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Anxiety is categorized by persistent worry or fear regarding a lack of control over external threats (events or situations) or internal threats (health or thoughts). These threats can be realistic, such as an upcoming test or game, or unrealistic, such as a comet striking Earth or an alien abduction. Negative thoughts increase when an individual is experiencing anxiety. These thoughts could be expressed through comments as straightforward as “I hate my hair” or as complex as “I’m scared when I go to school.”
Anxiety affects 15% to 20% of students and often begins as early as first grade. If anxiety is untreated, it can result in long-term health complications.
What Does Anxiety Look Like?
Anxiety can look very different from person to person, which can make it challenging to identify. However, the following characteristics are common:
Distraction: People with anxiety may have trouble focusing or concentrating.
Unusually good behavior: To distract themselves and others from their anxious thoughts, students may act more behaved than normal. In extreme cases, this can lead to “perfectionism,” which is setting unrealistically high expectations for oneself.
Physical reactions: Anxiety can cause students to cry, breathe heavily or hyperventilate, shake, fidget excessively, use stumbling speech, or shout.
What Does Anxiety Feel Like?
The brain of students experiencing anxiety goes into overdrive. Anxiety affects decision-making and makes all forms of thinking difficult. Anxiety can make a person feel physically different. Anxiety can speed up students’ heart rate, affect their speaking, or cause excessive sweating, nausea, or shaking. Students can experience the effects of anxiety at school, at home, or in social situations.
Strategies to Try at Home
Normalize Anxiety
Discuss your fears and how you deal with them. This conversation shows your student that fears are normal and can be addressed.
Validate anxious thoughts at home. For example, say “I used to be nervous about that, too.”
If your student mentions what you consider to be an irrational thought, talk through the thought together. Do not say that the thought is ridiculous.
Work Through Anxious Moments
Go on a quick walk with your student.
Encourage your student to have a snack break or music break.
Do breathing exercises with your student. For example, count to five while inhaling and again when exhaling.
Use Validating Language
When listening to your student’s experiences with anxiety, use phrases like:
“I hear you”
“It sounds like you’re dealing with a lot”
“That sounds really challenging.”
Reduce Anxiety as a Family
Try some family activities like exercising, having a game or movie night, or listening to calm music.
Create a family schedule to increase the predictability of activities.
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