Don't Believe Everything You Think: Helpful Strategies to Cope With Anxiety.

The intention of the class is not to elicit reports personal experiences with mental health from learners. If the learned begins to share any personal mental health concerns I will kindly ask the learner to refrain from further discussion in front of the class and to continue the conversation with a trusted adult. If a learner ever shares something that is concerning,  I will reach out to parents after class depending on the context of the information 

Note: Review Outschool's Community Standards before class to ensure that learners remember to keep personal information private. 

Dear Parents: 

Here is a little more information about anxiety. 

Talking to kids about anxiety
Anxiety can be uncomfortable and overwhelming, and it is natural to want to avoid difficult conversations. However, not talking about anxiety can make it worse. Here are some tips for starting the conversation:

Share your calm. Kids look to adults for cues on how to behave or react. While we know it’s difficult, try to remain calm when talking to your kids. When others around you are feeling anxious, it’s easy to start feeling anxious yourself—and the same goes for kids.

Start the conversation, and follow your child’s lead. You don’t have to wait for your child to come to you to talk about their feelings. Saying things like “I’m wondering how you are feeling” or “Tell me more about that” is a great way to let your child lead the conversation. Encourage and allow your child to speak freely about their feelings, and try to actively listen instead of interrupting or making assumptions.

Validate their feelings. Even if you don’t agree with your child or you think they’re being silly, their feelings are real to them. Let your child know you understand by repeating back exactly what you hear, without judging or interpreting. Let them know their feelings are OK and normal.

Avoid minimizing or dismissing feelings. It’s natural to want to make our kids feel better, but saying “Don’t worry about that” only teaches your child not to talk about how they feel.

Be honest yet reassuring. While you can’t promise that nothing will ever go wrong, you can let your child know that you are there for them and that you will get through tough times together.
-- 

Behavioral signs of anxiety:
Frequent worrying
Trouble concentrating (your child may seem distracted because they are consumed by worries and not able to think about anything else)
Skipping activities your child used to enjoy
Difficulty falling or staying asleep
Clinginess to caregivers (i.e., not wanting to be alone)
Extreme focus on and obsession with safety (e.g., asking a lot of questions, constantly seeking reassurance)
Irritability or acting on edge