The Effects Of Anxiety On Mentally-Ill Students

Mental health and the study of psychology has been growing in interest in the past few years. With organizations such as National Alliance on Mental Illness and social media sites like The Buddy Project, the stigma and awareness for issues surrounding one’s mental well-being over physical has been monumentary. Though the awareness is spreading, there is still much to be done in figuring out how to help mentally-ill people in everyday situations. The idea of mental illness is still taboo, and many people are hesitant to talk about the issues they may be facing. In exploring mental health issues, it will hopefully give people a more understanding and helpful approach than a judgemental and critical one. The only way to cure a mental illness …show more content…
Children’s anxiety can stem from multiple areas like separation from parents, social situations, or generalized anxiety, a general worrying of everyday tasks. Separation from parents (or separation anxiety) can cause issues like truancy, high number of absences, or even being held back. Children feel more comfortable and safe around their parents, and the idea of school is like removing their security blanket which sets off the anxious, impending doom thoughts. The loss of education and large numbers of absences are detrimental to a students education, especially as they get older. Social anxiety is also another way anxiety can affect a student. When a student is suffering from social anxiety, answering questions and speaking in front of a large class can cause flare ups. When a student becomes anxious to answer a question, they may avoid eye contact with the teacher, look down at the ground, pretend to be taking notes, or excuse themselves all together. It can easily be mistaken as not knowing the answer, but it is actually anxiety taking …show more content…
A student may spend hours studying, do all their homework and classwork perfectly, but once a test is placed in front of them, they freeze. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, test anxiety be caused by a fear of failure or a bad test history. Fear of failure can negatively impact a student’s scores because many anxious students have an all or nothing mindset about tests. One may think they have to pass or it is detrimental to their self worth and mental stability. A bad test rap can also be catastrophic to a student’s performance rate. The student may develop a negative mindset about tests, causing their grade to fall. Students may suffer a number of symptoms as well. “Test anxiety can lead to a panic attack, which is the abrupt onset of intense fear or discomfort in which individuals may feel like they are unable to breathe or having a heart attack” (“Test Anxiety”). The panic attack is a common symptom all anxious people can experience, and can be brought on by the anxiety of performing well on a test can bring out. Further, having trouble concentrating, negative thinking, and comparison of oneself to another student can also bring on test anxiety (“Test