ANXIETY
Fear, anxiety, anguish or stress?
In everyday life, we tend to use these terms, interchangeably, yet they refer to different types of emotions.
FEAR is a strong and intense emotion that goes with the awareness of a real and tangible danger.
ANXIETY is a state of painful vigilance concerning a more or less fuzzy future threat. It results by an unpleasant feeling of apprehension, more or less intense distress and muscular tension.
ANGUISH is a subjective fear, without purpose. Similar to anxiety, it induces a state of hypervigilance, but unlike anxiety, it is always accompanied by physical symptoms (feeling of tightness, stomach cramps, lump in the throat, etc).
STRESS is a physiological reaction to the various demands of our environment, whether it is a real danger or a physical or psychological threat. It can go with muscular tension, faster breathing and a higher heart rate.
Everyone experiences anxiety at one time or another.
To feel a little anxious is completely normal.
Anxiety protects us and can even aid us in coping with or handling a worrying or possibly dangerous situation. Anxiety is perceived as a fear whose cause may be difficult to identify.
It’s natural to feel some level of anxiety on certain occasions, such as when you are going through a major life change.
It is also normal to be anxious:
- the day before an exam,
- when going for a job interview,
- or participating in a sport competition.
In these cases, anxiety is linked to specific events and generally disappears as soon as life resumes its normal course.
However ANXIETY becomes a problem when:
It does not disappear when the worrying situation has gone away.
It causes a significant level of distress.
It continually preoccupies the person.
It appears for no reason, or is not related to a particular event.
It prevents the person from functioning and behaving normally at work, in society or in other areas of daily life.
What can be done to reduce stress or anxiety in a school setting?
A few simple measures can be helpful for all young people, including breathing exercises, relaxation, yoga, and/or meditation.
For children who are hyperactive, there are a series of techniques available to address their need to move, concentrate, calm down, reduce their stress levels.
