Between classes, homework, extracurricular activities and social pressures, school can be a stress-inducing, high-pressure place for teenagers. Most people experience first-day jitters or nerves before a test, but if your worry about school is persistent, noticeable and negatively impacting your time at school, you may be dealing with anxiety. Some symptoms of an anxiety-related mental health condition include:

• Feeling nervous, tense or restless
• Experiencing a sense of impending doom or feeling of danger
• Having an upset stomach or other gastrointestinal problems
• Experiencing rapid heart rate or breathing 
• Shaking or sweating without a direct cause
• Having trouble concentrating
• Feeling tired or weak
• Struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep
• Wanting to stay away from anxiety-inducing places, people or situations

Nearly one-third of children and teenagers struggle with some kind of anxiety condition. If you experience continual anxiety at school, it’s important to find healthy ways to cope with that anxiety. Talking to a therapist or other mental health professional can be a great way to learn new coping skills and thinking patterns. In this post, we’ll share some tips for dealing with anxiety and panic attacks from one of our therapists at Embrace U, Rebecca Stewart, LCSW.

Tips for dealing with general anxiety

Do you have intense worries or fears about everyday situations? Is your anxiety prevalent even if you’ve experienced the same situation before with no bad outcome? You might have anxiety.

“Anxiety generally occurs when the mind ruminates on the worst possible case scenario until the brain feels that this is the truth,” Embrace U therapist Rebecca Stewart said.

Fortunately, there are many ways to deal with the anxiety you’re feeling. One highly effective method to reduce your anxiety is by redirecting your thoughts. Instead of focusing on the worst-case scenario, you can try to bring your mind back to the present and focus on what’s happening now. There are a couple of different ways to do that, according to Stewart:

• Provide a logical outlet for your brain power — Reciting multiplication tables or completing a logic puzzle are both great ways to redirect your thoughts to something that doesn’t make you anxious. Puzzles and brain teasers are calming activities that require you to concentrate and focus, distracting your brain from your anxiety.

• Use grounding techniques — The 54321 method is another way to force your brain to focus on something other than your anxieties. Think of it as a game of I Spy for your senses. You can use your five senses to help you focus on the world around you and stay grounded in the present moment. Here are the steps for this method:

• Name 5 things you can see.
• Name 4 things you can hear.
• Name 3 things you can feel.
• Name 2 things you can smell.
• Name 1 thing you can taste.

The 54321 method can help you calm down quickly by counteracting your stress response to anxiety-inducing situations. 

Ideally, you will use these methods to redirect your thoughts when you first start to feel symptoms of anxiety. This way, you can de-escalate your stress and anxiety before it becomes severe. 

Tips for dealing with an anxiety or panic attack

Sometimes, distracting your brain isn’t enough to decrease your anxiety. Your anxious thoughts can turn into a full-on anxiety or panic attack. If that happens, Stewart recommends a resource called TIPP skills (temperature change, intensive exercise, paced breathing and progressive muscle relaxation) to shock your brain back into the present moment:

• Temperature change — Shocking your body with a significant temperature change can help your body reset. Try taking a shower, drinking a cold glass of water, or even splashing some cool water on your face or neck. You can also move from a cooler space, such as an air-conditioned room, to the outdoors for a few minutes.

• Intensive exercise — When your mind is anxious, your body may physically hold on to that tension. Performing an intensive exercise such as a quick jog, a few minutes of jumping jacks or some pushups can help release that stress. Exercising for a few minutes gives your brain an outlet to release the tension it’s holding and calm the mind.

• Paced breathing — Forcing yourself to breathe in a pattern can help slow your heart rate and help your body to calm down. Try repeating the square method a few times: Breathe in for four counts, hold for four counts, and exhale for four counts. You can also use the starfish method or other breathing methods to slow your inhales and exhales and help you concentrate on something other than your anxiety.

• Progressive muscle relaxation — Tensing and then relaxing your muscles can help your brain focus on your body instead of your anxious thoughts. Try this by purposefully tensing all your muscles. Then, slowly untense your body one muscle at a time until your entire body is relaxed. Try to be mindful of where and how you’re untensing each muscle to keep your brain engaged.

TIPP skills are simple and easy things you can do to get yourself out of a panicked state of mind. They aren’t cure-alls for anxiety, but they can be a great help in the moment.

Our team at Embrace U is here to walk alongside you as you learn how to navigate life with anxiety. We offer specialized outpatient programs that combine group and individual therapy with psychiatric assessment, family counseling and medication management. 

If you’re ready to take the next step toward better mental health, contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.