just a disclaimer first, this is an incomplete list and it’s just based on my personal experience! everyone’s level of anxiety and experiences with it is different so some of those might not be helpful. feel free to add your own!
PLANNING. We know planning is important. But it’s also exhausting and maintaining a planner in which you write every day seemed very hard for me. I was already stressed out about it in mid-September! If you find yourself in a similar situation, my advice is: homework calendar. Take a little calendar to class every day (little ones don’t weigh a lot) and whenever you get homework or a test date, write it down! It isn’t as stressful as a whole planner and you still remember about homework!
HOMEWORK. In the perfect scenario, students do all of it. But it’s not easy, especially when you have anxiety or go through depressive episodes. Figure out who actually checks homework and who doesn’t. My math teacher gives us tons of homework and never checks it, so I save those for test prep.
TEACHERS. If it’s possible, talk to them (or have a trusted adult do it) about what’s going on. I know it varies from teacher to teacher but some of them are really understanding. A school’s counselor opinion could also be helpful.
SCHOOL COUNSELORS. Again, experience varies here. If your counselor is okay, make a deal with them (like “is it okay for me to come over when I feel a panic attack coming?”). It feels a little safer, knowing there’s a place where you can go and calm down.
THERAPY. If it’s possible, go to a therapist! Try to set the meeting hours directly after school so you don’t have the time to sit at home - once you do, you will not feel like leaving.
TIME MANAGEMENT. Sometimes it feels like leaving things for later is a brilliant idea. It usually is not. Try doing little things, like bits of research or reading: on the bus, during breaks…
AVAILABLE SPACE. If school breaks get too loud for you, go to the library. You can just sit there in peace and quiet! The advice also refers to your home. Change rooms where you study. Or change places in one room. Even sitting on the other side of the table makes it more interesting to my brain.
A PLAN JUST IN CASE. Having a panic attack at school is definitely not something enjoyable and I sincerely hope it never happens to you. But have a plan in case it does! Knowing the exact steps calms me down a bit and I don’t have to worry about that thing adding to my anxiety.
NO ALL-NIGHTERS. It’s actually important for everyone. But I learned it the hard way, all-nighters and anxiety don’t mix well. Sleep before a test because even low quality sleep is better than the jittery feeling of anxiety and sleep deprivation.
STUDY METHODS. Anxiety really takes a lot from your energy. Study smart, not for long. My recent method is reading my notes outloud while gesturing with something (I’m using a plastic pitchfork, and I have used a sword in the past).
SELF-CHECK. Yes, anxiety sucks. And it makes you feel bad. Whenever you feel it hit, ask yourself some questions. The basics are: did I eat? Did I drink water? Am I getting enough fresh air? Have I done anything nice today? (I created a special printable table for myself with questions like that, I could upload it if anyone wants to use it!)
That’s it from me! Again, experiences vary but I hope someone finds those helpful! Feel free to add your own tips. This is also your reminded to pour yourself some water and drink it 💖
Part of what you strive to be different from is a part of you that only exists in accordance with somebody you don’t want to be
Aries: “Are you willing to risk everything to prove a point you don’t believe in yet? You haven’t really come to know the meaning of ‘self-value’, so you are worth more to the people in your life than you could know, and of everything they ever see you achieve - learning and practicing taking care and looking after yourself is the one that they cherish the most”
Taurus: “Is knowing the cost of everything and identifying with the wealth you construct around you worth the price of never knowing the person within, having a stranger live inside that went unnoticed in your world? You are not made to be dressed by designers and labels, you were made to design and be a label”
Gemini: “Is disorienting the person with your words done with the purpose of eluding or avoiding giving a truthful answer, or are you just another victim of your own complexity and confusion? because I watch you leap back and forth and get tense, anxious, and battle desperately inside your own head”
Cancer: “Your feeling states and insides move like the tides but people are not so transient, when this emotion and the reaction and destruction it left behind has finally passed left you alone, are you alone too? is this what you meant to happen? because these emotions will come and go but some people leave forever and that is what you are most afraid of”
Leo: “Your will, passion, and desire to win ascends you straight to the top as you declare number one, but one is also a lonely number and sometimes if there is no love you have lost anyway, nobility and congeniality is your true winning crown”
Virgo: “You didn’t peak too soon, or you are wondering when you will finally bloom, you become despondent that you are not redeeming the blessings of youth and beauty, your peak will come at the time you realise that you are always the best that you will ever be at this very present”
Libra: “The scales are calibrated by the head and heart, but these two can never be equally measured to begin with and you’ve known this all along. The heart is gold but the mind is silver but your duty and counsel relies on pretending this isn’t so, and if you didn’t measure love higher it wasn’t love at all ”
Scorpio: “Your enforced transformations are so extreme it’s like living multiple lifetimes in one… and some of the people in these lives were not ready for your one with them to end, and they get lost searching for your old identity, and there’s nothing much you can do about them”
Sagittarius: “What do you really want…. is it more important for you to be ‘right’, or to hear and accept the truth?, you re-enforce the truth that you know, but what if there are aspects and possibilities you don’t know exist yet? the answer comes when you stop obsessing the betrayal”
Capricorn: “Your renowned name of notoriety that you have worked so hard to achieve for yourself won’t have love or legacy to carry on if all you give all of your heart to the public and the world, because at the end of the day you have nothing left to support and bloom what you desire, cherish, and need the most”
Aquarius: “Use all of that anger, resentment, and fury at society and the world not as a justification to remain exiled and comfortable in your own company, but to set fire to the collective spirit with those divinely inspired ideas that only you can seem to capture and realise in reality”
Pisces: “You are overwhelmed and withdraw again, to escape from everything and everybody and yourself… but you elude the world so well and get more despondent when nobody comes to your support or rescue, but you make it impossible for anybody to find you”
virgos have highly attuned antennas for subtle body language and invisible sensations. they are easily offset by someone transmitting negative or exhausting vibes, and people can make them feel instantly panicked or relaxed like they catch psychic colds. even if you are friendly to a virgo, they can be more responsive to these vibes you are transmitting, so they can have confusing reactions to people
My current job has me working with children, which is kind of a weird shock after years in environments where a “young” patient is 40 years old. Here’s my impressions so far:
Birth - 1 year: Essentially a small cute animal. Handle accordingly; gently and affectionately, but relying heavily on the caregivers and with no real expectation of cooperation.
Age 1 - 2: Hates you. Hates you so much. You can smile, you can coo, you can attempt to soothe; they hate you anyway, because you’re a stranger and you’re scary and you’re touching them. There’s no winning this so just get it over with as quickly and non-traumatically as possible.
Age 3 - 5: Nervous around medical things, but possible to soothe. Easily upset, but also easily distracted from the thing that upset them. Smartphone cartoons and “who wants a sticker?!!?!?” are key management techniques.
Age 6 - 10: Really cool, actually. I did not realize kids were this cool. Around this age they tend to be fairly outgoing, and super curious and eager to learn. Absolutely do not babytalk; instead, flatter them with how grown-up they are, teach them some Fun Gross Medical Facts, and introduce potentially frightening experiences with “hey, you want to see something really cool?”
Age 11 - 14: Extremely variable. Can be very childish or very mature, or rapidly switch from one mode to the other. At this point you can almost treat them as an adult, just… a really sensitive and unpredictable adult. Do not, under any circumstances, offer stickers. (But they might grab one out of the bin anyway.)
Age 15 - 18: Basically an adult with severely limited life experience. Treat as an adult who needs a little extra education with their care. Keep parents out of the room as much as possible, unless the kid wants them there. At this point you can go ahead and offer stickers again, because they’ll probably think it’s funny. And they’ll want one. Deep down, everyone wants a sticker.
This is also a pretty excellent guide to writing kids of various ages
