, many keep their pain to themselves. They fear that it might cause conflict or break a level of trust on campus or at home. Yet the effects of not speaking to an adult can affect a child’s emotional state.

“I don’t want my parents to stress about me. I can’t handle everything on my own though, but nobody has time to listen. So much bottles up in my brain and stresses me out,” said Maliya N.

Too much drama can be overwhelming for a middle schooler. It drowns kids in their stress, and many can’t come up for oxygen.

“[Situations can] get too serious, [and] people could get in trouble or [be] hurt,” said Kelly C.