The month of October we are going to focus on Anxiety and Stress and how it impacts the brain. The goal is for students to grasp an understanding of the physiological and psychological affects of Anxiety and Stress to help motivate for learning of new coping skills. Anxiety is defined as: A state of apprehension, uncertainty, and fear resulting from the anticipation of a realistic or fantasized threatening event or situation, often impairing physical and psychological functioning. There are typically three types of responses to Anxiety. We have the fight response, flight response, and freeze response. Can you guess what each of these responses mean? Our students in the Freeze response typically have intense worries about the future (e.g. college, professional prospects), difficulty tolerating feedback, few or no close peer relationships, Shutting down or "getting stuck" on test, and possible academic over achievement. Our students in the Fight response tend to have many panic attacks, engage in self-injurious behaviors, suicidal thinking, substance use, instability and intensity in relationships, and disordered eating. Our students in the Flight response may be late to school or have frequent absences, skip class, be involved in substance use, or avoid major projects such as college applications, essays, etc. Does this remind you of anyone? Next week the students will focus on what is going on in our brain when we have an anxious or stress producing response. Our students completed their vision boards this week and categorized each goal as having "no control," "some control," and "all control." Goals such as buying a vacation home, having children, and traveling fell under the category as having "some control" for most of our students. Character traits and growth mindset terms fell under the category as having "all control" for the majority as well. These vision boards focused on compartmentalizing what we can control in the future.
Needs: things you have to have in order to live/survive. (For example: air, food, water, shelter, clothes, safety, love) Wants: things that you would like to have to make your life easier -- things you can live without. (For example: CDs, new clothes, TV set) Values : guidelines on how you live; your beliefs about right and wrong; (For example: freedom, honesty, trust, health, friendship, fun, money, power, love) Goals: Where you want to go – something you want in the future that will make you happy. |
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September 2019
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The Bridge Program: Burlington High School