Orlando Therapist: 5 Tips to Ease Anxiety

By: Elizabeth Chambers, LMHC

It’s that time of year again! You feel like your Summer went by in the blink of an eye and are preparing for back-to-school season. You feel your anxiety start to peak again at the thought of going back. Or maybe you’re nervous about starting at a new school or starting high school. The thought of walking into the classroom again makes you worry about all the new people and places you’ll be facing.

It is normal to be nervous about the first day of school but what happens when these nerves start to have a negative impact on your mood? Knowing what to do to manage these feelings can be helpful in getting yourself ready for going back. 

My name is Elizabeth Chambers, I am an Orlando therapist specializing in teen therapy. I help teens work through anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. Today I am sharing helpful ways to cope with anxious feelings about the back-to-school season.

1. Take a breath, a deep breath.

I imagine that you have probably been told this before - “just take a breath, it’ll be okay”. Although it may sound cheesy, taking deep breaths can actually be very helpful when our minds and bodies are under stress. During times of nervousness, our body is sent into what is known as the stress response. Typically, our heart rate goes up, our muscles tense, and our breathing becomes more shallow, among other physical changes. Sound familiar? Then I highly recommend deep breathing! Regulating our breath produces the relaxation response to combat the stress response. This signals to our bodies that we are safe and calm. If you already have a favorite breathing technique, I encourage you to use it.

If you don’t, I’ll quickly review a common technique that is taught: box breathing. There are 4 steps to it, similar to the 4 sides of a box. To practice this skill, you inhale your breath for a count of 4, hold your breath for a count of 4, exhale your breath for a count of 4, then hold for a count of 4. Repeat this cycle for as many breaths as you need to. 

This can be practiced for just a few breaths or for however many minutes you need for your body and mind to feel calm again. I encourage you to practice this the next time nerves or anxiety start to take over. For more information on this skill, feel free to check out this post written by Orlando Therapist Lauran Hahn, LMHC which further describes box breathing: Box Breathing: A Tool for Anxiety — Mindful Living Counseling Orlando

2. Bring it back to the present moment.

When our mind is anxious, we often spend a great amount of time in the future instead of the present. Rather than enjoying the last few days of Summer, you may be anticipating what’s to come when school starts. Although this is common with anxiety, it is often unhelpful to anticipate all the what-if scenarios that come with going back to school. 

When this happens, I encourage you to instead refocus on the present moment. We typically cannot predict exactly what will happen in the future, no matter how long our brain spends trying to. Instead, focusing on what we can control in the present can be helpful. What can you do to make the most out of the last few days of Summer? If you are reading this after you’ve gone back to school - what can you focus on today at the moment, rather than getting caught up in what’s to come in the future or worst-case scenarios that your mind goes to? Focusing on the present can help stop your brain from going into a spiral of what may happen in the future.

3. Remind yourself that you’re not alone.

Anxiety can sometimes feel isolating - like the only person who is feeling this way is you. However, being nervous about back-to-school time is normal and many teens report feeling this way. If you are starting at a new school or entering high school, this feeling may be heightened even more. It can be overwhelming to find your way around at first and many of your fellow classmates are navigating this for the first time too.

You are not alone in feeling this nervousness and it can be helpful to reach out to support - whether that’s school staff, fellow classmates that are new to the school too, talking to an Orlando Therapist, or talking to your family about how you’re feeling.

4. Refocus on what you’re looking forward to.

When anxiety takes over, it can be easy to get caught up in all the things you’re worried about and lose sight of what you may be excited about. What are you looking forward to about going back to school? Are you part of a team or club you can’t wait to be involved in again? Are you excited to see friends from last year or make new friends? All of these questions can help you refocus on what you may have lost sight of - the things that bring you joy and happiness in school.

5. Seek professional help if needed.

Feeling nervous about going back to school is normal. However, if these feelings start to affect your ability to function, it may be time to seek help from a professional. If anxiety has started to get in the way of doing daily tasks, impacting your mood throughout the day, or if you feel you cannot manage these feelings on your own, it can be helpful to talk to someone about this. Counseling can help provide additional skills to manage these feelings and get you back to enjoying life, and school, again. 

For more information, I encourage you to look at Orlando Therapist: 5 Symptoms of Anxiety in Teens to see if any of the symptoms described sound familiar to you. This can also be a helpful resource to show your parents.

I hope that reading this gave you some helpful tips for coping with back-to-school nerves when they come up. If you feel that you would benefit from meeting with a counselor to seek further guidance, I encourage you to have a parent contact us here or give us a call.

Therapy Orlando

If you feel that you and your teen would benefit from counseling to further address communication or any other concerns, please feel free to contact us here.

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About the Author

Elizabeth Chambers, LMHC is an Orlando therapist at Mindful Living Counseling Orlando. Elizabeth specializes in working with adults and teens struggling with anxiety, trauma, self-esteem, and depression. As an EMDR Therapist, Elizabeth utilizes EMDR and mindfulness practices to help clients move beyond anxiety and depression so they can feel confident and in control again.

As an Orlando Therapist specializing in teen therapy Elizabeth enjoys helping teens work through anxiety and self-esteem issues, as well as helping teens and their families rebuild their relationships.

Mindful Living Counseling Orlando is a trauma healing center. Our Orlando Therapy Services include anxiety therapy, trauma counseling, EMDR therapy, eating disorder recovery, teen counseling, and healing from toxic relationships. At Mindful Living Counseling Orlando, we use a down-to-earth approach infused with cutting-edge therapies that go beyond traditional talk therapy so clients can heal at the root level and experience lasting change. Feel free to access one of our Guided Meditations to help you feel settled and calm now.