Transition, Change and Managing Anxiety

For many, term 4 is a really exciting term full of enjoyable activities and celebration of the year that they’ve almost finished. However, for others, the end of the year brings much anxiety and uncertainty for the next year. For these people, the prospect of changing classes or schools, moving up a year, or moving into a new classroom brings a sense of dread and anxiety.

Anxiety, broadly speaking, is the worry of a potential situation which may seem threatening or scary. Some people then focus on the signs of potential threats which makes them become more anxious. Students who are very fearful of a test, for example, will focus so much on what might happen that anxiety takes over their entire headspace.

Some people may be aware of feeling anxious. Some will not understand that the feelings they’re experiencing is anxiety, and may misread it as feeling unwell, feeling sad or feeling angry. Avoiding the symptoms and situations which cause anxiety may seem like a great short-term relief, but what results is a lowered ability to face future anxiety. This results in the anxious person becoming less confident to cope with the next stressful situation, and sometimes this can lead to long lasting effects. Beyond Blue (2022) remind parents that the goal for most children is not to have anxiety completely eliminated, but about giving them the strategies to manage their anxiety so that it does not interfere with them being able to enjoy life.

By addressing situations of anxiety whether it is an upcoming camp, starting at a new school, changing classes, important tests, even perhaps swimming if a student feels less confident around water, it is important as it can help a student to break the cycle of anxiety. By acknowledging the feelings of anxiety, the student can be supported to help them take gradual steps to safely and successfully overcome the feeling of fear. 

Encouraging the student to identify what is making them feel anxious and helping them to change negative thinking into positive thinking, by being fully informed of what might be coming up and ensuring that their experience will be a successful one, will help them become much more confident. Seek support from your child’s teacher to help ensure that their experience will be safe and positive, challenging the negative thoughts with more balanced thoughts thus reducing the experience of anxiety. This point is also valid if the fear is around their class in 2024, especially our students moving onto secondary school next year, or those moving to different schools. Our teaching staff take a great deal of time and care, deliberating about which class your child would be best suited for, because we want to set every child up for success. If you are concerned, please take some time to speak to your child’s current teacher.

Some tips from Beyond Blue (2022) are;

1. Start by slowing down: Encourage your child to take some slow, deep breaths to calm the physical effects of anxiety. Practice together by breathing in for three seconds, holding for three seconds, then out for three. Once they're feeling a bit calmer, you can talk through what's worrying them.
2. Make time to worry: Setting aside some designated time to deal with worries can stop anxious thoughts from taking over. Try creating a daily ritual called ‘worry time’, and encourage children to draw or write down whatever’s bothering them. You can make the activity a bit more fun by decorating a ‘worry box’ or building a ‘worry wall’ out of post-its. When the time is up – after 10 to 15 minutes – shut the worries up in the box or tear them off the wall and say goodbye to them for the day.
3. Climb that ladder: Instead of skirting the scary situation, you could try a technique called ‘laddering’ – breaking down worries into manageable chunks and gradually working towards a goal.
Let’s say your child is afraid of water and swimming. Instead of avoiding the pool, create some mini-goals to build their confidence. Start out by just sitting and watching other kids swimming. As they feel more comfortable get them to try dangling their legs in the water, then standing in the shallow end, and so on.
4. Encourage positive thinking: Kids with anxiety often get stuck on the worst-case scenario or 'what ifs' in any situation. You can help them shift these thinking patterns by:
•    reminding them of times they've dealt with similar issues in the past and how things worked out OK
•    helping them to challenge the scary thought with facts and evidence. For example, we know that crocodiles can't survive under our bed
•    make a plan for how they'll respond if things don't go as they'd like
5. Have a go: Anxious kids often worry about making mistakes or not having things perfect. This can lead to them avoiding situations or activities – they’d rather sit out than get it wrong. Emphasise giving new things a try and having fun over whether something’s a success or failure.
6. Model helpful coping: Don’t just tell your child how to overcome emotions – show them. When you get anxious or stressed, verbalise how you’re coping with the situation: “This looks a bit scary, but I’ll give it a go.” And hey, you might even knock off one of your own fears.
7. Help your child take charge: Think about what you can do to make your child feel like they have some control over the scary situation. For example, if your child gets anxious about intruders, make shutting and locking their bedroom window part of their night-time responsibilities.
8. Be upfront about scary stuff: Lots of kids have worries about death, war, terrorism or things they see on the news. This is all really normal. Talk through their fears and answer any questions truthfully. Don’t sugar-coat the facts – try and explain what’s happening in a way that puts their fears in perspective. 
9. Be BRAVE: Check out BRAVE – a free online program to help kids cope with worries and anxiety. There’s a tailored version for younger kids (8-12), one for teens (12-17) and an accompanying program for parents.
10. And finally, check your own behaviour: Kids pick up all sorts of signals from the adults in their lives, so have a think about the messages you’re sending. Over-protective family members can inadvertently reinforce children’s fears that the world is a dangerous place where everything can hurt you. Similarly, parents who ‘over-help’ are subconsciously telling their kids that they can’t do anything without adult support.

If you’re prone to ‘helicoptering’, try taking a step back and waiting next time before you jump in. It can be hard seeing your child distressed, but figuring things out for themselves is an important step in building resilience.
https://healthyfamilies.beyondblue.org.au/age-6-12/mental-health-conditions-in-children/anxiety/strategies-to-support-anxious-children 

If you are concerned that your child is struggling with anxiety, please make contact with their teacher or make an appointment to speak to one of our Wellbeing Team members.

I pray that you all have a terrific start to the term and that you and your families will have a wonderful week ahead.

God bless you,

Deb Clifford
Deputy Principal