Top 6 Tips to Calm Down Back to School Anxiety

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What is Back to School Anxiety?

Ah, it’s that time of year again: Parents rejoice and their kids are miserable. There are fistfights over binders at Staples. There isn’t a backpack big enough to fit 8 textbooks, a laptop, lunch, and notebooks. WHY ARE THERE NO GEL PENS ANYWHERE?! Yes. It is back to school time.

This is an incredibly chaotic time for everyone involved. Parents, because their kids are growing up which is scary and what’s even scarier is the money they had to spend on new clothes. Teachers, because it means it’s time to go back to work.

Students, because summer is over which means it’s time to actually start using their brains in a productive manner (no hate here, I’m a student myself). Even people not going back to school because they’ve now moved the home supplies across the store to make more room for markers and it’s hard maneuvering around 300 people all trying to buy the same lunchbox.

But all jokes aside, one of the truly most difficult things about this time of year is the anxiety many students feel about going back. And this can range from a simple nervous but excited type of anxiety to pure mental breakdowns.

This anxiety can stem from many things. It could be simply the new adjustment to being back at school, the anticipation of the difficult workload, the anxiety around tests, a lack of support system at school, anxiety disorders being…well, anxiety disorders, and much more.

Personally, this was a really difficult time for me and it always has been since I was little. As a person with anxiety disorders, school was often a big trigger for me and it’s incredibly hard for me to want to go to a place that has always been so anxiety-inducing after spending so much time at home.

However, because of my anxiety since a child, I have learned a lot of great tips for easing anxiety before school. This is targeted more towards students but parents that are anxious about their kid going back to school can also benefit from some of these tips.

Let’s jump in!

1. Prepare in Advance

One of the best ways to feel less back to school anxiety is to be very well prepared in advance.

Anxiety thrives on the feeling of lack of control and hopelessness, so by taking action and taking control of the situation, you’ll alleviate its symptoms.

And when I say being well prepared I don’t mean 2 days before it happens, I mean WEEKS in advance. Start buying anything you need NOW. Organize your new schedule NOW.  Figure out where your classes are located NOW. Figure out what textbooks you’ll need NOW.

By having everything ready to go so in advance, you can spend the rest of August actually enjoying your summer and relaxing rather than being consumed by thoughts of school and what you need to do to prepare for it.

On top of that, by figuring everything out now, you avoid the chaotic and stressful jungle that is back-to-school shopping which will also greatly improve your anxiety.

There is nothing more anxiety-inducing than seeing a person with every color of highlighter, a new laptop, 10 binders, and a million other stationary things running around the store.

So spare yourself the headache and actually enjoy the resto f your summer by taking control of the situation and preparing NOW.

2. Practice Relaxation Techniques

Even with everything prepared, you’ll likely still feel anxious throughout August. That’s why it’s incredibly important to spend extra time practicing things that relax you.

This can literally be anything!

Yoga, meditation, painting, walking the dogs, baking, reading a book, being with friends, the options are limitless!

However, on top of this, I want you to also practice relaxing techniques specifically for anxiety. This might be a new concept for you.

When you get anxious, what do you do? Do you just sit in it? Maybe fidget and hope it goes away? Try to distract yourself?

It’s really important to learn various relaxing techniques specifically for calming down anxiety because they’ll not only calm you down in August, but you can take them with you into the actual school year and use them whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed.

These are some of the most common calming techniques for anxiety and panic attacks:

Grounding exercises: they help bring you back to earth if you start dissociating or going numb. Note that there are many kinds of grounding exercises (sensory-based, touch-based, mindfulness-based, etc.)

Breathing exercises: these help to regulate your breathing and cool you down as people often tend to hyperventilate or speed up their breathing when anxious

Distractions: they can be really useful if you’re too overwhelmed to be able to follow any of the other types of relaxation techniques but still need to get your mind off the anxiety

Learning which ones work for you and practicing them frequently can greatly improve your back to school anxiety this August.

I used to use distractions the most as a kid since everything else was a bit too difficult.

But now, I do a lot of grounding through yoga and I started dabbling more into meditation and I’m definitely noticing a difference in my normal mood and anxiety levels!

If you want some help figuring out what activities you can do that fit these categories, I’ve created a little resource list for you with various videos and activities that would fit into all of these categories.

Download it below!

3. Find Familiarity

One thing that always drastically reduced my back to school anxiety was knowing the teacher because I’d had them before, having a friend in the class, or even bringing an object with me that brings comfort.

Familiarity in a new environment can truly make the experience that much less stressful and scary.

So in this case, check who your teachers or Profs are, and see if you’re able to be in classes with ones you already know.

Check what classes your friends or even acquaintances have so there’s someone for you to sit with that first day.

Even being in a room you already know can be a sense of comfort so checking out where you’ll be located is also worth a shot.

However, if none of these are a reality or option, you can bring something that brings you comfort instead.  For me, it would be something cozy like a sweater I love, a scarf, jeweler given to me by someone important, or even my favorite pen.

It really can be anything that reminds you of a safe space and brings forth those feelings of comfort.

4. Exercise More

No, I’m not telling you to exercise so you have a nice bod when you go back to school (but if you want to do that it’s totally your call).

The reason I really recommend exercising more in August is that when we’re anxious, we tend to get jittery, antsy, and tense.

Keeping all this chaotic energy inside is only going to make you feel worse and it’ll eventually boil over. One really healthy and effective way to get rid of this energy is by exercising!

A few years ago, I had a very difficult separation from someone I cared for a lot. This made me into a ball of anxiety and depression and I didn’t try doing anything to get rid of those feelings.

When I started my job at a community center with a gym, I went to go use the elliptical for the first time ever because it looked fun.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that I was using that elliptical at near maximum bodily capacity for ONE WHOLE HOUR. I took NO BREAKS. I just went on it and couldn’t stop because I felt so much energy just clogged inside me that I needed to get out.

And afterward, I felt AMAZING. It was like one of those big post-buffet poops but for my soul. I felt so much lighter, calmer, and happier.

So when I say exercise can really help to get rid of those jitters, I mean it.

But not only that! Exercise also releases happy chemicals that improve our mood and help us feel less stressed. This can be very much needed when it comes to back to school anxiety.

And if you really wanna kill two birds with one stone, you can make your exercise yoga! Yoga is incredibly grounding, while also being a killer workout.

If you’d like some inspiration for that, I personally adore Yoga with Adriene.

She is the yoga teacher I have been following for years and her monthly calendar for August is actually all about back-to-school yoga. You can find her link here!

(Completely not sponsored or affiliated in any way. I just truly love Adriene’s teaching style and approach to yoga)

5. Have a Treat Planned

Being super anxious about something and doing it anyway is SO brave and incredible. And you deserve to reward yourself after something like that!

It’s so important to practice self-care and self-compassion when you’re feeling anxious about something, so this tip is just for that!

After your first day, make sure to give yourself a treat because that first day is always the hardest.

The treat is totally up to your imagination.

It can be a literal treat like ice cream, or something material like clothes, or it could be spending time with someone you love, drinking a warm cup of tea, binging a TV show, or anything and everything in between!

Pick your reward and give it to yourself EVEN IF you had a hard time and left early or simply struggled a lot and are unsure if you can go the next day.

Don’t beat yourself up or make yourself feel guilty because that’ll only make you more anxious. Practice self-compassion instead.

You can then also reward yourself the first week, and the first month that you’ve attended school as well! It’ll give you something to look forward to and keep you motivated!

6. Use Positive Affirmations

There’s a reason the saying “the power of word” exists. Words are POWERFUL. And if you keep repeating the same words over and over to yourself, eventually they’ll stick.

Don’t believe me? Why do you think so many of us get stuck in a self-hating cycle? Because we constantly tell ourselves we need to be better or that others are superior to us all the time. And we BELIEVE IT.

So if you can think yourself into hating yourself, why can’t you do the opposite?

Of course, this is easier said than done and I still struggle with it to this day. However, I’m saying all this to show you that words really do make a difference.

What we say to ourselves MATTERS. So make sure what you’re saying to yourself and what you’re thinking is productive, positive, inspiring, healing, and kind even if you don’t believe it yet. Eventually, you will.

Fake it till you make it is the motto of my life, ha!

So this month, surround yourself with beautiful and inspiring positive affirmations to help boost your confidence, your peace, and your spirit.

If you want some inspiration, this is a great resource full of positive affirmations: Positive Affirmations

But starting off with a positive mindset will really help alleviate that back to school anxiety!

So…

Those are my best tips for dealing with back to school anxiety. I hope you found them helpful and whether you’re a parent or a student, you enjoy these last few weeks of summer!

All my love,

T