CFIS CAFÉ ( C ollaborations in A ffective F ulfillment in E ducation): Anxiety & School (and Personal) Performance Dr. Brent Macdonald, R. Psych (AB, PE) Consulting Psychologist w CFIS
Rationale • Anxiety has been • Goals identified by different • Provide students with groups within the CFIS information about the nature of anxiety (biological, social, community as an area of academic, environmental, concern (parents, Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com sources) teachers, students) • Provide students with insight into their own individual • Students have expressed anxieties/ stressors an interest in learning • Provide students with a voice more about anxiety and • Provide students with how to deal with it strategies for working through anxiety – and making the most of positive anxiety
Student-Based Goals • Teachers involved – do • Letting things go students want some • Prioritizing time w/o teachers • Sleep Hygiene • What do YOU want out • Relational Anxiety Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com of this • What teachers & parents • Biological basis need to know • Perfectionism/ standards • Homework Anxiety • Teachers are “good” at the academic game
Defining Anxiety & Stress • Nonspecific response to real or imagined challenges or threats • How we view the problem/ challenge is really Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com important • We must perceive the stimulus to be threatening to experience stress
Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com
Social Context: Sources of Anxiety Endogenous (Internal) Exogenous (External) • Desire to be liked • Social media • Fear of failure • Grades • Drive for Perfectionism • Athletic performance Brent Macdonald, Ph.D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com • Lack of confidence • Fine arts performances • Wanting to please • Imaginary Audience others • Peers • Family • School 6
Responses to Anxiety & Stress • Body • Behavioral • Increased heart rate • Disorganization • Increased • Ineffective behavior respirations • Can be helpful (i.e. Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com preparing for tests) … • Shallower respirations • … but usually isn’t • Higher blood pressure • Sweaty palms Blink • Pupil dilation
More Signs of Anxiety • Physical • Perspiration • Facial flush (i.e. blushing) • Muscle tension (esp. neck/ shoulders) Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com • Hyperventilating • Watery eyes
Signs of Anxiety • Nervousness • Difficulty reading/ understanding questions that you would usually understand • Difficulty organizing thoughts Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com • Doing poorly despite knowledge of materials • Test/ task avoidance • Feelings of anger/ frustration/ sadness
Signs of Anxiety • In your brain: • Going blank • Remembering the correct answers after writing a test • Difficulty focusing Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com • Distractible
Anxiety Symptoms Young adults often display the following: Physical complaints High rate of school absence Tendency toward perfectionism Irritable Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com Test anxiety Fixate on worries Internalizing/externalizing behaviours Low coping skills Social challenges Difficulty concentrating • Can affect academic performance • Parents are often the ones to indicate to the school the intensity of their child's worries
Effects of Anxiety • Lower neurocognitive control • Need for brain/ CNS to work harder with the same or even diminished resources • Anxiety = enhanced awareness/ attention to “threatening” stimuli; results in less attention for other stimuli Brent Macdonald, Ph.D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com 12
Eustress (Selye, Lazurus) Brent Macdonald, Ph.D., R. 13 Psych. complexlearners.com
P er fec tio nis m � Perfectionism Procrastination Paralysis Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com
Communicating with Parents • How to communicate that you are anxious • How to communicate/ ask what their expectations of you might be? Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com • How to communicate expectations today v. back in the day (generational forgetting)
Stress • Stress is normal up to a point and can be optimal for certain performance related tasks. • Stress becomes a problem when it interferes with a person’s ability to do daily life tasks over a period of a few weeks or Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com impacts their health in a dangerous or risky way.
Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) A marked and persistent fear of one or more social Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com or performance situations in which the person fears that embarrassment may occur.
Core Symptoms • Immediate anxiety responses or panic attack upon exposure of the situation • Avoidance or extreme distress • Excessive concerns about embarrassment, negative evaluation, and rejection; processing social situations Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com negatively • Reports of autonomic symptoms and sensations o Younger children: illnesses, crying o Youth: fears of blushing, avoid others
Social Anxiety in School Settings/Home School Peer Relationships Home • Reading aloud Avoidance of • • Limited friends • Request for extended family • Reluctant to join assistance gatherings, group activities • Unstructured peer answering the Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com • Loneliness encounters (PE, phone or • Shy, quiet change rooms, bus, doorbell • Peer victimization recess, lunch…) Refuse to order • • Working in groups for themselves in • Test taking restaurants
Coping • Factors influencing coping • Resilience – flexibility and adaptiveness to external changes/ demands • Coping strategies Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com • Emotion-Focused vs. Problem-Focused Coping • Proactive coping
Eisenhower Matrix Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com
Test Anxiety • Mild to severe negative reaction to test situations • Typically associated with misperception of performance Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com • Magnified by lack of preparation and excessive worry • Follows cycle (Panic --> Difficulty Concentrating --> Memory Retrieval Problems … ) • Irrational Thinking (“Yup, gonna fail THIS one – badly!” – and “If I fail, my parents will kill me.”)
Test Anxiety Prevention • Before the Test: • Awareness of Emphasis • Study Environment • Consistency of Homework/ Review • Familiarity with Format Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com • Asking for Help • Flashcards • Peers
Test Anxiety Prevention • Pre-Read the Test • Be Positive • Taking Breaks • Prioritize Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com • Answer Everything • Time Management
Okay, so you’re stressed out anyway … • Management • Idea is to control; make stress your weak little friend • Relaxation • Breathing Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com • PDMR (make a fist … ) • Breaks • Affirmation
Test Anxiety - Reducing Anxiety 1) Breathing 2) Total Tension Release 3) Progressive Muscle Relaxation 4) Breaks Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com 5) “ Mental Vacation ” 6) Awareness of Environment
BC Youth Website • http://youth.anxietybc.com/anxiety-101 • It is an AWESOME site for adults and kids Brent Macdonald, Ph. D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com
Resilience How we adapt to environmental adversity Protective Factors Risk Factors • Self-efficacy • Poor problem solving • Ability to organize and strategies execute tasks effectively • May be related to poor • Adapting to past and Brent Macdonald, Ph.D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com executive functioning current stressors more • Unpredictable effectively environments (home/ • Structure and routine school) • Social adeptness • Social errors • Family & social supports • Neglect/ abusive • Involvement in community/ school • Isolation 28
Contact Us Dr. Brent Macdonald Macdonald Psychology Group brent@complexlearners.com Brent Macdonald, Ph.D., R. Psych. complexlearners.com @CalgaryPsychDoc Macdonald Psychology Group complexlearners.com 29
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