Introduction to Anxiety
Class Counseling with Mrs. Hester
Take the poll!
Why is it important to check-in
with our feelings?
Agenda
BREATHE AND STRETCH
Go Noodle:Unwind
What is anxiety?
It is a feeling in our body that affects:
Everyone experiences a little bit of anxiety.
And during this pandemic, we are all experiencing more anxiety than usual.
Anxiety is another word for worry.
What if they laugh at me?
What if I can’t do it?
What if no one likes me?
What if we never go back
to school?
What if I get Coronavirus?-19?
Thoughts
Emotions
Actions
Feeling
Of
Anxiety
A little bit of anxiety is good...
The reason humans have anxiety is to keep us alert and awake and to help us to be safe around dangerous things.
For example….
What would you do if you saw this bear? You would feel very anxious and your flight or fight instincts would kick in.
What if you had no “flight or fight” response and you went up and pet this bear??
A lot of anxiety is like a smoke alarm...
They warn us of danger, like when there is a fire in the house! But sometimes the danger isn’t real. Have you ever set off a smoke alarm after burning pizza in the oven (I have!) or bread in the toaster? Sometimes anxiety warns us of real danger (bear in the woods) and sometimes it warns us about danger that isn’t really there (overcooked food).
Like a smoke alarm, your brain can trick you into thinking you are in a lot of danger and send a bunch of worry signals to your body. Alarms can be wrong and so can your brain!
How do I know if I have too much of it?
If you have too much anxiety, you worry about something many times a day. (It’s not just a little bit of nerves during the first week of school or being a little worried you could catch Coronavirus if you don’t wash your hands and stay safe.)
Too much anxiety can make it feel impossible to do normal things throughout the day.
What does anxiety feel like?
Anxiety is your body feeling icky, jittery, tight, what else?
Hard to focus…
Tummy ache…
Sweaty…
Racing thoughts…
A heavy animal sitting on your chest.
Everyone's a little different.
What causes it?
A lot of things can cause anxiety…
Maybe people around you worry a lot. That can rub off on you.
Maybe you have gone through a stressful event. (death of someone close to you, family changes, illness, and more). Big changes can bring on anxious feelings.
Even down the road, you may have anxiety thinking about an event...When you are reminded of places, things, people--that can be a trigger for anxiety.
What causes it? (Cont.)
Reminder:
In we are all going through a stressful event.�
We are inside, unable to interact with our peers like we used to. We are hearing so many things on the news about Coronavirus. Some of our family members may not talk about anything else except this.
Right now, a little extra anxiety IS NORMAL.
Think of anxiety like a tomato plant.
When plants are watered, given good lighting, etc., they grow.
If this tomato plant represents anxiety in your body,
it would grow every time you tend to it (pay attention to it).
The more you help it to grow, the bigger it will become.
Guess what?
We can do many things to reduce our anxiety! We can stop tending to that growing “tomato plant” in our bodies.
1st step is understanding it and talking about it, which we are doing now.
2nd step is learning what coping strategies work best FOR YOU.
(And remembering it may take a little while to figure it out.)
Mindfulness
Something that works for me that I’d like to share with you is mindfulness.
Mindfulness includes activities like yoga, meditation, and grounding. If you don’t know why you are practicing mindfulness, though, it might not help.
Why mindfulness? Mindfulness Video
If you have anxiety, you will find yourself thinking constantly about something that happened in the past or something that may happen in the future.
Being mindful means you are thinking about RIGHT NOW.
Ex: If you are playing outside, let yourself enjoy it.
Ask yourself: How does it feel? What is the weather like?� Is it quiet? Do you smell trees? Flowers? �Can you take your shoes off and feel the grass?
Those minutes you spent thinking about RIGHT NOW are minutes you aren’t spending worrying.
What if you practiced mindfulness all day long? What would happen?
Mindfulness Exercise
Let’s try “grounding” during our time right now. Look around the room you are in.
Type in the chat box.
Things to remember!
Until next time...
If you need more help with your anxiety, please visit my website: sites.google.com/cusdk12.org/kgcounselor
*Go to “Virtual counseling” and use my check-in form. You can also tell your teacher or someone at home and I can be emailed.
Any questions?
Thank you!
We are so proud of you for being here and for trying your best every day! Keep up the great work…