How To Help College Students Who Struggle With Anxiety
The pressures of academics, social interactions, and transitioning into adulthood can sometimes feel overwhelming, leading to higher anxiety levels among students. How can we tell when anxiety becomes a more significant concern for students? And what can we do to support them? We must understand when anxiety becomes a disorder or an important issue for students' mental health.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a normal response to stress and situations that make us worry or fear. It's something we all experience at times. When we face a challenging problem, anxiety helps us prepare by triggering our body's "fight-or-flight" response. This response involves physical changes, like a faster heart rate and quick breathing, to help us deal with the upcoming situation.
While anxiety can be beneficial in certain situations, like getting ready for a big presentation or staying cautious in a risky situation, it becomes a severe problem when it presents itself as too intense, lasts a long time, and disrupts our daily lives. It can eventually turn into a concerning anxiety disorder.
Anxiety vs. Stress
To give you a heads-up, they're different.
It's common for anxiety and stress to be confused with each other because of the similarities they share. Both can make you feel the same way - tense and overwhelmed. But there are some differences between the two that can help you tell them apart.
External pressures, like tight deadlines, heavy workloads, or challenging life events, usually trigger stress. Stress is usually temporary and disappears once the situation is resolved. However, if those feelings of pressure and overwhelm stick around for over two weeks or even months, it can become chronic stress. Some signs of stress include trouble sleeping, high blood pressure, and feeling easily irritated.
On the other hand, anxiety is more of an inner feeling that can present itself even when there aren't any apparent reasons to be stressed. It may mean constantly feeling worried, doubtful, and fearful about school, relationships, or work. These feelings can go a step further and develop an anxiety disorder. Anxiety also appears in physical symptoms, such as having a fast heartbeat, breathing quickly, or experiencing shaky hands.
Effects of Stress on Anxiety
It's important to know that stress can also make anxiety worse.
When a person is under a lot of pressure for a long time, it increases the chances of developing an anxiety disorder or makes their current anxiety way more challenging.
In an academic setting, this means that if a student already has anxiety, stress can make it harder for them to deal with everyday situations. Even regular tasks can become extra stressful and anxiety-inducing, adding more obstacles to their well-being and academic success.
For example, these students may need help to focus and perform their best during exams or assignments. The added pressure and stress can magnify their anxiety, making concentrating or showcasing their abilities difficult. Even simple tasks like participating in class or giving presentations can become too overwhelming.
What Causes Anxiety?
Anxiety is not caused by one specific thing - it's a mix of various factors.
Genetics, the environment, and how students perceive and respond to things contribute to anxiety. Stressful experiences, like academic demands, can trigger or worsen anxiety in students too. And having a family history of anxiety disorders can also increase the chances of developing anxiety.
On top of these aspects, other things can also make college students experience anxiety at stronger levels:
- High expectations
- Hormones
- School pressure
- Poor sleep
- New environment
- Underdeveloped brains
- Lack of self-esteem
Types of Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are different from everyday nervousness or worry.
They come in different forms because everyone's experiences and reactions to anxiety can be unique. As we said earlier, personal differences, genetics, and life events influence these disorders. Because of these factors, each anxiety disorder focuses on a particular trigger and pattern of anxious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors:
Generalized Anxiety (GAD)
When a student experiences Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), it can significantly impact their daily life and make it challenging to concentrate on their studies.
GAD is a type of anxiety disorder where students may consistently feel more worried and anxious than usual about various aspects of their lives, such as exams, grades, or friendships. The tricky part is that this excessive worry is often difficult to control, leading students to perceive situations as more intense and overwhelming than they are.
Panic Disorder
A panic disorder is an anxiety disorder where students have unexpected and intense panic attacks. These panic attacks are episodes of intense fear and discomfort that come on suddenly without apparent reason and reach their peak within a few minutes. During an attack, students may experience a racing heart, shortness of breath, chest pain, shaking, sweating, dizziness, and a fear of losing control.
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety, also known as social phobia, is something many students experience. It's an intense fear of social situations and a desire to avoid them. It's like feeling extremely worried about being judged, embarrassed, or humiliated in front of other students.
This fear can come up in many school situations, like speaking in front of the class, meeting new people, or even just participating in everyday activities with classmates. It can also make it really tough for students to engage in social activities, make friends, and feel comfortable at school.
Identifying Anxiety in Students
It's essential to be aware of and understand students' anxiety so we can offer them the proper support. Anxiety is something many students go through, and recognizing their challenges and needs can make a big difference in how we help them:
- Social changes: Notice if students consistently avoid situations triggering their anxiety, such as public speaking, group activities, or social events.
- Academic performance: Anxiety can impact a student's ability to focus and perform academically. Look out for sudden declines in grades, missed assignments, or less participation during class.
- Physical symptoms: Students with anxiety may experience physical signs like frequent headaches, stomachaches, difficulty focusing, or fatigue.
- Perfectionism and excessive self-criticism: Anxiety can lead to perfectionism and excessive self-criticism in students. They may feel intense pressure to be perfect and overly judge themselves on their academic performance.
How to Help Students with Anxiety
Sadly, 75% of students who experience anxiety hesitate to ask for help.
These students may struggle academically, feel overwhelmed to the point of dropping out of college, experience thoughts of self-harm or suicide, or even turn to substance abuse as a way to cope. Educational institutions and teachers play a crucial role in creating a supportive student environment.
Here are some steps you can take to help students and prevent these issues from happening:
Introduce mindfulness exercises
Begin each class session by incorporating a short mindfulness exercise to help students center themselves and their focus. Introduce simple techniques like deep breathing exercises or guided meditations that teach students to be fully present. This practice can help calm their minds, reduce distractions, and create a positive learning environment.
Teach simple stress reduction techniques
Help students reduce stress by teaching them simple techniques they can use anytime, anywhere. Teach them deep breathing exercises that promote relaxation, encourage them to take short breaks during study sessions to practice mindfulness, and guide them through body scan meditations to release body tension.
Use Mental Health Platforms Like TadHealth
TadHealth is designed to make it easy for counselors, staff, and students to access the necessary tools and resources to support their mental health. Our personalized approach lets you easily find and use digital tools tailored to your specific stress points. Whether you're looking for mental health resources or therapy support, everything is just a click away.
Remember, supporting students with anxiety is a journey that requires time and effort. However, incorporating mental health platforms, understanding their fear, and breaking the stigma surrounding mental health can empower students to handle college life more smoothly.
At TadHealth, we believe in making mental health care simple and accessible for students. We are here to support students, staff, faculty, and parents in creating a supportive environment for school mental health. We combine all the necessary elements, resources, and access in one place. Together, we can make a positive difference in student’s lives.
By Denia Villegas
