Mental Health: Anxiety
Did you know that anxiety is the most common mental health disorder (Cardoza, 2016)?
For this blog post, I created a Google slide on Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). GAD is when you constantly worry and can't control it. Something I learned from making my slide was that some symptoms are headaches, nausea, trembling, poor concentration, etc. As for treatment, you can see a counselor, be put on medication, make some lifestyle changes, etc (Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) 2023). As educators, it is important that we realize some students may suffer from GAD and there are some accommodations we can make for them. For example, allowing extra time on tests and homework because time limits can cause anxiety in students (Hammer, 2019). This is an easy accommodation we can make for students. Erin Berman says "anxiety feels no different if you're being chased by a lion or you have to go to school" (Cardoza, 2016). Students can look like they're paying attention but they aren't because their minds are thinking of other things that scare them. In my opinion, I think it is so important for us as teachers to create a welcoming environment. A welcoming environment makes the students relaxed and hopefully will reduce their anxiety.
Mental health like anxiety relates to our last topic on bullying/cyberbullying. If other students find out that someone has anxiety, they will pick on them. This can be done either in person or online. As teachers it is so important that we are in tune with our students and we know what is going on so we can make the right accommodations for them and help them.
References:
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) | Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2023, January 31). Retrieved February 21, 2023, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/generalized-anxiety-disorder
Hammer, B. (2019, October 21). How teachers can help students cope with general anxiety in the classroom. Edmentum Blog. Retrieved February 21, 2023, from https://blog.edmentum.com/how-teachers-can-help-students-cope-general-anxiety-classroom
Hey Ashley!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading through your post and your PowerPoint slide, I had no idea that anxiety was one of the. most common mental health disorders. I like how you pointed out the idea that "anxiety feels no different if you're being chased by a lion or you have to go to school." I felt that when you added that quote it gave me a different perspective on anxiety and how people struggle with it. As future educators, we need to be mindful that many of our students can/will struggle with anxiety throughout their school day. This can make going to school, attending during class, doing homework, and socializing with friends extremely hard for those students with anxiety. It is also important as future educators to provide a safe comfortable environment for the students in order for them to be able to come to you as their teacher if they are struggling. Providing the necessary accommodations for those that struggle with any form of mental health disorder is crucial to their academic journey. Your Powerpoint slide was super creative, detailed, and informative. Great job!
Hey Ashley,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog and your PowerPoint I learned a lot of new information about anxiety. I know a lot of people in my life have anxiety and personally, I do not have it, I see how it affects my friends daily. Many of my friends are on the medications they provide, which helps them a lot with their day-to-day activities. I think as teachers it is very important to know and understand this mental health disorder because it does affect a lot of students and how they perform in the classroom. I think like you said in your blog that we teachers should allow the students with GAD to be able to have extra time on tests, quizzes, and homework because we do want to help them and not add extra stress to their lives. Being able to create a safe classroom is key to being a future educator because we want everyone to feel safe within the classroom if they do not feel that outside of school. Your powerpoint was very informative and I also liked how you added a little section of suggestion for teachers. Nice job!