Anxiety and getting mentally ready for the school year

The World Health Organisation (2022) reports that about one in eight people in the world live with a mental disorder, with anxiety and depressive disorders being the most common. Mental health challenges may come about as a reaction to environmental stressors, including trauma, the death of a loved one, school issues, and/or experiencing bullying. All these factors—and more—can lead to anxiety in kids and adolescents.

Anxiety disorders have the potential to affect every part of a young person’s life, including their physical health, emotional well-being, and social skill development. The combined impact can lead to kids feeling socially isolated, stigmatized, and incapable of being active members of their community. There are also economic implications on the families and the society which is often underestimated.

Different things can cause children to be anxious, like starting a new school, or going to a new class, worried about friendships, bullying, challenges with a new subject or a difficult topic of a subject, challenges at home, peer pressure to look a certain way…. the list is endless.  We tend to feel better after the first day or first few days of school, however, in some cases, few children do not feel better and usually may need further support like counselling, therapy such as cognitive behavioural therapy and in extreme cases medication to feel better.

Anxiety disorders can be generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and body dysmorphic disorder.

As school resumes in some part of the world, while in other parts of the world, children are preparing to resume a new academic session, it is important to look after your mental health and speak to your parents, teachers and guardian about any concerns or feelings you may have or experience.  A little reassurance might be all you need to feel better again and confident in yourself again.

In our next article, I will talk about the different anxiety disorders and how you can get support.