By Penina Pultman, PA-C
A IS FOR ANXIETY: Help for the Back-to-School Jitters
It’s the night before the first day of school. Neatly packed briefcases are lined up at the front door. Tomorrow’s lunches are prepped in the fridge. The house is finally quiet. It’s been a long day. You make one last round of the house, check that the front door is locked, and look in on the kids sleeping peacefully in their beds. You linger at your daughter’s room, smiling at the freshly pressed uniform draped over the chair and the brandnew school shoes lined up under the dresser. She’s so excited to start first grade. You’re about to gently close the door and head to bed yourself when you hear it. The quietest of whimpers. Followed by a sob. And suddenly, you’re on high alert, all tiredness gone. As you murmur words of reassurance and stroke your daughter’s hair, you wonder, are all first graders this anxious about starting school or is your daughter’s fear a sign of something more serious? Everyone experiences anxiety at some point, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, either.
The increased heart rate and breathing an adult feels before an important meeting or a student feels before an exam is the body’s way of entering a 'fight or flight' mode; the resulting heightened awareness can help the individual ace the interview or motivate the student to study for the test. However, when anxiety is intense, excessive, and persistent enough to interfere with one’s daily functioning, it becomes a problem. An anxiety disorder can take the form of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic attacks, social anxiety, selective mutism, separation anxiety, and other fears.
ty may also develop because of stressful life experiences or health conditions Approximately 7.1% of school-age children aged 3-17
While there is no single factor that causes an anxiety disorder, children who are perfectionists, shy, reluctant to take risks, lack self-esteem or need to feel in control, sometimes develop anxiety during childhood, adolescence or as adults. Anxie-
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