Pressure is a privilege, according to Billie Jean King, who said it's what you do with it that matters. Millions of students, however, may beg to disagree about the privilege part, and what many of them do with it impedes rather than elevates their performance. Amy and Mike invited ed tech specialist Deanna Oliver to explore what happens when academic pressure turns into behavioral issues.

What are five things you will learn in this episode?

How does academic pressure typically show up in schools?
Why do some students "act out" while others withdraw or disengage?
What are the most common warning signs that adults miss until the situation escalates?
What does a healthy system of school-based support look like?
If a parent could implement just a few changes at home, what would make the biggest difference?

MEET OUR GUEST

Deanna Oliver is the CEO & Co-Founder of Psyflo, an AI-powered youth mental health platform that helps schools shift from reactive crisis response to proactive, early support. With a background in public health and health technology, she focuses on practical systems that fit real school constraints—supporting student wellbeing through scalable check-ins, skill-building, and clear safety workflows that reduce burden on counselors and educators.

Deanna can be reached at deanna@psyflo.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannaoliver/.

LINKS

Feelwell

Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) | CDC

Calling All Perfectionists: This Advice Just Might Heal You

Expectation overload

RELATED EPISODES

BRINGING CRITICAL BALANCE TO HIGH SCHOOLERS' LIVES

BUILDING HAPPIER TEENS

COLLEGE TRANSITIONS AND DISTRESS TOLERANCE

CULTIVATING AND RECOGNIZING ACADEMIC CURIOSITY

ABOUT THIS PODCAST

Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page.

ABOUT YOUR HOSTS

Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and the founder of TestBright, Roots2Words, and College Eagle. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros and LEAP. If you're interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, get in touch through our contact page.

721. WHEN ACADEMIC PRESSURE TURNS INTO BEHAVIORAL ISSUES