3 Chapter 3: The Highs and Lows of Anxiety
Chapter 3: The Highs and Lows of Anxiety
Aaargh!
Having taught this class now for eight years whenever I ask students what the single-most biggest challenge they experience, the answer is almost always anxiety. Its interesting to note that whether it is a student section just for those on the spectrum or for the larger population, I still always get the same answer. Indeed, being a college student in the 2020’s seems like a much more stressful thing than I ever had to deal with back in my day. There are so many complexities and ways we can be vulnerable in this modern world–social media, identity theft, privacy invasion, plus, all the challenges I did face growing up–passing your classes, working part-time, making friends, and developing a sense of self. The entire thing is incredibly challenging.
Not all anxiety is bad, in fact, to a degree, it can be good. Anxiety is often what motivates us to keep studying that extra critical hour that dramatically improves our test performance, or keeps us out of trouble when we’re driving and the roads are slippery. Anxiety is an internal warning that directs us towards safety at times. But how do we know what anxiety is rational or good versus irrational and counterproductive? And, how do we sort out what is real and what isn’t?
A good starting point as we look for an answer to these questions is to develop an awareness of what our “weak spots” are. A @&* term we use to refer to this concept is called an “Achilles heel”. If you remember your childhood mythology, Achilles was a mortal hero of the Trojan war in Greece and the son of the king Paleus and sea nymph Thetis. His mother, Thetis, wanted her son to grow up to be an ideal warrior who could never be harmed in wartime by any spear or sword. To protect Achilles, she dipped his son in the river Styx which created an invisible armor making it impossible for any weapon to harm him. Every part of Achilles’s body was protected, with the exception of his right heel, which is mother held his son from as she dipped him in the river Styx. That spot on Achilles heel thus became his weak point, and hence the term “Achilles heel” was born.
So what is your Achilles heel when it comes to anxiety? What are the things that make you the most anxious and why does it trigger you? Every person is different–for some it’s examinations in class; for some its walking through large crowds in places you’re unfamiliar with; for me personally its driving when its snowing outside. We all have our triggers and vulnerabilities, and we’re all human by having them. But by better recognizing these things we can start to do something about it.
Communication Exercise: Exploring Triggers
One of the things that helps us face our anxiety with a new perspective is to openly declare how it impacts yourself and then speak with others about theirs as well. Group exercises like this make us feel less alone, but also may at times add an element of humor to