Discussion. What is anxiety? What is the difference between anxiety and stress? What happens when you feel anxious? What do you usually do to help yourself cope with anxiety? Instructions: divide your A3 paper into 4 parts; write down main ideas/bullet points from your discussion.

According to Anxiety UK (www.anxietyuk.org.uk ), Anxiety is normal and exists due to a set of bodily functions that have existed in us from our cave-man days. Back then, we were equipped with an internal alarm system designed to protect us from the dangers surrounding us in the wild. This system would make us hyper-alert by giving us a boost of adrenaline that would increase the heart rate and boost the amount of oxygen going to our limbs so we were better able to fight or run from danger. This is known as the “fight or flight” response. 

According to Anxiety UK (www.anxietyuk.org.uk ), Stress is something that will come and go as the external factor causing it (exams, etc.) comes and goes. It sometimes seems that anxiety can come out of the blue with no significant triggers, however imagine that you are holding a stress bucket. If we keep adding stressors to the bucket (homework, friendship issues, etc.), over time it fills up until one day it overflows.

According to Mind (www. mind. org According to Mind (www.mind.org.uk ), some of the most common physical symptoms of anxiety are: a churning feeling in your stomach feeling light-headed or dizzy pins and needles feeling restless or unable to sit still headaches faster breathing sweating or hot flushes nausea (feeling sick) needing the toilet more or less often problems sleeping, etc.

Anxiety doesn’t only affect our physical health; here are some common effects on our mind(www.mind.org.uk ): feeling tense and nervous fearing the worst feeling like other people can see you're anxious and are looking at you feeling like you can't stop worrying feeling that bad things will happen if you stop worrying worrying about anxiety itself wanting lots of reassurance from other people worrying that people are angry or upset with you thinking a lot about bad experiences, or thinking over a situation again and again worrying a lot about things that might happen in the future, etc.

So what can we do to help ourselves? First of all, you have to be self-aware. Draw a bucket in your books, and fill it up with your worries. What is on your mind? What causes you stress?

Bottling things up can increase your anxiety levels. So what can we do to help ourselves? Mental Health Foundation (www.mentalhealth.org.uk ) suggests the following strategies: Talking it through. Although you might feel embarrassed or afraid to discuss your feelings with others, sharing can be a way to cope with a problem and being listened to can help you feel supported. Bottling things up can increase your anxiety levels.

Healthy Eating. Avoid foods that give you sugar rush: after an initial sugar ‘rush,’ you’ll experience a sharp dip in blood sugar levels which can give you anxious feelings. Caffeine can also increase anxiety levels so try to avoid food and drinks that contain caffeine.

Face your fears. The chances are, the reality of the situation is not as bad as it might seem, so facing your fears and making a decision to stop avoiding certain situations, will help you manage your anxiety. Let’s have a go at building your fear ladder: List all your fears. Draw a ladder. 3. Arrange your fears from least scary to most scary using the ladder. 4. Face your fears daily by starting with the least scary situation.

Plenary. What can you do to support yourself if you are suffering with anxiety? Who could you turn to for help? What can our school community do to support those who suffer with anxiety? Please write down your ideas or e-mail them to your teacher.