The first topic in this book is Anxiety and I think this is one of the most common things teenagers suffer with during their teenage years. Anxiety is something you experience in everyday life and being able to cope with these little things is what makes your mindset a lot stronger improving your mental health. 8.2 million cases of anxiety was recorded in the UK in 2013 this shows how big a threat anxiety is to our own mental health. In the UK 13.3% of 16-19 year olds have experienced anxiety but as teenagers we try to hide our emotions and so this statistic could be even higher.
One of my first memories of anxiety is my first day of high school because I was worried of what was going to happen, and I overthought the situation massively. My heart was beating so fast, I had shortness of breath and I was very hot and flustered. This anxiety and worry carried on in my first two years of high school with myself being the lad that was constantly worrying and got very upset at times; with this came people picking on me for how I was. My anxieties continued into GCSEs and then college work and driving. Being better able to deal with these anxious situations is essential in improving your own mental health.
One of the main reasons for anxiety in the first place is you viewing a future situation in a negative way. Let's take for example a group presentation coming up, the reason we all get anxious and nervous is that we overthink the situation and think about what could wrong. Focusing on these negative experiences can massively increase your own anxiety and affects you both physically and emotionally. If you say to yourself you can't do it you won't be able to do it because you are starting with your own defeatist attitude, you've given up before even trying. A positive mindset is important for your whole mental health, thinking about the benefits of this presentation or other situation will help you to better see the positive side of a situation. Not only would this presentation improve confidence but also your own presentation skills and focusing on the benefits will motivate yourself to do well and not focus on what could go wrong.
Also, you need to pick out what is making you anxious in the first place. Let's take a presentation again, one of your main worries especially for me what everyone would think of me. You've got to remember one thing everyone is in the same boat as you everyone is doing the same presentation in front of everyone. Everyone will feel nervous and coping with that is essential. I've learnt that worrying your whole life about what people think of you will always make you insecure and self-conscious. If you go in with a positive mindset believing you can do this, then you will have a more positive outcome.
You need to think about why you feel anxious think about the situation you're in and what makes you the most anxious. When you feel anxious the first thing you do is bottle it up, which is the worst thing anyone can do because yourself will always be your biggest enemy. Letting these negative thoughts fester in your mind will only grow and get worse and so closing up and keep thinking about these negative outcomes will greatly increase anxiety. One of my main tips for this is speaking to someone and tell them your anxious.
Schools have support systems like mental health coaches and teachers that you can speak to which can help some of you who feel comfortable speaking to older members of staff about your anxiety; But especially with lads they feel less comfortable opening up to members of staff. This was the same for me and my biggest advice is having a friend you trust and close enough to, to open up to when you feel anxious. Get anxieties off your chest to someone who calms you down can help yourself realise the situation isn't as hard and scary as they seem and so you calm down and you start to feel less anxious and you worry less. Doing this more often helps you to have a better support system in place when these situations arise in the future.
Another reason for anxiety is that you don't believe in yourself. Let's think about your future plans for what you want to do as a career if you don't have any belief in yourself you will get nowhere. The reason you feel anxious is because you don't feel you can do it, having that positive mindset that you believe in yourself then you can do it. Keeping this positive mindset is essential throughout your life not only do this brighten your mood but helps your self-esteem.
The main message for this chapter is that you need to keep this positive mindset and have that belief in yourself that you can do this. Every challenge you have in your life if you don't go into with a positive mindset you will never get over each hurdle and you'll be stuck. You can do anything if you put your mind to.