Dec 10 - 14

Anxiety & the Stress Response

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a session on anxiety & the stress response during the system wide professional development day. Anxiety is defined as a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. When someone experiences anxiety, whether it be a real or a perceived threat, a feeling of stress ensues. There are 3 levels of stress.

For a child or adult that has prolonged toxic stress it impacts there everyday life and ability to learn. Adverse childhood experiences influence how well a person is able to manage anxiety and stress. Last year I had the chance to take an online certificate program through the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative. The general idea of the 19 module course is outlined in the video below.

Brain Builders

As a person's brain develops and matures (into the mid-20's) there are 3 main areas that develop. The amygdala controls our basic instinct of flight, flight or freeze in times of anxiety or stress. The hippocampus controls our emotions and memory. Finally our prefrontal cortex controls are thinking and sense of logic. Our genes or nature impacts our ability to manage stress. The environment we grow up in as well as the level of support we have (nurture) also impacts our ability to cope. The more negative things you have been exposed to as a child the more likely we are to stay in the fight, flight, freeze brain area then thinking about things logically as well as having the ability to plan, organize and complete tasks.

atrophy - gradually decline in effectiveness (thinking, reasoning & feeling area of the brain)
hypertrophy - increase or enlargement (survival instincts - fight, flight, freeze)

Resources for Help:
Access Mental Health
The Distress Centre
Mental Health Online Resources for Educators (MORE)
AnxietyCanada.com
Alberta Family Wellness Initiative
teenmentalhealth.org
Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868