For a lot of people, going back to school – and getting “back to normal” can be daunting. The thought of going back to a place which might feel ‘unsafe’ or unknown can be scary and frightening. It can bring back difficulty in sleeping, a vague feeling of unease, and we might feel tense and not be able to relax and enjoy things as much as we would like to.
We are all at different stages in life – starting school for the first time, a new form, a new school/college – these all bring a level of stress with them. Everyone’s school experience is different. From worrying about where to sit, making new friends, what to talk about, struggling with school work, worrying about those people we’re leaving behind as we step into something new – we all have our own worries and anxieties, and we all hold different amounts of worry and anxiety.
Below are some tips on how to manage and cope with these really awful feelings which get in the way of us feeling OK.
Be Prepared.
Organise your bag & uniform a good few days before. Maybe even wear your uniform and see how you feel in it, run up and down stairs a couple of times listening to really good music, eat breakfast in it. Try and get used to being YOU in it.
Practise getting to bed on time with a heathy sleep routine
Sounds boring right? It might – but sleep really does help us cope with anything. Get used to going to bed at the time you will on a school night, tidy your room so it’s a nice place to be in, fluff up your duvet – make it look inviting. And don’t give yourself a hard time about not getting to sleep the minute your head hits the pillow. Leaving your phone outside your room will take away the urge to scroll through social media – that definitely doesn’t help a good night’s sleep.
So if you’re lying there in bed – worrying that you’re awake – take 5 really big deep breaths – each one slower than the one before. Notice the muscles in your hands, arms, shoulders, neck, face; tensing and relaxing each muscle in turn. You might need to do this 2 or three times – again slowly, and again with deep slow breaths. Imagine watching yourself fall asleep, and listen to an inner voice telling you everything is OK, everything is as it should be.
Breakfast
Make sure you’ve got some tasty cereals in or some nice bread and jam for brecky. Banana on toast or chopped up into your cereal boosts your energy levels and helps you concentrate for longer. Again – sounds boring but it really does make a difference.
Focus on the short term – Take one day at a time
When we worry, our thoughts run away. One minute we’re brushing our teeth, the next minute our heart is pounding, we feel a bit shaky, and we might feel terrified. Our thoughts have run away and taken us forward by 2 or 3 days or even weeks – way into the unknown. FACT: by the time 2 or 3 hours or 2 -3 weeks has arrived – we’ll be used to it as we’ve lived through the build up to it, so it won’t be ‘unknown’ in the way it is today. Take some confidence and strength from knowing that the things you’ve worried about in the past have happened and you coped with them. You probably coped really well with them.
There are lots of strategies or ways to help us cope – some people might prefer exercise, others might read a really good book, other people might draw, colour, write things down (journaling), meditation, yoga. What works for you might not work for a friend – but there is a ‘something’ for everyone. At the end of this article are links to different ways of doing something which will help ease and lessen your worries and anxieties and the awful feelings which come along with them.
Think ahead
Try and write a list of some of the things you are looking forward to. This could be something as simple as curling up in a chair and watching a favourite TV program, seeing someone you’ve not seen for ages, coming home to your lovely cat or dog. Stick your list (or picture if you’ve drawn a picture of it) somewhere you can easily see it – keep adding nice things to it as you think about them.
If you’ve got a calendar on the wall – write something you like doing into every Saturday – could be the same thing or something different each week. That will remind you there’s something good happening, that you have control over, at the end of each week.
Talk to someone
If things begin to get overwhelming – or before they get too big – as difficult as it may seem – talking to someone you can trust will really help. A parent, a teacher, a friend – there will be someone around for you. Make a note of their names somewhere and this will remind you to talk to them when you need to.
Remember
TREAT YOURSELF WITH KINDNESS – say nice, positive kind things to yourself, especially first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Everyone is different. Their behaviours and their pace might be different to yours. Stick with what is right for you.
Just because you can’t see other people’s worries doesn’t mean they don’t have them too. Keep talking and sharing – you’ll help yourself and someone else at the same time.
Here are some links to different web pages suggesting tips and different ways of managing our worries and anxiety …..
some of these links talk about anxiety about restrictions easing – the tips they mention are usable and helpful and so we have included them.
How to cope with anxiety about lockdown lifting – Every Mind Matters – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
How to deal with change and uncertainty during COVID-19 – Every Mind Matters – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Tips for dealing with back-to-school anxiety | YoungMinds
Looking After My Mental Health | Tips And Advice | YoungMinds
Coping with anxiety about the easing of lockdown restrictions | YoungMinds
And check out our article about Journaling on our CHIMP pages…..
