Anxiety in school.

According to the youth mental health organisation Jigsaw, the most common issue that impacts young people is anxiety. The My World Survey of 2012 states that 20% of adolescents in Ireland experience mild or moderate anxiety and 11% experience severe anxiety. So what is anxiety and how can you recognise it?

Anxiety is the body's reaction to a situation that a person finds threatning. When a person encounters a threatning situation the body releases hormones like adrenaline in order to give the person the help they need to escape the situation. In the appropriate situation anxiety is normal and even helpful. However, if anxiety begins to pop up where it does not belong or becomes excessive, that is when issues start to arise. 
Physical symptoms of anxiety include nausea, heart palpitations, sweating and headaches.
Emotional symptoms incude irritability, difficulty concentrating and avoidance of what is making you anxious. 

The My World Survey also found that anxiety increased with school year. 6th class were the most anxious out of all school classes. With so many  teenagers experiencing anxiety what can schools do to cope with the situation? There are many practical reccomendations for teachers to help avoid the student being in anxiety provoking situations.

1. For socially anxious teenagers it may be better to place them working in smaller groups and avoid bringing them up infront of the class to do presentations or write on the board. Perhaps have them just present their work to the teacher instead of the whole class. 

2. For students who are anxious about their work and tend to worry about it being perfect, set a time limit for how long they should spend completing the subject. Encourage them to finish within that time and move on to something else. 

3. As many schools do, have a person such as a guidance counselor that a student can go to and speak to if they are feeling anxious. 

4. Avoid surprises, It may also be of benefit to let an anxious student know in advance of any upcoming field trips, substitute teachers or fire drills. This is to avoid having them feelimg anxious about a sudden change in routine. 

5. Clearly write activity instructions on the board and leave them until everyone has taken them down or finished their activity. This will avoid any anxiety about what students are supposed to be doing. 

While these suggestions will not cure anxiety, they will help to make the school envionment for the student less anxiety provoking and more comfortable for anxious students. With the figures presented by research on the anxiety experienced by young pople, it is important that teachers know how to alleviate the situation during school.

Follow this link to the article where much of this information came from if you would like to know more about anxiety in school.
http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/What-Triggers-Anxiety-for-an-Individual-with-ASD