For students, stress and anxiety often come hand-in-hand. They have many similar characteristics, but also have distinct differences. One can have both, or stress but not anxiety, or vice versa. The pressures of school, social situations, and growing up can create turmoil and can make day-to-day life feel overwhelming.

Stress is a feeling of tension. Stress can feel frustrating, nervous, angry, and exhausting. These feelings, and many others associated with stress, all fall under the category of distress. Distress is a blanket (general) term for emotions that feel uncomfortable or upsetting. Stress is provoked by stressors, such as pressure from school, family, or social issues.

Anxiety can look and feel much like stress, but it is often more ambiguous and complex. There are many varieties of anxiety, but in general, anxiety can feel like fear and worry. Feelings of anxiety can be caused by stressful situations, such as frequent and overwhelming worry about upcoming tests or projects at school. Anxiety can also occur when one experiences a particularly upsetting event or situation.

Stress can be provoked by occasional or daily situations that require a great amount of thought or pressure. In general, when one feels that a lot is expected of them, it is common to feel stressed. Stress can arise in all aspects of life. It is likely that you have personal experience with stress, which can be helpful to bring up in conversations and connect with your students.

Common factors of adolescent stress include school and social pressures. School can be increasingly demanding as the pressure to do well on tests and projects gets more intense as the years go on. Many students find themselves feeling stressed about school, starting in middle or high school. All students will feel this pressure at some point, but some may more than others.

Social stress is also common among adolescents. As students get older, relationships with peers become more complex and can be difficult to know how to navigate. There is a lot to be learned and practiced during the adolescent years as social cues develop and bodies change. It is very natural to feel some degree of stress about these issues, even as adults.

It is important to note that positive stress plays a large role in what often feels like negative stress. Stress is a natural and necessary part of life, although it often comes with negative connotations. The stress that students feel at school and during social events might feel negative, but its purpose is to help them grow and improve their minds and bodies. Challenges like these that induce stress are important to students' mental and emotional growth.

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Anxiety can be caused by unwelcome situations that provoke fear or worry. Much like stress, anxiety seeps into many parts of students' lives, just as it does for adults. Your might notice that your students avoid particular situations that feel unpleasant or upset them. They might also seem unusually on edge, tired, or nervous. These are some initial signs that your students might be struggling with anxiety.

School can be a major source of anxiety for adolescents. As they grow up, expectations are constantly changing. Reasons for school-induced anxiety are similar to the reasons listed above for stress. One difference may be that you find your students having difficulty with or avoiding parts of school (certain classes or assignments), or procrastinating on work because the threat of underachieving or disappointment is too much. While stress is often relieved when the source goes away, anxiety is more persistent and can be an issue even after a particular threat or event has passed.

Social pressure is another major source of anxiety for adolescents. Your students might be avoiding certain social situations or are consumed with fears about social events. Social expectations and bodies are changing greatly during this time, which can fuel worries. The fear of uncomfortable situations and rejection are especially daunting during this time. They may isolate themselves, which can become noticable at school.

Events and issues outside of school also tend to seep into a student's school life. New family dynamics can cause anxiety, such as marriages and divorces, new or loss of family members, and moving. All of these events can make adolescents feel that they have little control over things in their life. They might close up or begin to fear change. It can be hard to remember that not all change feels bad, but it is natural for adolescents to develop anxieties about change and control. Students dealing with this kind of stress might be more inclined to seek control over parts of their school life, which can become evident in the classroom and in interactions with peers and staff.

Stress and anxiety are paired with a variety of emotional and cognitive symptoms. You might notice that your students are generally upset or not feeling or behaving like themselves. These symptoms may affect their social interactions and their performances in school. Here are some emotional signs that they may be dealing with stress or anxiety.

• Nervous or tense
• Irritable or frustrated
• Exhausted or overwhelmed

They will also likely experience some cognitive, or mental, symptoms. These in particular may also affect their abilities in school.

• Worrying or racing thoughts
• Forgetfulness or disorganization
• Lack of focus or judgment
• Inability to concentrate

Although it is not as widely acknowledged, stress and anxiety often come paired with physical symptoms, as well. These effects are just as serious and important as the ones listed above.

• Restlessness or feeling on-edge
• Fatigue and exhaustion
• Difficulty concentrating
• Tight or stiff muscles
• Unregulated sleep patterns, such as difficulty falling or staying asleep
• Loss of appetite

Your students may experience many of these symptoms, whether they are noticable or not. Stress and anxiety can require some mindfulness to ease and overcome them. If you can help and encourage your students learn new and healthy patterns, they will be able to develop greater well-being and will be prepared to handle more difficult situations in their life.

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There are many different forms of anxiety that feel slightly different and are provoked by different events or situations. Here are some brief descriptions of the most common forms of anxiety. Anxiety is a very complex disorder and can be hard to pinpoint at times, but there are similarities between each of these diagnoses.

• Generalized Anxiety is the most broad type of anxiety. Many of your students' worries and symptoms may fall under generalized anxiety. This is fueled by many of the situations listed above that provoke fear and avoidance.
• Social Anxiety Disorder is when a person’s anxiety is centered around social situations. This often causes someone to avoid uncomfortable situations out of fear of being rejected, embarrassed, or humiliated. This might include great fears of meeting new people or public speaking.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). A particularly disturbing event might cause someone to have obsessive thoughts that are incredibly difficult to not think about.
• Panic Disorder is when a person has panic attacks, which are provoked by intense fear. Symptoms include uncontrollable and severe feelings of anxiety combined with physical symptoms such as shortness of breath, pain, and dizziness.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after an incredibly disturbing or traumatic event, particularly where physical harm was threatened or involved. PTSD can be easily trigged by situations or things that remind a person of what they fear. Symptoms of PTSD can include nightmares, flashbacks, and the inability to relax. Common developments of PTSD include accidents, weather disasters, physical assault, and war.
• Phobias are excessive and persistent fears and aversions to particular objects or situations. Someone may go to great lengths to avoid the particular trigger. Common phobias include fear of heights, needles, and spiders.

There are many ways to help your students if you suspect that they might be feeling stressed or anxious. Here are some things to keep in mind as you navigate through your school year and become a support system for your students.

• Put up posters around your classroom or office that advocate for student mental health and awareness. Note some quick tips for alleviating stress and anxiety and some support hotline numbers. Make sure that the poster is easily accessible to your students, ideally in a central, noticeable location. If possible, also feature posters in central spots in hallways.
• Don't hesitate to bring up mental health and student stress in conversation. It is likely that it will come up throughout the year during talks and lessons, and it's true that each and every student will experience stress. Take the opportunity to talk about it in casual, realistic ways. Normalizing mental health and stress is incredibly important, especially for students. They will be more likely to talk to their peers about stress if they know that it is a universal aspect of school. This will also let them know that you can be a source of support if they need someone to reach out to, or feel that they don't have anyone else to talk to.
• Create a warm and welcoming space for your students. Let them know that your room or office is a Safe Space. Safe Spaces are places free of bias, conflict, and criticism of feelings, ideas, thoughts, and conversations. These places also exist to encourage those who feel marginalized to come together to share their experiences. It can help to have a poster indicating that your room is a Safe Space--many students know what this means.
• If students approach you in search of support or to open up about their feelings, make the space for them sit and talk. If they come to you at a time that isn't ideal to talk, set up another, private time where they can sit with you one-on-one so they don't feel rushed or self-conscious. For many students, it helps just to have an open ear. Other times, it helps to talk through their situation and share your experiences. It can often be hardest to feel that you are alone in your experiences.

Some students might not have support at home. School becomes a very important place for many to connect with peers, teachers, and staff. For some, this is their only place where they can find help and resources. At whatever chance you can, make sure that your students know that there is no shame in asking for help, and that help exists all around them at school.

Hotlines — Call & Text Support
If you or someone you know is at risk of harming themselves or others, please call 911 and notify the operator that you are having a psychaitric emergency. Ask for an officer trained in crisis intervention or psychiatric emergencies.

If you are having a non-emergency crisis, there are many resources for you to receive immediate relief by calling or texting with a trained crisis operator. Here is a list of some important numbers and resources to know about in case you find yourself or someone you know needing anonymous support.

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433) or 1-800-442-HOPE (4673) or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text "TALK" to 741741
If you are in crisis and need to speak with someone now, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. They can help with many issues beyond suicide, including anxiety and drug help. They are toll-free, 24-hour, confidential hotlines which connect you to a nearby trained counselor.

NAMI Hotline: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or text “NAMI” to 741741
NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

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Websites — Resources & Information
There are many resources about stress and anxiety on the internet. Below are some dependable links that you can browse for information and support.

HEARD Alliance
The HEARD Alliance (Health Care Alliance for Response to Adolescent Depression) provides resources for educators for treating depression and related conditions, and preventing suicide in adolescents and young adults.

Child Mind Institute
The Child Mind Institute wants to help you make good decisions for the children you care for. They explore concerns and challenges most from parents have and provide expert guidance on how to respond in the most effective way. They offer resources for educators including classroom strategies, teacher guides, and webinars and school talks.

The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25.

Teen Mental Health
TMH has a plethora of links and resources for educators on how to help and care for their students with mental health issues.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is the lead federal agency for research on mental disorders. They have a wealth of information about adolescent mental health.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)
The Department of Health and Human Services has a great amount of information about how adults can support adolescent mental health issues.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The CDC has a guide for adults about childhood anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses.

There are many different statistics on stress and anxiety from a variety of reports and resources. Here are some statistics from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and the Child Mind Institute, both verified and dependable sources.

• Anxiety disorders affect 25.1% of children between 13 and 18 years old.
• Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorders of childhood and adolescence. Different kinds of anxiety affect young people at different times in development. Phobias and separation anxiety affect primarily young children; social anxiety develops later, as peer relationships become more important.
• Nearly one in three adolescents (31.9%) will meet criteria for an anxiety disorder by the age of 18.
  • Phobias: 19.3%
  • Social Anxiety Disorder: 9.1%
  • Separation Anxiety: 7.6%
  • PTSD: 5.0 %
  • Panic Disorder: 2.3%
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder: 2.2%

Please keep in mind that stress and anxiety are common among adolsecents and that there are many ways for you to help and support your students. If you have any non-emergency questions or concerns that you can't find answers for, please do reach out to our support staff and resources that are listed above. We are always ready and willing to help and talk.