Feeling anxious about the return to school? Here's how to combat the post-summer blues
CTV
As summer vacation ends and a new school year begins, mental health experts weigh in on how to combat school-related anxiety and post-summer blues.
Summer holidays are officially coming to an end, with a new school year just a calendar flip away. For some children and teenagers, this can be a daunting time, as feelings of post-summer sadness and back-to-school anxiety loom.
While a new school year can always be nerve-wracking, data suggests there's been a significant jump in youth struggling with anxiety – from 11.6 per cent of youth experiencing a form of anxiety in 2012, to 20.5 per cent of youth in 2021, according to a meta-analysis of 29 different studies by the Journal of the American Medical Association's pediatrics research.
A Canadian registered psychologist told CTVNews.ca that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is part of this, and is still being felt.
“We know the pandemic impacted youth in terms of academic learning and milestones, social isolation and development as well as ongoing family stress,” said Marlene Taube-Schiff, director and founder of Forward Thinking Psychological Services, a multidisciplinary practice offering services in Ontario and B.C., in email to CTVNews.ca.
“It can take time for youth to recover from these ongoing stressors. In addition, youth and teens can face challenges with emotion regulation, social development, peer pressure and academic stressors. Altogether, this can amount to mental health issues, including anxiety and low mood.
Anxiety can show up differently in everyone.
For those with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), it often involves a persistent feeling of anxiety or dread, which can interfere with daily life. GAD is not the same as anxiety due to stressful life events, however.
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