Anxiety In High School

Anxiety is caused by stress and can causes a person to feel a sense of nervousness and fear. Studies have shown that anxiety can lead to habit forming usage of unhealthy substances. For example, chain smoking has been connected as a response to stress. Typically, people with a higher anxiety level have a higher desire to smoke cigarettes. For most people the nicotine in cigarettes helps regulate negative thoughts and emotions. It has also been supported that people are two times as likely to begin smoking regularly if they have a diagnosed anxiety disorder (Wiggert, Wilhelm, Nakajima, al’Absi). About 50% of college students who smoke cigarettes have a higher level of anxiety from classes.

“Don’t let fear stop you from achieving what you want,” says the President and founder at Metaphrasis Language & Cultural Solutions LLC, Elizabeth Colon. This advice has been given to me multiple times as I wrestled with mental health. Anxiety in our youth is becoming a more common thing to see in America however knowing how to cope with anxiety is not often taught but has to be figured out.

We were all encouraged to choke down as much food as possible. Any kind of energy was essential. A melancholy atmosphere hung heavy as the journey progressed. Minutes walking slowly progressed into hours, the sky seemed to darken steadily. All of us were oblivious to the danger shrouded by the dim evening. Only moments after scaling a rather steep ledge did nature dice to turn sour. A deafening rumble made each climber perk up. Snow began to descend at an alarming rate. Thunder began to mic the steady beating of a drum, causing more concern among the ranks of climbers. The powdery snow became more of a risk than ever, climbing under pressure and leaving nothing to stand on. Third base was more than three hours away. Three hours wasn't possible at the rate. Snowfall this bad could be detrimental to the climb’s success. Snow obscured vision and numbed faces. Shouts and orders deemed lost in the screaming wind; people’s figure became shapeless blurs frantically shifting, hoping if they struggled against the wind hard enough, they might find someone. Of course, this was to no avail. Not a single person doubted their demise would come at this point: the stakes were high and no-one could play too well against Mother Nature. The snow crept up to knee-level, making it harder and harder to travel. Death and I were face-to-face. To some, they couldn't bare the idea of dying up here; they had families and friends, children who need parents and

Girls perch on the tables like exotic birds gossiping and giggling, a football fly’s above their heads between two jocks in varsity jackets parading their toned muscles. Groups of high schoolers sit around the room laughing. Weekend has arrived and the hallways of the school were filled with tons of kids ready to go home. Every ear filled with the sound of multiple conversations going off at once, lockers opening and closing, music blasting without. I had managed to push past the constant stream of children and to the school field. The grass was damp and covered in a thin layer of frost. As I walked my footprints were embedded, leaving a piece of me in the cold ground. I saw my friends faraway chattering and fooling around. I was stuck in the wrong crowd; they are nothing like me but somehow I am still friends with them. I slowly made my way up to my “so called friends”.

The cool winter air stung my face as I exited through the ski lodge door. Board in hand, I stepped onto the powdery snow. After each step I took all I heard was crunches and crackles from the snow compacting underneath my weight. I nervously made my way over to the top of the bunny hill where a tall, beat up looking man named Dave stood. He looked as if the cold weather had made him age quicker than the rest. The earnest look on his face caused me to shudder in fear. His eyes pierced through my soul as if warning me not to go through with this. I took a deep breath as I realized how

In researching anxiety, a complex and abstract topic in itself, I first had to significantly limit the scope of my research and identify a common sample population that could speak to the research at large. I chose members of one high school to represent a common body of data, and I chose the Metroplex region for the purpose of accessibility and ease of data collection. Metro High School was investigated in two ways. First, a survey was conducted to quantify data. Then, an interview was designed using a set of predetermined questions to ask a number of students to produce qualitative data. These two elements, quantitative and qualitative results, could encompass the research question in its entirety. Anxiety in itself cannot be

For instance, there are schools that stress students extremely. Numberless of schools have so many high expectations for students that they don’t even realize the damage it does to students. In the article “When Anxiety Hits at School” The Atlantic points out, “High performance expectations” surrounding school and sports result in stress and in turn, anxiety.” In the interest of schools that set high expectations for students, students are not used to having a high standard in school so they feel stressed as a result of this. Schools have to bring about being rigid with their students knowing that students can’t achieve perfection. Schools don’t ask for perfection, but it feels like that for students. To add on, The Atlantic also points

For many high school students, it’s the burn in their throats from alcohol, the loud music in their ears, or the sweat that drips from their face during a run that helps them get away from the pressures of high school. What did you get on your ACT, SAT? What’s your GPA? What’s your rank? There’s a test next class. Practice goes long tonight? For me, it’s the clink of the stirrups, the cold leather, the soreness in my legs after a long ride, the nicker when I walk to his stall. It’s the peaceful being with my horse.

I am currently a freshman at Roger Williams University who has utilized Student Accessibility Services for both an Attention Deficit Disorder and an Anxiety Disorder. Since a young age, school has always been something that I struggled with and had anxiety about. I was quite worried about the transition into college but found that I was able to transition smoothly with the help of Student Accessibility Services. One thing that I have never been able to do is present in front of my peers, due to my anxiety disorder. With the help of Student Accessibility Services, I was able to communicate this issue with my professors and receive accommodations. In addition to accommodations for my anxiety disorder, I utilized the testing center and received

Anxiety Disorder is a sudden feeling of qualms, uneasiness, nervousness, and anxiousness. Symptoms vary for each person. In the adolescent years anxiety shines the most. With school work, and social interaction. In our society, many people diagnose themselves with anxiety, because they are nervous, they believe they have an anxiety disorder. In the adolescent years anxiety is there, but usually mild, in today’s society, because studies show that anxiety has increased over the years. The denotation of anxiety is a sudden feeling of sickness, apprehension, paranoia. Eager and anxious are often used incorrectly, using the opposing one as the other. Anxiety means anticipation of an impending event. However, eager implies that the person looks

When I go to Gamble, I can feel the nature that surrounds me open up and draw me in. The brook under the worn wooden bridge chills me with its icy touch, the stone path crunches under the rubber soles of my red lace up shoes, the breeze whispers its cool relief through my messy blonde hair and in return steals a few flowers from my crown. The wind makes me feel invincible, like a lion on pride rock I stand atop a bench and in the words of Walden, “I sound my barbaric YAWP!” Rain falls steadily and my hair falls in waterlogged ringlets around my face making a mask for my own secret identity and I fearlessly slide my way across the damp earth. The tree tops are my only obstacle between the dirt and the stratosphere, I become dauntless.

High school is an extremely stressful environment for everyone. But among everyone, there are students struggling with intense anxiety in social situations, avoiding social contact with students, and intensely fearing interacting with others. An average high school has 2,000 students; an extremely overwhelming number of people for those who get nervous around others. With in-class presentations, taunting teachers and immature peers, high school can be a nightmare for adolescents with social anxiety. Schools have an unrealistic expectation for students with social anxiety, some cannot function like others in a classroom and need the help they deserve.

“You will only need a pencil for this section of the test. When time is up, please close your test booklet and put your pencil down.” I feared these words. I feared any phrases that consisted of the word “test.” This is the phrase that is used to doom high school students with anxiety early in the morning. This is the phrase that is used to doom high school students with tears and misery. As my testing instructor spoke, my hands became sweaty, my face was dripping with sweat, my stomach was tied in a knot, my body was shivering, and my eyes were weary. I knew what time it was, and I dreaded it ever since. It was time to attempt to accomplish a perfect score on something impossible, rare, and unbearable - the ACT.

On the mountain, I am fearless, at times I feel as if it is just me and snow. The only person that can stop me from doing what I want is myself, because when I am out in nature there are no rules to be broken. When I pull up to Burke mountain, I am exposed to the beauty that is nature in its truest form. As I climb up on the chair lift and the higher the elevation the more I become exposed to myself. And as I go down the hill I am free to do as I please. Unlike being in 5 line traffic, which is very constricting, nature allows me to be free. In a sense society is like a box that I am contained in, however when I go up to the mountain to shred this box opens up and allows me to be free.

I enjoyed reading your post! As you, I also found disturbing that at least one child in every elementary school classroom is likely to have an anxiety disorder. That is alarming! I mean, let's think about it. There are 197 elementary schools in Miami Dade County, according to Miami Dade Public Schools website. One hundred and ninety seven schools! Let's see it in numbers. How many classroom does each of those schools have? Let's supposed there are 20 classrooms per school, that means that only in Miami Dade we would have 3,940 children likely to be suffering from anxiety disorder. That is just in Miami Dade County and that is only counting public schools. We have 67 counties in the state of Florida. Oh wow, I don't even want to think