Anxiety and the Classroom - helping students to move through alarm to courage

Gordon Neufeld, a developmental psychologist from Vancouver, British Columbia, conveys a warmth that is natural, welcoming and supportive when he speaks. I have heard him speak twice, once at the Peel District Board Office during a PD session, the second at the Waldorf Academy in downtown Toronto last year.

Dr. Neufeld speaks on anxiety.  Just saying the word anxiety conjures the feeling of sweaty palms, a dry throat, butterflies and a pounding head. These are natural symptoms of our body`s response to our thoughts of alarm and unease, when we are faced with a perceived danger. In his talk, Dr. Neufeld first points out that anxiety is meant to be beneficial. The feelings of anxiety are our natural, internal activated alarm system.

Gordon Neufeld estimates that today, 1 in 5 children suffer from moderate to severe anxiety. Sometimes a school subject itself may create alarm in a student. I have taught anxious students in my math class.  Math anxiety is “a feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with math performance." Every day, when the class time approaches, I may see that student begin to exhibit the symptoms of alarm. If there is no intervention, their feelings can lead to decreased motivation, resulting in math avoidance. Ultimately their confidence in their ability plummets. It's a reinforcing downward spiral. It's a real problem, for the teacher and the student, because an alarmed state prevents learning. Learning requires a tranquil mind.

So how do children cope. These students try to deal with their feelings of alarm through avoidance and distraction. Common coping mechanisms can include:

• Refusing tasks
• Making frequent trips to the washroom 
• Developing attendance problems
• Engaging in intensive procrastination such as using technology
• Creating distractions by performing a 'show' for their peers
• Developing physical complaints such as stomachaches, headaches, fatigue. 
• Becoming aggressive or defiant

The good news is that a teacher can step in to support the student in resolving their alarm and help return them to a state of calm, so they can learn.

Gordon Neufelds key message is that by understanding the natural process of alarm in our bodies, we can help children to overcome their feelings of alarm and move forward, beyond the fear and tears and into courage.

Neufeld describes that the three possible outcomes of our internal alarm system are caution, which if not resolved, moves into a state of adaptation (to the situation, creating a new steady state) and, if not resolved, finally moving through into courage. This is described by the image below (taken I believe, from a Neufeld talk):

1. Alarm - At the top of the diagram you can see the child becoming alarmed in response to perceiving a danger. This activates the internal 'alarm system'.
2. Caution is the first response after a child feels alarmed. Caution is a natural and good response to an alarm, it allows the child to focus and pay attention. Caution can be resolved once a child realizes the situation they are in is not dangerous after all, and they can relax from their hyper-attentive state.
3. If however the situation causing alarm is persistent unavoidable, the child moves from caution into the stage of futility. Tears are usually released and this leads to adaptation and the child experiences release and becomes restful at this point. At the stage of adaptation, the alarm system is internally recalibrated and the child experiences a calm state.  This is a good outcome of the alarm process, the child has successfully resolved their alarm by adapting to the new situation.
4. If adaptation stage is not reached, the child will need courage to continue to face the alarm-filled situation that confronts them. Courage isn’t possible without mixed feelings and children are not capable of experiencing mixed feelings until the age of 7 or 8. If a child reaches courage, the child becomes brave. They are able to  persevere in the face of difficulty, work toward their goals.  Reaching this stage frequently requires an adult's help.

Teachers are an important support in helping students develop productive strategies to cope with alarm in classroom situations. Neufeld suggests specific strategies based on the natural alarm process.

First, Neufeld suggest anxiety reduction behaviors that  relieve anxiety and turns off the alarm. These can include:

• Physical activity 
• Eating
• Focusing on a sensory input like a squeeze ball
• Doing relaxation exercises

 These behaviors temporarily relieve anxiety and turn off the alarm.

Second, Gordon Neufeld’s suggests anxiety can be addressed by reducing the separation the child is facing. Strategies include creating a a classroom that is a place of rest and safety. For a child safety means that as teachers we can first accept our role as an alpha figure in a child's life so the child can relax. This is a state of being that influences our approach to classroom management in a fundamental way. It means that teachers:

• Work on our relationship with the student so the child knows we care 
• Take responsibility to bridge any separation that cannot be avoided by focusing on the next connection 
• Accept and allow the symptoms of anxiety as a natural process
• Bringing alarmed children to rest and build resilience by helping to find the tears of futility when appropriate
• Cultivate courage by fanning their desires so the child can develop their ability to work through frustration by means of their own loves, passions and interests

Until we meet again.

Sources:
The Neufeld Institute
http://sensationalchildren.blogspot.ca/
Gordon Neufeld: Making Sense of Anxiety in Children and Youth - an hour-long presentation