It’s the first day of school!
Is that exclamation mark one of excitement or anxiousness? Going back to school for some parents and children can bring about feelings of anxiety depending on past experiences and how school has been going for the child (thus far). Covid has created anxiety for those who may have not experienced it much before and has exacerbated it for those with pre-existing anxiety. With all the sudden and unexpected changes, we have all been experiencing during the pandemic it is no wonder there has been an increase in anxiety overall.
Anxiety is an emotion that is normal and a part of our experience as it helps to guide us and inform us when there is real or perceived danger. When it comes to back-to-school thoughts such as; Who will be my teacher? Will my friends be in my class? For parents, the thoughts might be questions around our children fitting in, transportation, safety, and navigating the new normal during a pandemic which can be significant contributors to elevating our anxiety.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is the current best practice for anxiety. A CBT intervention knows as Thought Stopping is a very simple and useful technique for stopping the negative, unhealthy, or unhelpful thinking patterns we can get caught in. When we notice the thought pattern, we tell ourselves to stop and then redirect distracting ourselves with something else. I often recommend a sticky/post-it note to provide a visual cue to utilize this technique to shorten the amount of time before stopping the thought.
We often talk to clients about their faith versus their fears. When we are having faith or trust we don’t experience fear/anxiety as they cannot be in the same space at the same time because if you are having faith you aren’t fearful or anxious. This can be a moment-to-moment experience as we go in and out of feeling faith and anxiousness. Faith can be referring to spiritually as in God or a higher power in the universe but can also be in so many other things! If we are having faith in our car to get us to work, we aren’t feeling anxious about whether we are going to get to work or not.
Faith can be in ourselves to make good decisions, faith in teachers to educate our children and the list goes on. It is when something happens that erodes or leads us to question our faith or trust that anxiety and fear can start to creep in. Change and uncertainty as we have all been experiencing during the global pandemic which has brought about so many changes have compromised our ability to cope with anxiety. Expanding our resources and supports to meet this increased demand is an important part of managing anxiety during these challenging times and in supporting our children in their return to the classroom.