Anxiety: What is it and how many teenagers does it affect here in Illinois? According to Compass Health Center, anxiety is a feeling of dread or uneasiness. Anxiety can become a mental disorder depending on how bad it is.
Looking back about twenty years ago, it was quite common for people to rarely talk about anxiety, as if it was a forbidden topic. Why? Well, one major reason is because of the stigma and shame surrounding people who have anxiety. Students who dealt with this might have been perceived as weak.
“When I was a kid, it was just suck it up and deal with it,” said Mr. Evans, a P.E. teacher and badminton coach here at Argo.
Nowadays, that is not the case, and there are more resources and research available for teens to learn more about anxiety. In research done by the National Institute of Mental Health, also known as N.I.M.H., anxiety affects an estimated 31.9% of all teens. In that same study, it was also discovered that females are more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety than males are.
Focusing on the bigger picture: How can one deal with anxiety and where can they go? Well, here at Argo, there are many ways to get support. If a student has anxiety surrounding schoolwork, they can go to math resource, science resource, or go to the Teaching & Learning Center. These resources are available during their lunch period or after school.
If the anxiety isn’t something schoolwork related, they can go to either a counselor, social worker, or a trusted teacher to hopefully be able to talk it out with someone. Sometimes, talking it out can help a student greatly.
There are many other methods that teens can do to help deal with their anxiety.
“Some coping strategies are like going on a walk, listening to music, get out of the house, if that is where a lot of the anxiety comes from,” said Ms. Coleman, a social worker intern here at Argo.
According to The American Medical Association, a few techniques to help deal with your anxiety are to get regular exercise and to try breathing methods. These have been proven to be one of the most successful methods in calming someone’s anxiety levels.
However, not every strategy works for everyone.
“Some strategies aren’t one size fits all category especially if anxiety shows up differently for everyone,” said Ms. Coleman.
These are all helpful ways for someone to deal with their anxiety.
Anxiety isn’t something to just brush over. It is something that affects many teens here in Illinois. Remember that if you are dealing with anxiety, you are not alone, and there are resources for you to access.
