[Student Pep Talk] Student anxiety and school safety + coping mechanisms w/ Sonia Cacique #25

Are you feeling anxious about school? You're not alone! In this episode, we open the conversation by sharing practical tips and strategies to help you manage anxiety in a school environment.

We'll discuss what ANXIETY is, how school environments can contribute to anxiety, and how to recognize signs of anxiety in yourself and others. Plus, we'll provide COPING STRATEGIES such as time management, breathing exercises, and building a support system.

We'll also cover the impact of school safety concerns on anxiety and provide strategies for COPING WITH FEAR and anxiety related to school safety issues. 

Tune in to this episode to learn how to manage anxiety in school and prioritize your mental health! 

If you are experiencing symptoms of anxiety, it's important to seek help from a mental health professional. They can help you develop a personalized plan for managing your anxiety.

Here is a wonderful Meditation App that I recommend. If you download it and use it, let me know what you think!

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to the College and Career Ready podcast.

Speaker 2: 0:03

You go to resource for all things related to preparing our students for success in their college and career journey.

Speaker 1: 0:10

My name is Sonia. Casique and I will be your host and guide on this exciting journey towards a bright future. Our mission is simple to empower our parents and students by elevating their confidence and resourcefulness. We believe that you deserve all the tools and support necessary to open the doors to endless possibilities of success, and with our community, you don't have to do this alone, so come with me and let's get started.

Speaker 2: 0:43

Welcome, friend. Welcome to the College and Career Ready podcast. I'm your host, sonia Casique. I am so happy you're here with me today. I feel this is such an important topic and I'm actually honored, very honored, to have the space to open this conversation with you, whether you're in high school, college or if you're a parent listening in. I think this conversation and this topic is going to be very insightful. Today we're going to be discussing the topic of anxiety and specifically the anxiety on our students. Understanding anxiety in a school environment is so important nowadays. So, to get started, I want to just take a minute and really discuss what anxiety is and what are the symptoms.

Speaker 2: 1:34

Anxiety is typically a normal response to stress or danger, but when it becomes excessive or persistent, it can develop into an anxiety disorder. This is characterized by excessive fear or worry about everyday situations or events, and it can definitely interfere with your daily life. It can even create difficulty with concentrating or focusing, something that we especially want our students to be concentrated and focus when they're in the classroom. Does this resonate with you, my friend? Have you experienced any of these feelings? So some of the symptoms that can be seen and felt are restlessness or feeling on the edge. Maybe you have a rapid heartbeat or you start sweating and trembling, you start avoiding situations or activities due to fear or anxiety, maybe having difficulty sleeping or staying asleep, muscle tension, headaches, nausea or digestive issues. And, friend, let me say that everybody experiences anxiety in different ways. You can experience anxiety with one of these symptoms or multiple symptoms. You have to learn to just stop and listen to your body more often to really feel what's going on. Now, of course, if you're experiencing these symptoms, it's very important to seek help from a mental health professional. They can help you develop a plan for managing your anxiety.

Speaker 2: 3:17

In today's episode, I'm going to give you a high-level overview. So a lot of us adults tend to quickly jump in and say unintentional comments like what can you possibly be anxious about? Your life is not as difficult. Or we may say something like wait until you grow up. Ouch, that really hurts because in that particular moment, in that situation, even though you're a teenager, you're encountering your own version of situations that's causing your anxiety and your stress. Trust me, I know these are not with bad intentions of what we say as adults, but, being a school counselor and having interacted with hundreds of teenagers and young adults over the years, I know that there are many things that can cause anxiety in students, such as taking a test publicly speaking in front of a class, when your teacher calls your name for an answer, peer pressure, social pressure, social dynamics, or maybe the pressure to choosing a career or choosing the college to attend to, and the list goes on. But, especially nowadays, your school environments can also contribute to anxiety and, unfortunately, in most recent years, safety concerns in schools is Definitely a cause for anxiety. Are you nodding, my friend?

Speaker 2: 4:51

Well, this is what we're going to talk about today, so let's share with you how to recognize signs of anxiety in yourself and adults, to be able to identify these symptoms in themselves or in others, such as noticing physical and emotional symptoms, changes in behavior or mood, difficulty concentrating or sleeping. All of these are small little signs that something's not right or something's going on. So what can we do when we're feeling these symptoms? What are some coping strategies that we can begin to apply or do in order to manage anxiety, especially in a school environment? Practical tips for managing anxiety in academic settings include time management, effective study strategies, maybe going with a group of friends to get together and study for an exam, seeking help from teachers or tutors when you feel like you're stressed because of the academic rigor that's required of you.

Speaker 2: 6:01

Now, some things that you can do in the moment are breathing exercises. I know, friend, I'm sure you've heard this a million times, and I have too, and let me tell you, friend, I completely understand. It took a couple of tries on my end to find the perfect breathing strategy for myself. One thing that I've done most recently, and that actually helps a lot, is when I'm actually breathing in, I'm actually holding my breath for about seven seconds. It's that holding of the breath that actually causes your heart rate to slow down and your body to be a little bit more relaxed. So you take a deep breath in, slowly through your nose and then you hold it for about seven seconds and then you slowly release. This actually causes your body to slow down.

Speaker 2: 7:01

Mindfulness is a great practice as well. Honestly, there are many, many YouTube videos that you can quickly do a search for mindful practices and you can find lots of great, helpful videos that can give you suggestions and walk with you on how to do it. Other relaxation techniques that can help you reduce anxiety and improve overall wellbeing include exercising, taking a walk, decompressing yourself, finding something that you enjoy and there are so many more. One of my favorite apps that I like to use is Insight Timer, and I'll put the link in the show notes. It's a great app that I can quickly go to and find some quick five 10 minute little strategies that can help me in the moment. Now here's the catch Do not be discouraged if you don't find the right one the first time. It will require some trial and error, but I promise you, friend, it's going to be so worth it in the end.

Speaker 2: 8:06

Now it's also important to build a support system of friends, family and professionals. Now, the support system should include especially people who can help you manage your anxiety, and, as I mentioned, these can definitely be friends, family and mental health professionals. Seeking help when needed is so important, including counseling services, seeking help from a mental health professional, such as your school counselor or therapist, because they know how to healthy and effectively help you manage your anxiety. Now this is where I want to share with you that I, too, seek to my personal and family counselor when I'm feeling stressed, when I'm worried or anxious, and actually I even see her during the really good times too. It's someone that can walk this journey with me. So, friend, know that these people and resources are here to help us all, no matter what age you are. Yes, like I said, even I have my own counselor that I like to go to and really end up just feeling better and more relaxed and being heard.

Speaker 2: 9:23

Here is something that I want you to take away with you from today is never, ever, worry alone, because you can go into a spiral and it's gonna be really hard to get out of it when you are in a negative mindset and the worries will just keep coming and coming up. However, when you worry with someone, you problem solve and usually you come out of the conversation laughing, encouraged, relieved and motivated. I know I do so again, never, never, friend, worry alone and have your support system ready for that. Now, if you have a friend that's a worrier and it's going to make the things worse, that's probably not the person you want to go talk to. Again, have your support system of various individuals that can help you, depending on the situation.

Speaker 2: 10:26

Now, the last thing I wanted to talk to you, and very importantly, is school safety and the anxiety that that's causing. I want to bring light into the impact that school safety concerns can have on a teenager, on a student. This can have drastic effect on you as a student the things on the news that we hear, that we see and our community that we live in. When we hear about school shootings or bullying. It can have a huge effect on teenagers' mental health and well-being. I want to take a pause here to talk to students and then I'll talk to parents.

Speaker 2: 11:05

If you're a student and are feeling anxious because you feel unsafe, please, please, share this with someone. You are not alone. Honestly, in just one week's time frame, I had heard from multiple students sharing with me that they are walking into school on a daily basis on high alert and with anxiety. In just one week. My friend, this is when I thought I need to have this conversation with you and I wanted to open the door for us to start building a better relationship with our support system, with our parents, with our family, so we can start having these conversations. You are not alone and, of course, you would feel that you are alone if you don't speak to someone. I want to apologize on behalf of all of us adults that sometimes have overlooked or dismissed your feelings, because we are trying to make you feel like everything is okay and you shouldn't worry about anything, but it's actually causing a counter-effect because you're feeling like you are the only one feeling this way and sometimes maybe even shut down the conversation. You can completely see how this would make you feel worse or even questioning why you feel this way.

Speaker 2: 12:34

This is where I turn to parents and ask you to listen to your child. Just listen, trust me. I know, as a parent, we want to jump in and solve everything or wants to seem calm to help alleviate your child's fear, but I ask that you actually listen to them. Ask them how it feels to go to school, what goes through their mind, how this feeling can have an effect on their body, what effects are they seeing already that's having on them in their daily life? Just listen Again.

Speaker 2: 13:11

Coming from being a parent and also someone that loves to talk, it's very hard for me to just sit and listen, so it is going to take some practice. But in the sitting and listening with your child, you're empathizing with them and, because it's a world that we may not have experienced in our generation when we went to school, we need to hear more about how they are feeling and how it's having an effect on them. Ask them, my friend, ask your child how you can help them or what they need from you. Our children are so smart, so intelligent and together I think we can make amazing things happen for their overall mental health, well-being and stability. So learn to listen, sit with their feelings, and that in itself can provide comfort. And when you're both ready, together you can advocate for safer school environments by speaking up about your concerns and getting involved in initiatives to promote school safety. Friend, these are all small steps that we can start taking together so we can start helping you as a student or as a parent, helping our children. Always remember, friend, to talk to a trusted adult, stay informed and practice self-care. Remember one of the first steps is to recognize signs of anxiety in yourself and others and then use coping strategies such as breathing exercises, mindfulness and other relaxation techniques, giving a support system of friends, family and professionals and, of course, seeking help when needed, including counseling services.

Speaker 2: 14:59

Today's episode was a general introduction to this very important topic, with a high-level overview and honestly, my friend, it's just so we can start the conversation going. I would really like for you to swing on over to my Instagram at Sonia Catzike, and that's Sonia CacIque, and share with me what you'd like to know more about on this topic. What resonated with you most about this episode? What resources, support or topic can I provide you with in regards to what we spoke about today? My friend, what would you like me to dive into deeper about on our next episodes? I'd love to hear from you, friend.

Speaker 2: 15:41

I hope you enjoyed this episode. Thank you for tuning in and supporting this podcast, and you know what's. A great way you can help support this podcast is by rating our show on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening us from, so others can find us too. Remember to take care of your mental health by prioritizing it and your overall well-being, and never, never hesitate in seeking help when needed. I'll talk to you on our next episode and, in the meantime, stay well, be present and keep dreaming, because together we can accomplish anything. Hi, friend.

Speaker 1: 16:20

Thank you for listening in. You enjoyed this episode. You would mean so much to me. If you share it with a friend, share it with them right now or, even better, tag me so I can personally thank you for helping us build our community. I'm so thankful for each and every one of you. Let's keep in touch and I'll talk to you soon. Adios.