Managing Anxiety as a Student

Written By Colēgia

Anxiety can be one of the most difficult things to handle. It can be either general anxiety or it can stem from specific circumstances. It is okay to feel this way and we want to take steps to make it easier. Today we want to talk about how we can manage anxiety as a student.

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Handling Anxiety

Before anything else, we want to take some time to understand what anxiety is. One way to describe anxiety would be that it is “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or an uncertain outcome.” This type of nervousness can be common when it comes to things such as tests or assignments. While we may not always be able to know what will happen, one thing that can contribute to this unease can be our expectations. Wanting to do our best can be a good thing but expecting that we will always perform at our best can set unrealistic standards for us. These types of expectations can be ones that we put on ourselves or ones that may be imposed on us by others. If we are causing ourselves distress, then we need to take some space and recognize that this isn't to our benefit if it is causing us anxiety. Likewise, if someone else's expectations are causing us distress, we can opt to distance ourselves from that viewpoint and focus on our own needs.

“Wanting to do our best can be a good thing but expecting that we will always perform at our best can set unrealistic standards for us.”

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Talking it Out

Communicating our anxiety is a great means of managing it. This can be done in many ways. Guidance counselors and teachers are great as they work with students closely and want them to succeed. They are also professionals who understand that there may be things going on in a student’s life. Our parents are another good option to talk to as they care about us and want us to be okay. If we feel that we are close enough to our peers, opening up to someone who we trust can also help ease any fears or worries. Sometimes we may find ourselves in a situation where it may be hard to confide in others and this varies from person to person. We wholeheartedly encourage reaching out to others when it comes to anxiety. Another method that may help build confidence to work up to reaching out is freewriting. Freewriting is a great means of expressing your thoughts on paper without the worry of judgment. The same can also be done with creative endeavors such as making music or drawing art. Expressing your feelings is good and we encourage you to do that in a positive manner.

“We wholeheartedly encourage reaching out to others when it comes to anxiety.”

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Take Care of Yourself

Our mental well-being can often be linked with our actions and how we take care of ourselves. One of the best ways to manage our anxiety is to incorporate some form of exercise into our routine. Exercise can help us feel better by providing endorphins and other benefits. One good thing about exercise is that it does a great job of keeping us in the moment with various workouts. This is good as anxiety typically sees us worried about the future. When we take time to be mindful about what is around us, it can keep us centered which is good for our mental health. Exercise can be done either with others or alone which is great as it can be a fun group activity or an introspective moment for ourselves. While anxiety can be challenging, we can take steps to work toward it which will ultimately be good for us in the long run.

Colēgia

Colēgia

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