Anxiety Lesson: High School Health Class Outline

High school class lesson outline about anxiety

Question: What is the difference between stress and anxiety?

Usually, there are a few who know that anxiety can be a short feeling you have with a situation or it can get worse and become a condition that affects life. 

Here are some things to help the discussion.  Anxiety is sometimes an uneasy feeling.  Anxiety can make it so you don’t want to do certain things.

Statement: Stress and anxiety can feel very similar but they are different.  Today we are going to look at what anxiety is and how to deal with it in good ways.  Here is a chart that shows how stress and anxiety are the same and how they are different.

Statement: There can be situations that cause a person to feel anxiety.  When we understand what anxiety is and what situations cause anxiety for us, we can learn how to deal with anxiety in a good way.  We are all different and we will each have different things we get anxious about.  Different situations can cause different reactions in the body. 

Discussion: What are some common situations that cause anxiety?Answers might be speaking in front of people, performing in sport or other events, taking a test, talking to an adult, asking for help from a teacher, or meeting new people.  
Writing: What are 2 situations that usually cause anxiety for you and how does it affect your body?
Writing: Look at the situation and write whether this is a high, low, or no anxiety situation for you.
Statement: Anxiety is difficult for some people but it is also something that we can work on building coping skills with.  There are things we can do that reduce how often and how much we feel anxiety.  We want to use these skills so that we are in control of our lives, not the anxiety.  

Writing: Here are some signs that you are having high levels of anxiety.

• Sleep problems
• Grinding teeth in your sleep
• Can’t focus
• Muscle tension
• Stomach and digestive problems

Write down some techniques for dealing with anxiety in healthy ways.

• Meditation
• Deep breathing
• Practice dealing with situations with friends or family
• Talk to a therapist or counselor

Statement:  Now that you know how to recognize anxiety and why it is so important to deal with it in good ways, let’s take some time to do a guided meditation to help us practice calming ourselves down.  We are going to listen to a guided meditation so you can learn that there are ways to calm your nervous system down.  -You can use a CD or find a guided meditation on youtube for this.  I like to find one that is at least 10 min. Long.-Here is a clip I like that explains a little about the difference between stress and anxiety.https://youtu.be/AVGn5kSCNJc

Notes about Anxiety

Situation 1: Write about a situation you have had that caused anxiety.  Write how it affected your body.

Situation 2: Write about a situation you have had that caused anxiety.  Write how it affected your body.

Look at the situation and write whether this is a high, low, or no anxiety situation for you.Taking a test _____________Telling a person that you don’t want to do something they suggest __________Starting a conversation with someone new ___________Making an important decision ____________Competing in sports or being in an event ___________
Signs that you are having high levels of anxiety.

• ___________ problems
• Grinding _________ in your sleep
• Can’t _________
• __________ tension
• Stomach and ___________ problems

Write down some techniques for dealing with anxiety in healthy ways.1.2.3.4.