SMC Wellbeing
Anxiety and stress
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is the bodies physical response to fear. It is totally 'normal' to feel anxious and stressed sometimes, to an extent. In some situations, anxiety can actually impact us positively, for instance, imagine you have a project due, the anxiety and stress to complete this on time can motivate us to get it done. Or when you are completely drained of energy, yet feel the urge to escape from a situation and suddenly feel a rush of adrenaline and energy. In these particular cases, anxiety is helpful, however, significant amounts of anxiety can have negative impacts on your Hauora. (Well-being).
The table below shows the differences between everyday anxiety and anxiety disorder.
What is stress?
Stress is your bodies way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. When you sense danger—whether it's real or imagined—the bodies defences kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction or the "stress response." The stress response is the bodies way of protecting you.
Symptoms:
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Heavy breathing
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Sweaty hands
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Bursts of energy
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Rapid heart rate
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Butterflies in your stomach
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Hot and cold flushes
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Tight chest, pains in chest area
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Racing mind
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Constant urge to check things are in order
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Shaking
Dealing with Stress and Anxiety
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Talk to someone
By talking to a trusted friend, parent, sibling, teacher or even a counsellor can really benefit how anxiety impacts your life. This will help you to feel a missive weight being lifted off your shoulders and feel safe talking to someone you trust.
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Focus on the present
Anxiety and stress often occurs by dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. By focusing on what is in front of you now will make you feel a little less uptight and much more relaxed. An example of how to achieve this would be meditation apps, some really effective ones being headspace, calm and insight timer.
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Take a break
School, work and other commitments can all build up and take up all of your free time, bound to cause stress. By making some time for yourself to relax, pursue a hobby, watch some T.V or meet with a friend can fill each day with at least one thing that you love to do. This will help to make your schedule more enjoyable.
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Record your thoughts
By recording your thoughts you will be able to monitor what is causing stress and anxiety in your life. This could be done through a diary or taking noted on your phone.
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Challenging your thoughts
If you are having negative thoughts it is likely you will feel stressed and anxious. Try challenging these thoughts by comparing them to what is really happening in your situation and if these thoughts are actually true. If they are true, continue to record these thoughts and work towards how you will overcome them.
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Eat clean, exercise, sleep
Exercise is proven to be able to reduce anxiety and stress. You don’t need to participate in excessive amounts of exercise daily, just as little as 30 minutes a day can really benefit your well being. Eating and sleeping well is also really important for your Hauora. Sleeping well positively impacts you energy, mood and stress levels, while a healthy diet can make you feel stronger and more energized. All of this will help you to handle stress and anxiety better.
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Face your fears
By avoiding situations that cause anxiety, you may be missing out on important opportunities or things that you need to do. By facing these fears can actually reduce anxiety.
Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety disorder differs from everyday anxiety because it begins to severely impact an individuals well being and everyday life. Instead of feeling anxious and stressed to an actual threat of danger, anxiety is uncontrollable and can occur when there is no actual danger proposed and will still suffer symptoms.
There are many different types of anxiety which include:
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Generalised anxiety disorder: excessive worry about anything and everything, including worrying about worrying.
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Social anxiety disorder: anxiety in social situations, often rooted in the fear of doing something wrong and being judged by others.
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Panic disorder: repeated panic attacks and worry about future panic attacks.
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Agoraphobia: anxiety about having a panic attack in certain situations and not being able to escape or to get help.
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Specific phobias: intense fear of objects or situations (e.g. dogs).
Causes of Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety is caused by a range of factors, rather than just a single thing. Anxiety is often passed down through the generations, physical well being, trauma, someone's personality and/or a stressful lifestyle. Anxiety disorders are developed over a period of time and will remain present in someone's life through an unbeneficial mindset.
Where to seek help
If these tips to help overcome or reduce levels of anxiety don’t particularly work for you, it is important that you seek professional help. This could be through a councillor inside or outside of school, or here are some good helplines that are free to call:
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24 Hour Anxiety Helpline - 0800 ANXIETY (0800 269 4389)
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Healthline – 0800 611 116
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Youthline – 0800 376 633, free text 234
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counsellors within school -
Supporting Families In Mental Illness – For families and whānau supporting a loved one who has a mental illness. Auckland 0800 732 825.
