Managing Anxiety in School Settings

Creating a Survival Toolkit for Students

Anna Duvall, Crissy Roddy

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000215144
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Counseling

Managing Anxiety in School Settings dives into the growing topic of anxiety and its implications on students' emotional and academic wellbeing, providing key insights into how to enable students to be successful inside and outside of the classroom.

This book provides the reader with a tangible set of strategies for all grade levels that can be built into individualized anxiety survival toolkits for students to deploy discreetly and effectively both in the classroom and in their daily lives. With real-life examples from Anxious Annie in each chapter, readers build a grounded, fine-grained understanding of anxiety's causes, different varieties, manifestations, social and learning impacts, and coping strategies. Breakdowns by grade level take into account which strategies your students will be most open to and best served by.

School counselors and teachers can use this book to work with students individually, in small groups, classes, or even entire schools to create anxiety survival toolkits to provide practical strategies that help students combat their anxiety for the rest of their lives.

1 What is Anxiety?

I’m so nervous all the time. About anything. About everything. I overthink everything. I’m screaming inside but no one on the outside knows it’s happening. I feel like I’m just waiting for the next panic attack … or the next horrible thing to happen. Why do I have to have anxiety? Does anyone else have anxiety besides me? I think other people just get stressed out and I’m the only one who has this horrible anxiety. There is so much pressure on me to do everything right. I can’t take the panic attacks … breaking out into a big sweat in the middle of class and feeling like I’m having a heart attack. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this every day.

– Anxious Annie

Introduction

Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary (https://www.merriam-webster.com/) defines anxiety as an “apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness usually over an impending or anticipated ill: a state of being anxious.” It goes on to state that anxiety is also defined by “an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one’s capacity to cope with it.” While anxiety can be defined using a simple explanation, understanding and treating it is not as simple. Anxiety is very complicated, with various types being diagnosed in different students. It is uniquely defined by different individuals, depending on a number of factors such as age, developmental level, type of anxiety, life experiences and cultural norms.

Some anxiety is a normal emotional and physical reaction to stress (Ginsburg & Kinsman, 2014). The human body responds to threats, and anxiety can help warn an individual to get out of harm’s way. Normal anxiety is short-lived and happens only occasionally. It can even be helpful at times, such as providing a student with motivation to get something done. When a stressor presents itself, they may feel anxious until the stressor is removed. For example, a student may feel nervous before a test. The anticipation of the test brings about mild anxiousness. As soon as the test is over the anxiety is removed and the student no longer feels anxious. However, when the test is over and the student continues to excessively worry about their grade, if they will fail the test, if they will fail the subject, if they will fail their grade, they are experiencing anxiety. When anxiety becomes excessive and overwhelms a student to the point that it interferes with daily life activities they may actually have an anxiety disorder (Glasofer, 2019).

Many students who express symptoms of anxiety go on to be diagnosed with anxiety disorders, which is the most common mental health concern for today’s youth (Ginsberg & Kinsman, 2014). Although it is the most commonly diagnosed mental health disorder for children, the number of students who have an anxiety disorder is much higher than the number of students diagnosed. The stigma attached to anxiety prevents many students from seeking an accurate diagnosis. Some parents associate anxiety with weakness or as a negative reflection on their parenting practices. They may either refuse to accept that their child has an anxiety disorder, or refuse treatment for the anxiety disorder. Research has not uncovered a direct cause of anxiety. However, some factors have been found to increase the risk of a student developing anxiety over the course of their lifetime: genetics, traumatic life events, parenting styles and abuse. All of these factors may contribute to a predisposition for anxiety.

The Difference between Stress and Anxiety

Stress

For the purposes of this book, stress is defined as a physical, emotional or mental state of tension (Chansky, 2014). Stress is vital for human survival. However, too much stress can be harmful and lead to anxiety. It is not an emotion that begins when a student starts school. Stress can begin while a baby is still in the womb; a mother’s stress can be passed on to the fetus. After birth, infants can sense stress from their parents by picking up on their bodily responses to stress (Waters, West, & Berry Mendes, 2014). The child’s heart rate increases and they begin to experience the negative emotions the parent is feeling. These reactions to their parent’s stress may predispose them to respond negatively to stressors in their own lives as they grow and develop.

Humans experience a broad range of emotions and feelings throughout their lives. Stress is one of those feelings that are a normal part of life. Some common stressors that are experienced by individuals, regardless of location, include emotional problems, divorce, abuse, caring for others, death of a loved one, job loss, chronic illness, moving and relationships. Physical reactions to stress, although dependent on the individual, can include headaches, upset stomach, poor sleep, rapid heartbeat, muscle tension and sweating. Emotional reactions to stress vary as well – fear, anger, depression, irritability, feeling overwhelmed or unmotivated, racing thoughts and worrying. Students at all educational levels will experience various stressors and reactions to events that happen to them. In the school setting, these events could be exams, presentations, procrastination, disorganization, deadlines, working/studying, friendships, peer pressure, social media, relationships, poor sleeping, homework, lack of support, living situations, poverty and abuse. Other stressors may be present as well depending on the student’s particular circumstances.

Different life events and occasions will present varying stressors to individuals, some positive and some negative. A student’s physical symptoms to both positive and negative stress may present similarly – their heart will start to beat rapidly and they will feel an adrenaline rush through their veins. Whether or not their response is positive or negative to their stress, however, is dependent on the individual’s attitude towards the stressor. Scott (2020) reported that positive stress exists when an individual’s stress provides them with an opportunity for a positive outcome; there is no threat present. This is unlike negative stress, which an individual perceives as a threat that will lead to a negative outcome. Many students appreciate positive stressors, as they motivate them to complete a task. Completion of that task leads the student to a sense of accomplishment. According to the American Institute of Stress (2019), positive stress can teach a student the power of resilience. Some positive stressors for students include completing a difficult assignment, making a new friend, completing a presentation, winning at a game/competition, productively using their time, trying something new, reaching a goal and getting organized. Overall, positive stress is beneficial and enables students to cope with the stressors they encounter.

Negative stress is the exact opposite of positive stress; students perceive this stress as a threat and react negatively rather than positively to it. MentalHelp.net (2020) characterizes negative stresses as short-term or long-term unpleasant feelings, with the potential to lead to mental and physical problems. Students’ self-perception can suffer because negative stress leads them to believe their stress is beyond their coping abilities. Instead of responding with confidence and a positive mindset, students react in fear and start to feel anxious. Some negative stressors include abuse, serious illness or injury, family issues, moving schools, poverty, death of a loved one, divorce, social media, friendships, relationships, sleep issues and academic pressures. When a student states that they are stressed out, they are likely referring to feeling overwhelmed, unhealthy, and exhibiting lower energy and performance levels. Their negative stress may lead them to feel out of their comfort zones and that they are out of control.

Students will experience both positive and negative stress during their schooling. To quote Charles R. Swindoll “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” Negative stresses can turn into positive stresses if the student manages their emotions appropriately. However, positive stress can turn into negative stress if the student becomes too overwhelmed and perceives a loss of control. Additionally, inappropriately managing negative stress can lead a student to become anxious. Constant negative stress and the inability to deal with it can lead a student to feel chronically unable to manage their emotions. This often leads to anxiety.

Anxiety

All students get stressed from time to time in their lives, but anxiety is not experienced by all students. Some students feel negative stress in response to a particular event, and then it goes away once the event is finished. Many students feel stressed out or briefly anxious about a situation, but this is not anxiety. Students with anxiety are constantly stressed and excessively worried about real and/or imagined circumstances. In addition to feeling overwhelmed with current stressors, students with anxiety are also consumed with perceived future threats.

A student’s physical reaction to anxiety is similar to how they react to stress. However, a rapid heartbeat and release of adrenaline are not the only symptoms felt by the anxious student. They may also sweat, experience muscle tension and breathe rapidly. Additionally, their symptoms don’t stop once the stressful event is concluded. Their bodies stay in high alert and their anxiety persists even when the threat is gone (Kelly, 2019). For many students with anxiety, their bodies react in a similar fashion to animals in the wild. For example, if a gazelle is happily munching on vegetation but suddenly hears a twig snap behind her, her body goes into high alert. Her heart rate increases, she starts rapidly breathing, her muscles tense and adrenaline pumps through her veins. As she listens for further sounds and looks around, her body goes into fight or flight mode. The gazelle can stay where she is and fight whatever predator (most likely a lion) is getting ready to attack. If she risks staying where she is, she may be attacked by the lion. Although she isn’t completely sure whether or not there really is a lion getting ready to attack, she feels like there must be one and is compelled to escape the vegetation and find a safer retreat. As she makes a hasty retreat to higher ground, she turns around to look at her previous location. There is no lion, although she felt certain there must have been one. It was only a bird breaking a branch from a shrub to make a nest. The gazelle is still breathing rapidly and her heart is still pounding. She remains tense for some time after her escape and remains in high alert for the next several hours. Now imagine this situation with a student in a classroom. A number of anxious students have panic attacks, where they experience the same fight or flight response as the gazelle. They feel trapped by a threat, real or imagined, and look for an escape by any means from the classroom.

Anxiety and stress are not interchangeable terms and should not be treated as such. What is stressful to one student may not be stressful to another. What may cause mild stress for one student may cause anxiety in a different student. No one really knows what causes anxiety and no one person has the exact same experience as another. Although stress and anxiety share some of the same physical symptoms, they are not the same emotional experience for students. When a student experiences stress, it is short term. Anxiety is persistent and interferes with a student’s ability to live and function normally. With stress, an external trigger is present and it goes away. With anxiety, the trigger may be external but is more often internal and persists whether or not the stressor is present (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, n.d.). Knowing the difference between stress and anxiety and treating the student appropriately is key for school counselors. Anxiety is a serious matter and should not be brushed off as a simple issue of “stressing out” about something. Students with anxiety need others to appreciate that their distress is more intense than a simple passing stressful moment in their lives. These students are battling to manage their anxiety every day and need others to understand how negatively it impacts their lives.

Who Gets Anxiety?

There is no one specific factor that determines whether or not a student will have anxiety (Kelly, 2019). Any student can get anxiety or be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. However, according to the nxiety and Depression Association of America (2019) anxiety is more common among girls and women. It may also be more common in children who are abused and/or neglected.

A number of other factors may increase the likelihood of a student having anxiety:

• Many anxious students have a genetic predisposition towards having anxiety; they are more likely to have anxiety if they have a family member who has it (Felman, 2018).
• Medical concerns such as an imbalance of chemicals or hormones in the brain may elevate a student’s chances of developing anxiety. Additionally, anxiety is often linked with depression or other medical conditions.
• Environmental factors play a role in a student’s development of anxiety. The stressors of childhood, adolescence and puberty can often be too strenuous for a child to manage. This pushes them beyond the realm of normal stress and into anxiety.
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Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• 1 What is Anxiety?
• 2 How Anxiety Impacts Learning
• 3 Social/Emotional Implications of Anxiety
• 4 Types of Anxiety that Students Experience
• 5 The WHY and WHAT of Anxiety
• 6 The HOW: Using Strategies and Techniques at Different Educational Levels
• 7 What Goes in the Anxiety Survival Toolkit
• 8 Anxiety Survival Toolkit Use in Small Counseling Groups and School Counseling Classroom Lessons
• 9 Anxiety Survival Toolkit Use for Classroom Teachers and School Administrators
• 10 Positive Outlook for Students with Anxiety
• References
• Index