Helping students with anxiety at school
Last week’s blog post focused on supporting anxious toddlers through the parents (you can read more by clicking this link). I thought it may be helpful to further build on this by focusing on how the school environment can help anxious students.
Suffering from anxiety is unfortunately a very common occurence among teenagers and children. Below are some tips that teachers can apply in class to support anxious students.
Ensuring your class environment is supportive and non-judgemental where the student feels safe and comfortable to express their worries without the fear of being stigmatised or embarrassed. This can include a secret signal with you where you will know to adjust your approach towards them accordingly until the anxiety or panic has passed.
Make sure you have established a good relationship with the student; I will emphasise how important it is to highlight your sense of empathy when talking with this student (“I understand you are going through a hard time”), actively listening to their worries (not necessarily answering back to them, but more so listening) and validating their feelings (their feelings of anxiousness are very real to him, so do not invalidate them, but rather accept that they are present). You can actively let them know that you are there to support them through this difficult time.
Stress and worry are both very natural feelings that the human brain experiences; we all go through anxious times, and it affects us all in different extents (just like anger, sadness, joy and excitement are normal human emotions, so is worry). If the student shows you they are experiencing anxiety, help them understand that this is a normal and common feeling that many people face (adults and teenagers alike). Normalising the emotion can reassure them that they are not alone in this struggle.
We all have our expectations and curriculum to cover, with many changes happening throughout the academic year. As much as possible, try to structure your class in a way that provides predictability and routine – this can help reduce any anxiety for the students who struggle with unpredictability and anxiety. Clearly communicating expectations, schedules, transitions, rules and class structure can help reduce uncertainty, and bring a sense of calm and security.
Allow them to choose (responsibly) a preferred seat that can help them feel more comfortable and in control of their surroundings. Options can be sitting near the front of the class, close to a wall, in a quieter area, or close to a trusted peer.
If you witness the student experiencing anxiety or even a panic attack, you can suggest some deep breathing, imagery, or progressive muscle relaxation to help manage anxious feelings in class. You can ask the whole class to take a short brain break and practice these (not highlighting that the specific student is the one in need for it) and ultimately helping them all feel more relaxed.
Deep breathing: inhaling for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 4 seconds, and exhaling for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 4 seconds before starting again. You can do this 4 times (=1 minute)
Imagery: guiding students to imagine a place that brings them calm (for example the beach) and notice the different things they can see in the sky, in the sea, the sand, what sounds they can hear etc.
Progressive muscle relaxation: an exercise when the body either tenses up or relaxes in progressive stages. You can start by tensing the whole body and slowly relaxing the muscles from the forehead, down to the jaw, neck, shoulders, hands, chest, stomach, thighs, legs and feet. You can also suggest to students to practice something “funny” which can act as a relaxant. This is typically called the “Robot-Doll” exercise, where their whole bodies become stiff and tense like a robot, hold it for 3 seconds, then relax completely like a doll for 3 seconds, and repeating this 3-4 times. This can be quite a funny exercise for them, which acts as a distraction from the anxious thoughts, making it easier for them to calm the anxious thoughts.
Offer subtle opportunities for the student to have a break and a change of environment when you notice they are feeling anxious or overwhelmed. This can be to go to the bathroom, wash their hands, or hand a worksheet to another class. Leaving the environment that causes them worry, and physically moving can help regulate their body and calm down.
I hope these simple suggestions prove helpful to you! Remember, if one of your students is experiencing worry, there likely are more. So creating a supportive environment in class will not only help one student, but more of them.