Guest Article from LessonWriter: 5 Tips to Reduce Anxiety for Students This School Year

Madeline Hogan for LessonWriter 

It sometimes feels that in 2020, the only thing we can be certain about is uncertainty. As schools begin opening across the country—and some shut immediately after—it’s tough for students to know what the next year is going to look like. Will they be in school? Will they be learning from home? Will they be put at risk? 

Though it can feel unsettling, accepting the uncertainty and finding the right tools to deal with any anxiety it causes can help manage the stress. Whether you’re learning from your room, from the classroom, or from your parents, practicing mindfulness techniques is a great resource to have no matter where you are. 

5 Mindfulness Practices to Help Reduce Anxiety 

Mindfulness Practice One: During a routine activity (like cleaning your room for example), start bringing awareness to your actions. Focus on the different senses activated by the activity, without any judgement on what they are or what they feel like. Keeping your mind involved in seemingly mundane actions actually make them a little more interesting, and a little more enjoyable. Often, we’re overstimulated, which doesn’t allow our brains and bodies to truly manage our current mental, physical, and emotional states. By observing and accepting what we’re feeling and thinking, the better we’re able to stay mindful of the moment we’re in, and what we may need at that time. 

Mindfulness Practice Two: Deep breathing. Certain patterns of breathing are able to activate your body’s natural relaxation response, a “physical state of deep rest that changes the physical and emotional responses to stress.” Activating this response can reduce tension and anxiety, and deep breathing is one of the best ways to do it. Deep, diaphragmatic breathing fills your lungs and belly in comparison when you are only breathing into your chest, which is what most of us currently do. Deeper breathing provides your heart and cells with more oxygen, helping to reduce your heart rate, lower or stabilize blood pressure, and even help balance the autonomic nervous system. Here are two breathing techniques that can keep your mindful and less anxious as you go about your school day: 

Stress Reduction Breath: 

1. Inhale for four seconds
2. Hold for four seconds
3. Exhale for six seconds
4. Hold for two seconds
5. Repeat 2-4 times, or until you feel anxiety is reduced. 

Recharge Breath:

1. Inhale for a count of five.
2. Exhale for a count of five. 
3. Repeat five times. 

Mindfulness Practice Three: Throughout your day, pay attention to what “time frame” your mind is in. Are you thinking about an exam coming up, or how that conversation with your friend earlier could have gone differently? Acknowledge where your mind is, whether it’s the past or future, and then bring it back to the present. What are you doing at that moment, and how is it serving you? Ruminating over the past, or worrying about the future holds can cause unnecessary anxiety and keep from being mindful of the present. Bringing your brain back into the “now” will help keep anxiety at bay, and let you better appreciate the moment you’re in. 

Mindfulness Practice Four: Let your mind wander. This may sound counterintuitive to being mindful, but mindfulness isn’t a forced practice: it’s about accepting your present as it is. So, if your mind is wandering, that’s all right. Having a busy brain is viewed as an asset: “Beneficial brain changes seen in the neuroscience research on mindfulness are thought to be promoted in large part by the act of noticing that your mind has wandered, and then non-judgmentally–lovingly [and] gently—bringing it back.” Just try to realize it’s wandering, notice what it’s wandering to, and gradually focus it back to what you’re doing in the moment, whether it be enjoying time with your friends, or doing your homework. 

Mindfulness Practice Five: Stay social. Even if this may be harder with quarantines and shutdowns, it’s important to prioritize your social health, especially if you’re learning remotely this year. Social health is just as important for one’s health as our physical and mental facets, and something that needs to be maintained. Schedule weekly FaceTimes with friends and family, or plan virtual game nights for big groups. Netflix even released a Chrome extension (Netflix Party) so that people could enjoy shows and movies together at the exact same time. Or, find safe socially distant activities to do, like hiking or a picnic. It may seem like it’s not a big deal to pass up a FaceTime or call with a friend, but during this time, that could be the majority of our social interactions. Make the effort to find the time, and reap the benefits of spending time with friends and family. 

How to Practicing Mindfulness to Reduce Anxiety in the 2020 School Year 

No matter where you’re learning this school year, it’s important to take the time not only for your studies, but for yourself. Using these mindfulness techniques to manage any stress and anxiety you may feel is a great way to find peace within the uncertainty we’re all feeling right now. 

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