Back to school anxiety is a normal experience of many children and youth. Read Jannie\’s tips for how to handle back to school anxiety.
August in Canada is often marked by the warmest days of the summer, and back to school sales. Back to school can be an exciting time for some, and a period of intense fear and anxiety for others.
School in North America is not designed to be easy. Long days, crowded hallways and classrooms, sometimes unpleasant teachers, standardized testing, homework, repetitive or monotonous assignments, and for too many, the experience of bullying or social exclusion. The list can go on longer than the time an average person is in school.
At the core of all of the challenges, there is education that school is supposed to provide. Learning is the greatest gift for an individual, so how could someone handle the stress and anxiety that school brings to soak up its true intent – a valuable education.
Here are my top two ways to handle back to school anxiety, and set yourself up for a more positive school year, whether you’re a parent helping your child, a teenager, a child with a very high reading level reading this blog, or a grown adult choosing to pay painfully high tuition to continue education, like me:
Address common worries:
Some common worries may include:
- Who will be my teacher/professor and what if they don’t like me?
- Will I make any friends? Will I be alone?
- Will the other kids/students like me?
- Are my clothes ok? Do I look ok?
- Will I look stupid?
- Will I do well in school?
- How can I balance all of the other areas of my life and school?
It can be helpful to discuss these worries with someone you trust, so they’re let out and create coping strategies for how to deal with these concerns. For example, if a child goes to school, and fears being bullied, a strategy I just learned from my professor is to teach a child to do their BEST.
This acronym can be taught and practiced with a child or practiced yourself if you’re older to feel more confident with dealing with a bully. It teaches someone to be assertive, hold their ground, and have better control of their emotional reaction. It instills a lot of courage and bravery in someone being able to follow all the steps in the face of someone seen as a threat, but if practiced and done, it can leave you with a strength that will carry you through many of life’s offences.
Prepare Early for School
No this doesn’t necessarily just mean prepare your books the night before. It is preparing early for the transition from summer break to school.
1 to 2 weeks before school:
Start to return to your usual school day sleep and wake schedule. For someone who was born a night owl, I know how hard this can be. Try starting gradually in 15 to 30-minute increments until you build consistency in your routine. This will ensure you have enough energy to take on school.
2 to 3 days before school:
This may seem like an odd tip, but 2 to 3 days before school begins, start going to school like you regularly would and with the form of transportation you would normally use (e.g. biking, driving, walking, etc.)
This can be a great way to lessen someone’s anxiety about school because of the gradual exposure to a place of potential significant stress and anxiety and desensitize you to the impact of school. Practice positive coping strategies if you start to feel anxiety rising from acting as if you were going to school, because your brain will begin to automatically apply these coping strategies when you most need it. Common coping strategies can include:
- Taking deep breaths (even one slow deep breath will help, give more time on the exhale to calm down your stress response)
- Practice positive self-talk or thinking (tell yourself you can get through school, you are stronger than your anxiety, identify the parts of school you enjoy)
- Practice mindfulness
Read our article on Progressive Muscle Relaxation to try this strategy to manage anxiety.
An app I really like for guided meditation and mindfulness is Breathr. Try this in any area of school that may be particularly anxiety inducing for you, if it’s accessible before school starts. Mindfulness will help you to become more aware of what’s happening in your mind and body in these places, and guide you in finding ways to manage emotions, so when you’re next at that place, you have already done some training to become a detective of your own senses.
On the first day of school:
It’s here. Summer break is officially over and you’re trading flip flops for textbooks and backpacks. If the first day of school brings you fear, anxiety, paralysation, or sheer dread, try to make the day better by integrating things that spark joy (à la Marie Kondo).
Prepare your favourite breakfast, or lunch. Pick out your favourite outfit to wear, as long as it complies with your school’s dress code. For those of you who have to wear a school uniform, this may not work for you, but if your school is lenient on dress codes, accessorize your uniform to showcase your individuality. This can help with your self-confidence and help you feel more comfortable.
Reward yourself for making it through school. The first day of school is not often as rigorous in workload as the rest of the school year, so take advantage of extra time you might have to do something you enjoy or gift yourself for getting through your first day of school. If you couldn’t get through the entire day, acknowledge the effort you made in making it through any part of the day. A typical school day can be as long as a regular work day, so celebrate your courage for making it past any hour.
School can be a better place
School does not and should not have to be a scary or hated place. I believe that a place that you are required to spend almost every day of your week should not bring you so much anxiety. I am sorry if it does.
I hope these tips can provide some relief to the constant struggle that school can be, but I wholeheartedly believe in larger changes that can be made to North America’s school system so that it can be a place of joy and learning, rather than hatred and/or anxiety.
In the meantime, I encourage seeing school as a place for potential education, growth, connection, cooperation, and opportunity. After all, this was the hope and intent of the education system.
Jannie Ngo
My name is Jannie Ngo and I am currently completing a Master of Counselling Psychology program at Adler University. I have joined Parallel Wellness as a practicum student, hopeful to spend my limited time here learning from the incredible team and sharing my knowledge with all interested readers in my blog section – Learn with Jane. I’m hopeful that as a community we can normalize the conversation on mental health and learn together.
Hey there!!
I'm Meredith MacKenzie, the founder of Parallel Wellness and a Registered Clinical Counsellor. Simply put, I love to talk about psychology, emotions and all the things that make us human. My goal for this blog is to share information, resources and a fresh perspective on what brings clients to our practice.
So you want to know more??
Comments Off on Back to School Anxiety: How to Handle Back to School Anxiety