This past week, I had my first experience with anxiety.
Or, more accurately, it was the first time that I recognized it for what it was.
I have been in college for five years [yikes] and this year, with its focus on teacher licensure tests as part of the prerequisite for methods and student teaching, has been the hardest.
Both semesters have proved a challenge and while I like to keep in mind that maybe it’s designed this way in order to weed out the ones who do not really, truly have the passion and drive necessary to become teachers, this week I began to wonder if it was my motivation that was being tested and not my mental and emotional fitness.
I will explain: I have one class in particular that frustrates me and pushes me like no other.
Lately, it has gotten to the point that whenever I sit down to do work for it [or even think about it for very long], I get this weird feeling, a mixture of nervousness and worry that makes me feel physically sick. I feel short of breath and my heart starts beating faster.
What on earth is up with that? Very confused, I talked to a friend, who told me a touch sardonically, “That’s what we call anxiety.” Oh. Wow, thank goodness I only experience this with the
one class.
Now that I put a name to it, it was time to find a way to vanquish it. I like to rely on the popular slogan, “Too blessed to be stressed.”
It is cliché, but it makes sense. After all, here I am at college [yes, still] learning how to best do the job I am more sure every day that I am meant to do.
I have found a church that is a splendid fit for me and I have many friends for whom I am extremely grateful.
This is the time of my life — and very fleeting — because while it seems that I will never graduate, I know that my days here are numbered. So what good will it do to waste a minute of this time on bad feelings?
None, but that does not mean I’m immune. It’s great to have an ideal to live by, but you’d better have practical ways to carry it out. And to that end, I have compiled a list of things to do to beat anxiety that work for me and might for you, as well.
Take deep breaths. Get some exercise. It does not have to be a 5K. Get up from your work and unload the dishwasher, take out the trash, dust the furniture or sweep the floor. Listen to happy music and dance. Knit or crochet.
My personal favorite: play with Play-Doh. I have no idea why it works, but it does. I know it’s tough, but make it a priority to carve out enough time for adequate sleep every night.
Be good to yourself, so that you can be good for others [and also your grades].
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