Statistics Around School Anxiety
Dear reader, first let me start by saying you are not alone. Not only is anxiety a common experience on a global scale, but it is the most common mental health challenge in teenagers today and unfortunately the numbers have only increased over the years. A Canadian study in 2018 noticed an increase of 12.9% in people ages 12-24 between 2011 and 2018. There are many things that could bring up feelings of anxiety in our lives, and school is one common factor that many teenagers find to be anxiety evoking. Even with the excitement and fun that can come with being in high school, at times stress and worry can overshadow it all. Sometimes to the point where it makes it difficult to get up and go about your daily activities. This can also affect friendships and relationships with others both at school and outside of school. So how can we better deal with anxiety? One strategy is the use of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
CBT Approach for anxiety
CBT is a form of therapy that has been tested over several years and found to be highly effective in treating anxiety. It focuses on the relationship between out thoughts, emotions, and actions. The three can interact in a cyclical way that ultimately affects our day to day lives. This can sometimes build motivation and momentum towards our goals but, when our thoughts are mainly of worry this can also cause a negative cycle that makes it difficult to do the things we want to do or the things we usually would enjoy. Through CBT we can tackle those difficult thought patterns by getting to the root of them and interrupting that cycle. With some time and intentional practice of CBT it is possible to improve your wellbeing. Along with therapy an important element to incorporate when dealing with school-related anxiety or any anxiety in general is creating and using a self-care tool kit.
Self-care toolkit
Establishing regular and intentional self care practices can help with your overall mental health/wellness. Take some time to create your own personal self-care toolkit by identifying some self-care strategies that you can commit to doing. Here are a few examples of strategies you could include but this is not limited to these examples. Use what you know you enjoy and would feel comfortable doing. If you’re not sure, try a few different things until you find the things that work best for you.
- Look after your body: Sleep, eating and exercise habits can drastically affect mental health
- Identify your support system and reach out when you need them: We all need someone we can lean on sometimes. Write a list of people you feel comfortable connecting with when you face challenges. This can be friends, family, teachers, coaches, neighbours, the list goes on. Your personal list doesn’t need to be very long either. Try and identify a handful of people you are comfortable speaking to who you can reach out to and lean on when you’re not feeling best.
- Do activities you love: By scheduling in activities you love throughout your day/week you create space for opportunities to relax your mind and body. This can something as simple as taking time to read your favourite book, watch a movie or even just take a nap.
Quick Tool: 4-7-8 Breathing exercise
Try this quick exercise when you find yourself feeling anxious.
- Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. You can close your eyes as well if that is comfortable.
- Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds
- Hold it for 7 seconds
- Exhale slowly through your mouth for 8 seconds. This completes on breathing cycle.
Now repeat for 3 more cycles making sure to pay close attention to each breath and regulate the pace. This is a quick exercise you can do at school, work, or home to help in moments of stress and anxiety.
Takeaway
Worry is a natural human experience and our bodies’ natural response to situations. We need to be able to find a healthy balance between allowing our bodies to protect us the best way they know how, and ensuring we can still function and live healthy, happy lives. Finding that balance at a time when so much around you and within you is changing can be difficult, but with a strong support system and the right set of tools on hand, it can be more manageable, allowing you to get the most out of your high school experience. Therapy can be a great tool to help in this process and your therapist can help as part of that support system you build by providing a space for you to articulate any challenges you may be facing, and trouble-shoot in a space that’s set up with you as the focus. No matter how often, or how intense the anxiety may be for you, you deserve support and taking just one step like practicing breathing exercises can make a difference.
Meet The Author
Meet The Author
Tanatswa Dhliwayo is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) at Ontario Mental Health Therapy. She works with teens and adult populations.
