Siera Ferguson Ferguson1

Prof. Loudermilk

English 1201

21 November 2020

Students and Young People Cope with Anxiety

It was my freshman year of college, I was the new student all over again. I acknowledged

this because being anxious on your first day is normal. I cry in my car before going to my first

class of the day - I was scared, give me a break - I still consider this a normal reaction. As soon

as my next class rolled around, I was still feeling overwhelmed but now it was accompanied with

a tight feeling in my back that wouldn’t ease. I had never experienced this before, considering I

went to a school where I knew everyone. Even though I was feeling so anxious, I still considered

myself in the safe acceptable part of anxiety. “Everyone does this” I think to myself over and

over again until it starts making me feel sane. Once I left school the anxiety I felt throughout the

day was still overwhelming and very much present, everyday I couldn't eat because of it and

every night I couldn't sleep. I would dread waking up in the morning to feel it all again. This

went on for the whole year. I ended up struggling a lot in school and in my own personal life

outside of that, I went from a healthy 174 lbs 5’11 female to a 130 lbs underweight one. The

worst part about anxiety is how fast everything intensifies. Anxiety brings out a lot of emotions,

thoughts and questions you didn’t know you were capable of having, and then leaves you with

no answers.

Anxiety is common among students and young people, some people find it hard to

discover effective ways that can lessen the intensity of how they feel. A great number of people

are affected by anxiety and have to push through negative symptoms because they don’t know

how to deal with it. Sometimes people are not ready to ask for help and prefer to rely on their
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own abilities to overcome their problems. Doctors can recommend medication and therapists can

advise you to get therapy but what actually works? There are many ways to cope with anxiety,

however the most effective way is the use of self-help strategies like deep breathing, time

management, proper eating and sleeping habits.

The start of anxiety was deeply set in the values of classical civilizations. This century

never described anxiety as a medical condition but as an unfortunate yet unavoidable piece of

existence (Horwitz). Anxiety was viewed as a natural response to social situations. Although no

one believed anxiety was an illness, treatment began in the mid- 1950’s and people started to

gravitate towards doctors for aid over psychiatrists. Anxiety was the reason for the first

generation of medication, the tranquilizer (Horwitz). Prescription medicine was not dispensed by

pharmacies but the raw material of the medication was sold to neighboring pharmacies who

would put it all together and sell them to people. Barbiturates and tranquilizers were popular

among people but with that popularity came negative side affects, high dependance rates, and

suicide attempts. So much has changed overtime, anxiety is now seen as the single most common

class of mental illness with medications transitioning from barbiturates to benzodiazepines

(Horwitz)(Anxiety: A Short History).

Anxiety is the uncomfortable feeling of dread that occurs when someone experiences

long periods of stress. It is commonly ranked as mild, moderate, severe, or panic (Brigati). It is

believed that a mild amount of anxiety is normal and needed to change and develop new ways of

coping with stress (Hopkins). Anxiety is like an internal attack, one negative thought, doubt, or

lack of self-esteem can change everything. Students deal with anxiety like this all the time in

school especially those who value academics and think of it as an important step in their future

success. The unsettling feeling sets in when students are not sure they will have all the things
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necessary to achieve what is being asked of them (Brigati). A student dealing with this might

associate their feelings with how they are doing in school. In some cases anxiety can actually

motivate students to study ahead of time and be prepared and in others anxiety can cause

someone to avoid studying because they want to steer clear from any feeling of stress. It is smart

and helpful to develop a study routine, by having a regular routine you’ll avoid stressing out

about an assignment. Cramming lots of studying into a small amount of time can increase

anxiety and stress (“College Anxiety Guide”). Keeping an eye on deadlines and taking a little

time out of the day to do assignments is when people can produce a solid schedule, and it is less

likely that they will have anxiety about an upcoming assignment or test. Being prepared is just

the beginning of ways that can lead one down a stressless path.

Another well known coping strategy is deep breathing. A symptom of anxiety is rapid

breathing, sweating and a fast heart beat. Stress triggers the fight-or-flight syndrome which

releases hormones and speeds up a numerous amount of the body’s functions (Scheuller). The

adrenaline someone gets from stress can give a person a “high” when they are faced with an

intimidating situation but too much can often send someone into an emotional spiral (Scheuller).

When people find themselves becoming anxious, taking several deep breaths from your

diaphragm is a powerful way to reduce stress because it starts up the body’s relaxation response

and decreases the heart rate(“College Anxiety Guide”). Deep breathing helps change your body

from a fight-or-flight response to a relaxed response within the nervous system (“College

Anxiety Guide”). Deep breathing is seen in a lot of things like yoga and meditation.

Everyone has been dealing with a lot of emotions recently with Covid-19 amidst and due

to how much the media covers it, there is an increase in the production of stress chemicals and

this can bring about anxiety causing one to feel foggy and unable to think straight. This can
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cause a person even more stress, leading one into a cycle of non stop anxiety (Herald). The

Covid situation is an opportunity for one to practice self- affirmations and thinking positively.

While this is easier said than done, the weight of positive thinking can be massive when

preventing or dealing with anxiety. Self- affirmations challenge negative thoughts, simply

acknowledging that one is in a safe space can be calming to the mind. When someone is stuck in

a dark place it makes it easier for them to think negatively which increases anxious feelings.

Thinking positive helps condition parts of the brain that are responsible for controlling thinking

and behaviors to function better (“College Anxiety Guide”).

Although there are numerous self- help strategies that can help one cope with anxiety,

some people prefer taking medication. Patients in studies that have used self- coping skills have

found that this method isn't effective on it’s own. Patients prefer to take prescribed medication

on a daily schedule and have experienced better results doing so (Press). The support a person

can receive going to a therapist or physician can play a big role in why they might find comfort

in taking medication. Doctors are reliable and informed on conditions, there is no question that

when anxiety is disabling one would run to this method for help.

Anxiety can stem from focusing too much on the end result. A young generation of

people deal with thinking about the future, how well they did on a test, and what others think.

This can pull one into a rabbit hole of thoughts that have no real logical answers. Overthinking is

a very overwhelming feeling that takes form in racing thoughts and can consume everything in

someone's life (“College Anxiety Guide”). When someone functions in a constant state of

distress it can put them on high alert and lead them to be overly cautious and always looking

over their shoulder. Trying not to focus on the end result is difficult because everyone wants to

know where they will be in 5 years or 10 but living in the now and enjoying life, activities ,
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music, or hanging out with friends who bring positive energy is just a glimpse of things someone

will regret not taking advantage of. Living in the present is a good way to tackle the thoughts of

impending doom and will help one manage and understand a present situation they might be

struggling with.

Focusing too much on the future can not only throw off someone’s mental but also the

physical characteristics of their life. A symptom of anxiety that can affect someone physically is

insomnia and fatigue. Someone who is constantly in a state of worry might have trouble staying

or falling asleep. Losing even just a few hours of sleep can lead to added anger and sadness. Poor

sleep has been associated with increased levels of anxiety (Baroni). This can be detrimental to

someone's mental health, when running on empty everything suffers and it is almost impossible

to maintain mental health (“College Anxiety Guide”). When one possesses a proper sleep

schedule they will soon notice they have more time in the day to get things done and this can

actually motivate and improve one’s overall mood. An easy way to start is by setting an alarm

for a time one chooses to sleep and wake up, and just following that everyday can get someone

on a healthy sleep schedule.

The symptoms of anxiety can make someone feel defeated and coping with it is

challenging and often requires some life changes. Once the focus is turned towards taking care of

the physical properties of life one will soon discover all of the things that might have had a

negative effect on their mental health that they hadn’t noticed before. People might not see how

their eating habits play a big role in their mood and sense of well being. A symptom of anxiety is

loss in appetite, nausea and binge eating. When an individual eats unhealthy food, caffeine, or

alcohol it can play a role in increasing their feelings of anxiety (“College Anxiety Guide”). One

should stay away from food that can make them irritable or uneasy. Proper eating habits can help
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maintain a healthy brain and body (“College Anxiety Guide”). Note that being self aware of what

one consumes is not equivalent to restricting oneself of a favorite snack of theirs, restricting can

lead to other issues like eating disorders that can be harmful to one's mental state. Being self

aware of what food one might eat can be the first little step to improving one’s overall mood and

or self- esteem.

Fig.1. This chart shows how anxiety can negatively impact individuals, yet few seek and

receive good help (Folk).

Self- helping skills are not just manageable but a safe way to avoid getting miss

diagnosed a condition or over prescribed medication. Those who struggle with anxiety

experience a high risk of addiction and drug abuse (Folk). This raises some issues for the people

dealing with anxiety, if they become addicted they will need a higher concentration of

medication. One third of people will receive treatment, and of those, only ten percent of them

will receive proper treatment (Folk). Benzodiazepines, a drug used for treating anxiety can do
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more harm to a person than good. Benzodiazepines are linked to addiction, abnormal sleep

patterns, and other concerning side effects (Schueller). Some side effects of this medication have

been dizziness, fatigue, and lack of coordination. Doctors found that benzodiazepines can affect

memory and behavior (Shueller).

When people seek help from medical professionals they have a chance of running into

issues. For instance the doctor might not be able to recognize all of the symptoms a patient

comes in with (Folk). Doctors can diagnose patients with anxiety and it could be something life

threatening to them or vice versa. Some other issues that might arise is that the individual might

not have access to the resources they need to get proper care, like insurance (Folk). Not everyone

has money to pay for a hospital visit or therapy, they definitely won't have enough for the

medication. Individuals might not even be ready to ask for help in fear of being seen as weak or

mocked for being “crazy” (Folk). This strategy focuses on building one's own abilities,

confidence and also in the process learning about oneself.

There are always misconceptions on ways one could cope with anxiety. For example,

putting a rubber band around your wrist and whenever you feel anxious or have a negative

thought you pull it back and snap it against your skin. Studies have shown that pushing down

negative thoughts can make them more frequent (Tatsuya). Someone who snaps a rubber band

on their wrist is not coping but actively suppressing feelings. Another misconception is that if an

individual avoids stress or uncomfortability then they will get better. If one avoids these things

then it will only lead to them sheltering their emotions and could make their anxiety worse

(Tatsuya). The last misconception that needs to be addressed is that anxiety is curable. Just

because someone doesn’t have bad anxiety one day doesn’t mean they don’t have anxiety. Self-
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help strategies are merely effective tools and lifestyle tips that one can apply to their life that can

help them cope with anxiety not cure them of it.

Self- help strategies are a good alternative for long- term results. These strategies can be

applied throughout someone's entire life. When an individual acknowledges what makes them

anxious, they can use these skills to dilute a problem they feel. A way to keep track of triggers is

by writing them down in a journal or any other method one would prefer. Writing can help one

acknowledge what could have been the root of their anxiety or even how they overcame it.

Keeping this stuff written down doesn't have to be all negative, this is a source used to do the

opposite. They won't only enjoy life again but regain control of what they had lost. These

strategies prepare someone to live an unrestricted lifestyle, this is even effective in relationships.

These strategies are meant to make one able to express themselves and make them a better

overall person.

When I think about my freshman year it feels like part of me that I've learned to accept. I

have learned a lot about how I can apply these skills to my life and I've come a long way from

where I was. One thing I learned is that being consistent and willing to put in a lot of time and

effort when using these skills is important. I also realized how all the strategies build off of

eachother. For example if you are eating right but not sleeping you still are at risk of feeling

anxious but if one eats and sleeps right they have a better chance for the results they seek. Self-

help strategies are a practicable coping method and it has been proven to be successful long term

for those who put in the time and are committed to practicing these skills to lessen the intensity.

Instead of having to rely on medication and dealing with the possible side effects, you will be

able to acknowledge your triggers, learn about yourself and use these skills to cope in everyday

life.
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Bibliography

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2020.
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