With back to school time upon us once again, there is a renewed focus of mission and purpose for students. Of course, this year is different, school in the time of COVID-19 brings with it a new normal of stress and anxiety that young minds may have difficulty dealing with.
In addition to the traditional worries, fears and pressures of adolescence, COVID-19 can compound those anxieties. This is especially challenging for students and parents considering that anxiety generally begins at an early age and if left unchecked can lead to even greater difficulty down the road. In fact, half of all those individuals who develop anxiety disorder will have their first episode by age 11.
Recognizing Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety
Often students won’t ask for help for fear of embarrassment, social ostracism or simply because they think that what they’re feeling is normal. So, the first step to helping your students is being able to recognize the signs and symptoms of anxiety. These can range from physical to behavioral to psychological. Symptoms can manifest themselves in a variety of ways, such as tremors, sweating, restlessness, shortness of breath, avoidance of situations, distress in social situations, phobic behavior, poor concentration, irritability and more.
So What Can You Do?
Knowing the signs and helping kids and parents recognize anxiety triggers can help empower them to take control over their anxiety early on. The good news is that there are several generally accepted therapies for helping students and families cope with anxiety, more than can be covered in this article. If you think you have a student who suffers from anxiety or would just like to expand your knowledge of this debilitating condition, you can attend the Rosecrance webinar, which will cover all aspects of anxiety, from causes, conditions and types of anxiety to therapies. The agenda will include:
- What is anxiety?
- What is the link between the brain, stress and anxiety?
- How does anxiety manifest in adolescents and young adults?
- How to manage stress and anxiety.
- Coping with depression.
This is a free webinar and all are invited to attend. Register here.