Building Resilience & ConfidenceStrategies to help our youth manage stress, worry and anxiety

Kootenay Lake School District #8Nelson, British ColumbiaTrafalgar Middle School PAC January 2014Todd Kettner, Ph.D. , Registered Psychologist

We want our kids to:

Learn wellBe socially competentBe successful in lifeOther wishes for their lives?

Copyright 2014 Todd Kettner, Ph.D. 250-505-7019

Anxiety gets in the way of…

Learning

The Prevalence of Anxiety Among Middle and Secondary School Students in Canada L.Tramonte & D. Willms. Canadian Journal of Public Health 2010;101(Suppl. 3):S19-S22.

Less than one half of Canadian students can be considered “in flow.” That is, < 50% of students feel confident in their skills and challenged in their classes. Students who lacked confidence in their skills were nearly twice as likely to experience anxiety.

Social Competence

5.5% of 13 to 18 year olds will have Social Anxiety (a subtype of anxiety) during their teens.

Merkingas, Burstein, Swanson, et. al. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2-1 Oct:49 (10):980-989.

Lifelong Success

Prevalence of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents

10% to 20%

Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents: Developmental Issues and Implications for DSM-V. Besdoo, Knappe, and Pine. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3018839/ Psychiatry in Clinical Practice North America. 2009 September: 32(3); 483-524. Prevalence was found to be 15 to 20%. Note: Other studies have shown somewhat lower prevalence rates.

SD8 Counsellors: Most Important Issues Dealt with in Schools (weighted)

Anxiety40%

Peer Interactions14%

Disruptive Behaviors14%

Depression8%

Attendance6%

Academic Stress5%

All Others13%

Physical Symptoms

Physical Symptoms

Crying Muscle tension HeadachesStomach aches Nail biting Picking at skin

Fidgetiness Increased heart rate Sweating

Shallow breathing Dizziness Fatigue

Disrupted sleep Feeling of choking Feeling nauseasTightness in chest Trembling Numbness

Tingling sensations

Extreme anxiety can lead to hair loss, trichotillomania, rashes

Cognitive Symptoms

Cognitive Symptoms

Difficulty concentratingFear of illness – “I must be having a heart attack”Fear of losing it – “I’m going crazy”Fear of abandonment – “My girlfriend might leave me”Fear of failure – “I’m going to flunk the exam”Fear of rejection – “Nobody will like me at Trafalgar”Fear of fear – “I know I’ll have a panic attack if I go the Bombers basketball game”Fear of criticism – “My teacher won’t like the story I wrote.” “My parents will think the money they spent on my new hockey equipment was a complete waste”Fear of success – “I don’t want to try out for choir because my friends think I have a good voice and if I made it, then I’d have to be on stage”Fear of death Fear of lossFear of catastrophe if something isn’t in the right order or sequence

Behavioural Symptoms

Behavioural Symptoms

Avoidance School refusalSkipping classDropping out of sportsAlcohol, pot, other drugs to avoid anxiety or other challenging emotions“Losing homework”Not wanting friends overRefusal of overnights at friends, relatives, school trips, summer campsTantrumsYellingSometimes even physical aggression – “had to drag him kicking and screaming”

Copyright 2013 Todd Kettner, Ph.D. 250-505-7019

Actions

Thoughts

Emotions

Managing our anxiety and depression AND improving our physical health outcomes

Emotional Contagion

Emotional Contagion (Studies in Emotion and Social Interaction). Hatfield, Cacioppo & Rapson. 1993. Popularized in Malcolm Gladwell’s 2002 Bestseller “The Tipping Point.”

Examples: EMTs and ER nurses who calm their patients by talking calmly. Parents and teachers who talk quieter in order to “infect” their loud and boisterous children with their subdued volume.

Emotional Contagion

Anxiety and Stress

Strategies

Modelling and RehearsalPhysical Exercise

Clear and Accurate Information

Yerkes Dodson Law

Copyright 2013 Todd Kettner, Ph.D. 250-505-7019

Staircase of Success

Graduated Mastery

Anxiety BC’s Excellent Website Resources. Results. Relief.

Information for Children, Teens, Parents, and Adults

http://www.anxietybc.com/

Resources for Teachers:Fostering Resilience in Students with

Mental Health Issues

http://keltymentalhealth.ca/education

Handouts for:Relaxed Breathing

Building Social ConfidenceOvercoming Fears

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

http://youth.anxietybc.com/resources

Empirically Validated Quick Screening Measures for:Depression

AnxietyStress

Alcohol UseSocial Anxiety

Drug Use

http://www.mindcheck.ca/mood-stress

Resilience. Mastery. Success.

1. Anxious Teen by Holly2. Learning by woodleywonderworks3. Social Competence by Purhoor Photograpy4. Lifelong Success by Jorge Franganillo 5. Amygdala - unknown6. Spider by Dincordero7. Spider on eye blog.ericlamb.net8. Beach by Zanzibar9. Yerkes Dodson – secretgeek.net10.Scared Child by Espon Faugstad11.Distressed Teen in Car by PLCjr12.Peers by teapics13.Parents by phub.com.au14.Educators – apa.org15.Classroom by horizontal.ingegration16.Counselor in chair by Parker Knight17.Staircase by Gwenael Piaser

Photos credits (mostly from Flickr)