SEPTEMBER

September brings the taste of cinnamon, apples, and pastries. The air goes crisp and the morning frost returns. We snuggle under blankets and dig our flannel and sweatshirts out from our closets. We see reds, yellows, and oranges begin to overpower the green hues across the treetops. We hear the leaves rustle across the asphalt, interrupted by the groaning brakes of school buses. We become witnesses to innocence leaving the nest to test their wings out in the open sky.

First Day Jitters

September often brings a wave of anxiety for many. It’s a month of transitions—new school environments, teachers, subjects, schedules, classmates, and routines. The shift to a new season adds to the mix as we adjust to fresh social dynamics, encounter unfamiliar personalities, and learn how our own homes and habits compare to those of our peers. After months of remote interactions, returning to face-to-face socializing can feel overwhelming, especially when missing the comforts of home. All this change can leave us feeling unsteady and out of control.

Anxiety is a natural reaction to stress. Feeling anxious is an emotion like any other. It is not permanent and presents differently in each of us. It is a signal from our brain attempting to communicate with the rest of our body to help us respond to our environment. Sometimes anxiety doesn’t present itself center stage. Anxiety can be quite cunning. It can also be confusing and contradict itself. It’s beautiful, in a way… how our brains work so hard to warn us of foreign things. What a privilege it is to be born with such advanced systems. Our bodies are prepared. We can be soldiers or we can be birds. Fighting and flying against the discomfort.

Right now, a lot of kids are overthinking. Worrying. Their minds are racing:

I don’t know where any of my classrooms are. My hands are shaky. I don’t know how to tie my shoes. I feel like I’m going to fall. I don’t know how to use a combination lock. I don’t know how to make friends. I don’t know the answer to the teacher’s question. My stomach hurts. I’m nauseous. I’m afraid of throwing up all over the hallway. I feel like I am floating away from the laminate floor. I’m so thirsty. I don’t want to use the school’s bathroom. I miss my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister, my dog. It’s so loud. Every sound is infuriating and alarming. My shoulders are at my ears. 

A is for Anxiety

If anxiety persists without any form of alleviation (what we refer to as “coping skills” or self-soothing techniques), we forget about the beautiful weather and warm blankets. Our senses are heightened all of the time and the only thing we think about is the feeling of present dread and fixation on “what if”. 

Consistent levels of high anxiety can lead to anxiety disorders. It is the most common mental illness in the United States. Around 40 million people in this country are living with some form of anxiety-based condition. It decreases our rational thinking, increases our sensitivity, and impacts our ability to form long-term memories. Our brains quite literally get stuck in a loop of negative feedback. The amygdalas in our brain are constantly firing off signals to our hypothalamus. Our hypothalamus then floods our central nervous system with adrenaline and cortisol, neglecting its other jobs such as controlling our thirst levels, weight, appetite, body temperature, sleep cycles, blood pressure, sex drive, heart rate, and emotions (Heilizer, & Cutter, 1971).

Coping Skills

I was one of those kids that loved school but became anxiety stricken at the thought of being any place with anyone that I did not feel familiar with. I would refuse to eat or talk because my young brain believed that if I opened my mouth, everything I was feeling inside would come spilling out of my mouth in the form of vomit. The anxiety had me building a wall between me and the good stuff. Before I knew it, I had created a towering structure keeping me from so many wonderful experiences.

Despite all the anxiety the first day of school always brought me, the anxiety also heightened my senses. I focused. I planned my day. I drew a map of the school inside all my notebooks so that I knew where all my classes were. I wrote my teacher’s names over and over so I didn’t forget who they were or what they taught. My palm would have the combination number and locker number of where I was supposed to keep my personal possessions… except I was too worried I’d forget the right books so I carried every single textbook and educational material I owned on my back and in my arms for the entire day. I kept a picture of my family in my pocket and carried a small stuffed animal in my backpack for longer than I care to admit.

These were my coping skills. The writing and the doodling and the maps slowed my mind down and organized my thoughts. Temporarily not eating took away the worry of becoming sick or needing to use the restroom before I was ready. Holding my stuff close made me feel prepared. When I needed comfort, I could look at the photograph or smell the lavender fabric softener soaked into my stuffed panda bear. I figured out what helped me. Some stuff I figured out on my own. Others came to me from family.

Parents/guardians can play an important role in helping their kids discover their own coping skills. Try a new skill or hobby out with them that calms them or takes their mind off things. Ask them what scents or fabrics are soothing to them and find ways to have your kids carry them. Offer them words of encouragement and empathy. Let them know that even grown-ups feel this way too.

My dad had shared a secret with me: that on the days we wake up very anxious, if we just put our feet on the floor and get out of bed, the battle is half won. For some reason, this made sense to me. As long as I was walking or I had both of my feet in contact with the ground, I was going to be okay. I am in my thirties now, and I still hear his voice in my head every time my anxiety threatens to freeze me into submission. I put my feet on the floor. I take a step. And then another.

Facing the fear, the worry, and the unfamiliar is the only way to create change. Nothing can become familiar or comfortable if not experienced on a regular basis.

September is a month of anxiety, oh yes. And it is also a month of magic. It’s the month I knew I was in love. It’s the month whose 21st night brings us love and dancing and stars.  It is the birth month of my Nan, a woman from whom I inherited my broad shoulders and long toes. It’s the Abbey Road album spinning on the record player. It’s my sister getting married. And it’s the ticket for the Hogwarts Express that leaves on the first at 11:00 from Platform 9 ¾. Off to a castle far away to mix potions and transfigure mice and levitate feathers, anxiety and all.

Heilizer, F., & Cutter, H. S. (1971). Anxiety and arousal. The Journal of General Psychology, 85 (1st Half), 63–70.

How does anxiety affect the brain? (2020, July 30). Pronghornpsych.Com. https://pronghornpsych.com/how-does-anxiety-affect-the-brain/