It’s No Fun to Have Anxiety At Post-Secondary

Back to school is right around the corner, that means the anxiety levels in many students attending post-secondary is starting to ramp up.

It all starts with getting on a bus crammed full of other students. Then you enter into a room full of 200 other faces for class and pick a seat in hopes that you won’t be noticeable. The idea of having to sit beside someone you hardly know bothers you.

Your professor pauses during his lecture to select a student to answer his question; you make yourself look busy by taking a sip from your water bottle. You do this in hopes that he sees you’re too busy to answer his question when there are no volunteers, and he’s forced to pick someone. The thing is you know the answer to the question, you’re just concerned that you’re going to look silly answering it.

The worst part of it is that you seem like you don’t know the answer when you stay quiet, you fear that your professor is going to give you a bad grade because of it. Now you’re panicking about receiving a bad grade; you’ve done all the work, nailed every exam and tried to make a good impression with the professor. But unfortunately, this class includes a participation grade, and you can’t bring yourself to raise your hand. The thought of having to answer a question makes your heart beat uncontrollably. Just like that, you’re not going to earn the grade you deserve because your teacher doesn’t realize, or care that you suffer from an anxiety disorder you don’t know how to control.

Your anxiety jumps when things happen in class, like projects for the class being group projects. If you don’t know anyone in the class, you panic about who you’ll be forced to work with, or forced to ask someone to work with. You’ll probably put in all the work for the project while others slack off, but look like the latter when you present because you don’t want to speak up.

Some days you can’t bring yourself to get out of bed to attend class, even when it’s only a simple lecture. All of the added anxiety makes you want to pull the covers back over your face and give up on school and your degree.

Suffering from anxiety while attending post-secondary isn’t fun at all, in fact, it makes university or college much harder than it needs to be. Not only does it make your school life tough, but it also impacts your everyday life in general. It’s an added stress that makes you feel like you’re going crazy.

If you find that this article sums up your everyday life make sure to seek out the help you need to regain control to be the best possible student you can be, and chat with your school about your concerns.