How to lower your anxiety about returning to school
Um, so it’s August… Summer is half over and soon enough, if not already, those back to school ads with the overly excited teen (and even more excited parent) will be all over all the t.v. commercial breaks. Reflecting back on previous years, I always did enjoy those “start of school/new school year” vibes, feeling like new possibilities and opportunities were ahead. This year, however, those anticipation vibes are tangled with anxious energies, and you may not be sure whether you should be excited, worried, happy, scared, or really any previous emotion before the world turned upside down.
These are uncharted waters we are about to enter into in September. A lot of questions that I most certainly can’t answer, and might not be answered until we are stuck in it. Even though we might not have a map with step-by-step directions, there are skills you can practice and engage in that will make the journey a bit more tolerable and allow us to have some grace for ourselves and others along the journey.
There are some people that have shared with me that they are experiencing anxiety doing things, or going to places, that they’ve never experienced before Covid. This is both frustrating and scary as it doesn’t make sense.
“I was able to do that before, why can’t I do that now!”,
or
“will it ever get better and back to how it was before?”,
To answer this, I would like to explain the psychology experiment of “Pavlov dog”. There was a psychologist named Ivan Pavlov that worked on demonstrating conditioning, or learning procedure. The basics of the experiment are that he worked on pairing the sound of a bell with a treat, so that every time the bell sounded, the dog would salivate. Over time, any time the bell would ring, the dog would automatically salivate even without a treat being presented. If you need a visual representation of this, google “The Office Pavlov dog” and enjoy the 1-minute clip that illustrates this perfectly.
Why do I bring up this research and an amazing Office clip? This is because it basically shows and sums up the feelings of how we have been conditioned over the past year and a half by pairing connection, closeness, and even school, with danger. Our bodies are reacting automatically to situations that we have been told to “keep your distance”. So, just as it has taken time to develop that response, it is going to take time to reverse the physical response.
Now that there’s a bit of an understanding of what you might be feeling, you may be wondering what you can do with this automatic, conditioned response? While I don’t recommend brain surgery, there are other tangible things you can do to support your body during this process that will help lessen the anxiety about returning to school and have a bit more peace.
1) Recognize you are not Super Human
Silly, maybe, but honestly so true! While you are a super cool human, not being a super-human means that you can’t flip a switch and transform into an Avenger (if only). Recognize that you are human and doing your best in a challenging environment shows true strength, while also alleviating expectations other than your best right now.
2) Listen to your body sensations and meet it where it’s at
Most of us have been in some form of hermiting, limiting our sense of noise, smell, or crowds. You have likely gotten used to quiet and isolation, so as you emerge from your cave, the world feels like it’s on super blast, and honestly, likely feels super overwhelming! Listen to what your body needs and try to provide it a break from all of the overload. Things like earplugs for noisy hallways, going outside for a short walk during your breaks, or limiting social stuff to one event a week can help your body out in the moment, while working on building tolerance over time. Think of the gym...first time there, I don’t think many of you would go straight to the bench press and be moving 250lbs right away. You find out what you can do, then slowly increase it in time. Similar to social situations, find the level that your body can do, and then slowly work on increasing it over time.
3) Research and explore other methods.
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Social media can be great for this! It might be the counsellor in me, but I love following other therapists on Instagram and integrating their suggestions into my life as a way to deal with my anxiety. Some skills work amazing, and others might be suited for others. I look for qualified therapists (important!) and then save different posts or reels into a “saved therapy” album to utilize when I need it. A few of my favourites are @heytiffanyroe, @micheline.maalouf, and @stephaniesomatics. There are so many more amazing people sharing skills and suggestions online, just be sure these are qualified individuals to help guide you through different possibilities.
All of us have been affected by Covid in one way or another. We have all had to adjust how we cope in life and interact with others. I believe that our teenagers’ experience has a few more nuances added to it. It’s important that we acknowledge the loss and grief that some teens have experienced, and that they will never be able to experience school the way it was. Taking time to recognize each other’s pain, and validate that sense of grief can be the common ground we connect on moving towards a brighter next few months.
Whether you, as a teen, are feeling excited, anxious, or all over the place, I hope that some of these tips and tricks help you feel like you are able to manage the emotions in a way that helps you feel like you’ve got this September in hand.
If you would like support in navigating a return to school either as a parent or a teen, please take a look at the different counsellors who are offering services at Panorama Wellness Group. We are all committed to helping our community be as healthy as possible as we navigate this return to school and “normal life”.
Janelle Traber is one of our youth therapists at Panorama Wellness Group. Janelle is passionate about helping youth survive their teen years, and move forward in a way that is authentic and true to who they are as individuals and part of our society.
