5 Ways To Reduce Anxiety When Going Back To School

Every September, I always feel that horrible wave of anxiety bubbling up. And that’s because school is just around the corner. Unlike Hogwarts, most schools in the UK go back around the 4-6th of September. That leaves us with just under a week of panicking and running around the house trying to find our school supplies. It’s a stressful time, especially if you’re starting your GCSE’s. So here are 5 ways to reduce anxiety when going back to school.

1) Organisation

I know that the last thing anybody wants to do on their summer holiday is to go into the back to school section in and start stocking up on school supplies. But it’s better to be prepared. Most of the time my anxiety around school is linked to being under-equipped or missing a few key items. Having everything sorted at the beginning of the summer holidays means you don’t have to give it another thought until September. Knowing that you’ve got everything you need can give you a massive confidence boost. And you can walk into your classroom on the first day knowing you’re going to smash it.

2) Get familiar with your classes

If you’re starting your GCSE’s it’s normal to be nervous about subjects that you’ve never taken before. So it’s good to get an idea of what you’ll be studying before term starts. I went through this when I took my GCSE’s. I was really nervous that I wouldn’t know what was going on. But I was lucky that I had cousins that were all going through school at the same time as me. So I asked them what I’d need, the pace of the lessons, and what the curriculum would be like. I also asked loads of questions before the school year finished. I’m pretty sure I drove my teachers mad, but I wanted to be fully prepared for the year ahead.

3) Get enough sleep

This seems like such a basic tip, but it’s worth noting. During the summer holidays, people tend to go to bed late and sleep most of the morning. Which is fine when you’ve got nothing to do in the day. However, you don’t want to be going back to school on 5 hours of sleep. A few days before you go back to school, get back into a sensible sleeping routine. That’ll give you a healthy 8 hours of sleep. This will make you feel a lot better in the long run. And when school comes back around, getting up at 7 in the morning won’t hurt that much. Sleep can definitely reduce levels of stress. It also increases concentration, and you’re going to want to be fully alert on the first day of school.

4) Meet up with friends

Often when the school year ends, you can lose contact with your friends. I’ve been guilty of this, especially with social media. You forget that face-to-face communication exists. It can be daunting going back to school when you haven’t seen your friends in 6 weeks. This is why trying to meet up with them regularly through the summer holidays is important. Also, if you’ve got anxieties over starting a new year, you can share them with your friends, who are probably experiencing exact same fears as you.

5) Remember the positives

Even though school can get on your nerves, there are loads of good times and laughs thrown in amongst the homework. Seeing your friends every day, break and lunch times, and classroom banter. It doesn’t take that long to get back into the swing of things.  If you’re feeling jittery, just remember that you made it through last year, and you’ll make it through this year. The first week of school generally consists of easy lessons, and settling in, so just enjoy teachers being lenient!

If you’re going back to school this week, or are already there, good luck! I’m sure you’ll enjoy this year. Have you felt like this before school?  What you did to feel calm? Leave a comment below!

Edited by Viveca Shearin