School anxiety

'High school' are that can mean lots of different things to lots of different people.
Some, are overpowered with negativity when the words 'High School' come to mind. There are always several reasons why people have had a bad experience in high school, but I’m going to be discussing one. 

Anxiety. 

I’m currently in my 4th year of high school and believe me, I’ve gotten anxious over plenty in these years. 
The one everyone experiences is 'First Day Anxiety’. If someone tells you they weren’t nervous about their first day of high school, they’re probably lying. For some, it could have been excitement and nerves mixing together creating this bubbly feeling in their stomach, which was what I experienced on my first day. It was nerves, not necessarily anxiety.
As time grew, I realised I had to be good. Within my first two years I had exceeded the expectations of being a ‘good student’ and realised my teachers had high expectations. For me, this meant everything I did had to be perfect. It had to be up to standard and if I got below a C I hadn’t done well enough. A single piece of homework could boost down my confidence if I didn’t understand it like the teachers expected me to. There’s been times where I’ve been sat at my desk staring at pieces of homework and going into melt down mode. I’d cry and shake for minutes on end and it seemed to last forever, although it didn’t, my self esteem wasn’t great during these moments. I still, to this day, get anxious before my piano lessons incase I do it wrong, incase I haven’t practiced enough. My piano teacher is the nicest guy on earth, yet I still get anxious if I’m not 100% sure I can flawlessly play the piece I was assigned. 
I get anxious when handing in homework, incase it is not up to standard. 

Although this is one of the many reasons anxiety can come about in school, I have personal advice to help you deal with this specific type of cause. 

The first thing is to remember this one sentence:

“I am the best I can be.”

If you try, you’ve done your best. Nothing more can be done. Don’t try and swim an ocean. 
The expectations of you, take them lightly. Usually, the expectations are just what the teachers think you are capable of and not necessarily what you have to achieve on every piece of work. 
When you start to feel the anxiety of not being good enough, remember the sentence. Remember it’s the best you can do. Be proud of yourself, although the high expectations are stressful, it means you’re skilled. You CAN do it, no matter what the little voice called anxiety in your head is telling you.
If you keep pushing along, the road of satisfaction will be at your shoes in no time. 

I will make sure to touch on other causes/experiences of anxiety, so if you would like me to write on a specific one, please feel free to let me know. I’m in this to help you overcome and be the best version of yourself.
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​Ali