Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety by Christopher Willard

Author:Christopher Willard
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781608829125
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Published: 2014-07-09T04:00:00+00:00

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school phobia

Just going to school can cause tremendous anxiety for some teens. There are so many aspects of the day that can be overwhelming. You might want to avoid school altogether, or your body might be sending you danger signals.

I worked with a young woman named Amanda, who had a lot of stress and anxiety about school. She was a bit of a perfectionist, and that made her even more anxious about school. We talked a lot about the most stressful parts of her week and were able to identify a few specific triggers, but it was still hard for her to put her finger on exactly what it was about school that was most challenging.

After she talked to her friends and family about when she seemed the most stressed, she realized that her anxiety about the school week would begin on Sundays. Stomachaches and worrying would keep her up on Sunday nights, and she’d wake up a wreck on Monday mornings, after tossing and turning all night.

We worked out some plans to make Sunday a day to look forward to—cooking, a yoga class, and a bath in the evening all made Sundays better—but some anxiety still lingered. Monday mornings could still be hard, especially on the walk to school. In our conversations about what her Monday mornings were like, we discovered that the walk to school was one of the best opportunities for Amanda to practice mindfulness.

We are so often doing something else while we walk that we hardly notice what is happening around us, or even how we got to where we ended up. Like many other adults, I’m guilty of this. I listen to music or podcasts, I text or talk to friends, I daydream, and before I know it I’m at my destination with almost no memory of the walk itself. And yes, I too have walked straight into a tree while I was texting!

Maybe walking isn’t always so interesting, but you can start to make it interesting and do something for your anxiety on the way to school that will get you ready to begin your day calmly and with confidence.

Mindfulness Practice: Walking Mindfully

Find some space for walking. It can be outdoors or indoors, but make sure you have at least ten or twelve feet so that you can turn around after a few steps.

Begin by standing up straight, with your legs about hips width apart.

Focus your eyes on the ground in front of you.

Take a deep breath or two, allowing your body to settle.

Spend a moment or two making small adjustments in your posture until you feel balanced and upright.

Feel your feet making contact with the ground.

Slowly, just lift the heel of your right foot, being aware of all the sensations in your foot, ankle, and leg, aware of the muscles moving.

Raise your foot, lift it into the air, and place it on the ground in front of you, taking a complete step.

Remain aware now, as your balance shifts and weight moves into that right foot and your left foot begins to lift up.

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