Group Counseling Topics

Help! I struggle with anxiety at school!

  1. HALT! Hungry, angry, lonely, tired. No one operates at their best when their basic needs aren’t met. So make sure you are taking care of yourself.
  2. Prepare for success! Plan! Take a look at your syllabi and get a planner, and organize your school to-do’s. This can help take away any of that last minute worry or anxiety about tests, and help us prepare so we don’t fall behind or forget to do an assignment
  3. Gather your resources. What helps you stay calm? What puts your mind at ease? Could you keep a fidget toy with you? Listen to music during a test? Is there a good friend you can reach out to and vent to when you need it?
  4. Talk to the school.
  5. Talk to a therapist.
  6. Role play if you need to! I am always telling you to practice what you need to say or how you are going to have a really hard conversation with someone.
  1. Let’s define coping skill: A coping skill is any characteristic or behavioral pattern that enhances a person's adaptation. Meaning that if we feel stress all the time, we can create these defense mechanisms, or coping skills to help us better manage or lessen the stress. These can be distraction techniques or tools to help us process through all that we may be feeling. Due to the 2 types of coping skills, I am going to break these into 2 sections. The first section will be all distraction techniques! So let’s jump into these techniques!
  2. Going for a walk - Getting some fresh air, moving your body and getting away from any of your unhealthy coping skills (like self injury tools, food to binge on, or alcohol to drink) can be a great distraction!
  3. Painting your nails! - This works if you struggle with purging, self injury, as well as many other issues. It makes us focus on one thing, and then we can’t do much with our hands until it dries. And by then, maybe the intense stress or urge to act out has passed.
  4. Blowing bubbles - yes I know children love this, but adults can too! It’s actually really relaxing to watch the bubbles grow and burst. I even have my patients imagine their issue is that bubble and when it pops let the bad or stressful thoughts go away too.
  5. Read a good book or listen to a wonderful audiobook.
  6. Exercise! Obviously this can only be done if it’s okay with our doctor and body. But moving and exercising regularly can lower our blood pressure, releases endorphins which can help boost our mood and reduce any pain we may be feeling.
  7. Deep breathing or breathing techniques.

1. Clapping our hands so you can feel and track the sensation of that clap as it moves through your fingers, hands, arms, etc.

2. Stomping your feet and feeling that sensation through your toes, feet, legs, back, etc. I know certain areas in our body can be easier to focus on, so picking one that’s not so emotionally charged or even attached to your self injury is best.

3. Rubbing your hands together and feeling the warmth that that builds up.

4. Using a worry stone or silly putty to move around in your hand. Close your eyes, and feel it’s temperature, texture, and/or firmness. You may want to keep these things with you when you are going to therapy or any stressful situation.

5. Use your sense of smell! Essential oils can help with this. You can keep them in a rollerball applicator or have a oil diffuser going in your home or at therapy. Smells like citrus, lavender, jasmine, peppermint, and cinnamon are all known to help us focus, so keeping those scents with you.

6. Next, utilizing our sense of taste. I know this can be harder for those of us who also struggle with eating disorder urges, but that’s why it’s important to find a grounding technique that helps you most.

7. Creating a sensory bowl. You can place various items into it (like sand, marbles, different shapes and sizes of beads, raw pasta shells, fidget toys, coins, you name it. Whatever has a different texture/temperature/etc add it in there, and use it to keep you grounded.