You nervously watch your classmate give their presentation, after they’re done it’ll be your turn. Your hands are shaking uncontrollably, you put them between your legs in an attempt to make them stop. Your classmate is on their last slide. Thump, thump, thump, thump. You heart races in your chest threatening to break free. Beads of sweat start to gather on your forehead, you can feel the tell-a-tale headache start to form once again. Clapping fill the air as your classmate finshes her presentation. The teacher motions you to start yours. And suddenly breathing has become the most difficult thing in the world

    Anxiety: ‘apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness usually over an impending or anticipated ill”. However, anxiety is never the same for each person. It especially affects teens in grades 8-12.

“My freshmen year of high school I had really bad anxiety. It’s usually high functioning anxiety, to where i’m able to get through the day sure, but it flares up pretty bad to the point where I can’t even do everyday normal things”, senior Ashley Berghof said.

  If this is just one student, then there are countless teens and young adults struggling on finding ways to cope with anxiety. “Although 90 percent of respondents been affected by suicide and knew of its link to depression and bipolar disorder, less than half knew that anxiety could inflict the same damage.”, was said by the Association of Depression and Anxiety of America.

 Even some adults don’t recognize the brutal effects of anxiety and the awful toll it can come with. However not every adults are blinded toward these risks, High School counselors are trained to perceive anxiety in the everyday student.

“There is a lot of pressure on our students to do well in many areas of their lives,” said Parkway Central Counselor Priscilla Greenwood.

 High school counselors are there to assist and guide student’s way in all sorts of situations so don’t hesitate to reach out to one in helping you with your anxiety. A study from the National Institute of Mental Health said that not giving proper attention and/or help to anxiety can result in obesity, muscle tension, headaches, or even in some cases extreme nausea.

 School counselors have specific methods on locating the root anxiety problems and provide you with tools solve them before they arise into a more substantial issue.

  “First of all I would talk with the student about it, and see specifically where that anxiety is coming from, when the anxiety is happening. For example, does it happen when they’re taking a test, or all the time? We would really start by talking about it and calling family members when necessary,” said Greenwood.

 We know that occasionally talking to parents or guardians about issues regarding personal topics such as mental issues can be troublesome, and counselors can assist in coming up with solutions for that as well.  

   Nonetheless, there are situations where you might not have access to a counselor or feel necessarily comfortable discussing personal matters such as stress and anxiety with them. There are numerous other ways of approaching your issue. The ADAA (anxiety and depression association of America) in concern for people in these situations have statistically come up with research-proven ways of reducing anxiety.

   When the feeling of anxiousness arises try counting to from 1-10 repeatedly while inhaling and exhaling deeply, this will force your brain to slow down and comprehend the situation a little better. Another way the ADAA has recommended is to eat balanced meals. It is understandable that  high school students have a busy schedule and sometimes eating slips their minds. All the same, eating balanced meals will give you the energy you need for your day. if you are not doing this already, it may be source for your anxiety. Anxiety can be a vicious disease of it’s own and not dealing with it can not only take away the pleasures of life but even your life itself.