How a Healthy Mindset can Decrease Back-to-School Stress

You’ve had a fantastic summer full of friends, family, and fun outdoor activities, but now it is time to prepare your little ones for the upcoming school year. Things can get a bit stressful between managing the various back-to-school supply lists and trying to reconfigure your work, transportation, and family time.

Back-to-school stress is natural. It's a combination of the pressure of getting kids back on track after summer and the anxiety we feel about our professional lives. Thankfully, there are ways to discover stress-free living by adopting a healthy mindset and using various online and offline coaching tools to help you get through this time period easily.

What is Back to School Stress?

Back to School Stress is a term used to describe the tension and anxiety that can build up as parents and students prepare for the school year. It may include stress, sadness, anger, depression, or other emotions ranging from mild to severe.

Stress manifests itself in a multitude of ways for everyone. A teacher may be anxious lesson plans aren’t prepared. A parent might be trying to figure out local group driving duties, and students may be trying to build up the courage to find new friends. That is a lot to handle on your own. It is essential you have an outlet for talking about these concerns.

How Does Back to School Stress Affect Parents, Kids & Teachers?

Back-to-school stress can affect your health, relationships, work, and child’s education. It can also affect social life. If you are experiencing back-to-school stress, it's important that you learn how to manage it so that it does not negatively impact your health or the well-being of your loved ones. That includes if you are a parent, teacher, or a student.

1 - Parenting Stress

If you're a parent, you know how stressful the back-to-school season can be. You have to find new clothes and supplies for your kids, buy them meals at school, make sure they get on the bus safely, help them with homework after work and organize after-school activities. The goal is to find the tools and skills that lower your anxiety so you feel a little calmer and at ease as the first day of school approaches.

2 - Teacher Stress

Teachers have a lot on their plates. As a teacher, you are responsible for teaching your students and preparing them to pass exams. You must also deal with parents, school board members, government officials, and more. With all these responsibilities, it's easy to feel overwhelmed.

A healthy mindset can help you feel less stressed during such busy times of life by helping you refocus your energy toward what matters most: your exceptional students and your well-being.

3 - Stressed Kids

One of the most vulnerable groups to this type of stress is children because they haven't developed coping skills yet. In addition, they are still developing physically and mentally, so their brains aren't capable of processing as much information as an adult's brain can handle.

Children who suffer from back-to-school anxiety may have trouble concentrating in class or falling asleep at night because their minds are racing too fast to relax properly. This could be because they feel out of place, don’t understand the content being taught, or have yet to find their social group for support. It is critical to provide quality guidance and tools to help students have a rewarding educational experience.

What is a Healthy Mindset?

 A healthy mindset is one that is positive and optimistic. It focuses on the good things in life rather than dwelling on the negative. A healthy mindset is flexible and adaptable, able to adjust to new situations as they arise. This can help you become more resilient when faced with complex challenges surrounding back-to-school stress.

 A healthy mindset helps you focus on what you have instead of what you don't have, which leads to greater happiness and satisfaction with your life overall.

How Does it Decrease Back to School Stress?

With a healthy mindset and the right tools, you can help your family navigate this stressful time of year easily. Try to be proactive about returning to school and have conversations with your kids about what to expect. Begin new routines now while you have a bit more flexibility to iron out any hiccups along the way. It may even be helpful to take a couple of trips to and from the school in your car or walk, so your family gets familiar with the route.

Surround the idea of going back to school with positivity and make time for healthy outlets in your life to balance your anxiety. This could be getting in a workout, meditating, taking a hot bath, or enjoying a 20-minute break at a coffee shop. Like putting on the oxygen mask on an airplane, sometimes you need to take care of your needs before you can better help your child.

It helps to:

·        Listen

·        Talk

·        Find Support

·        Build Healthy Habits

·        Think Positively

·        Prepare & Plan

Remember that you are not alone. Millions of people across the world are preparing to go back to school. Even when it seems your classroom, home, or schedule is not ready to handle the stress of full-time school, remember that others are experiencing the same emotions. The same nervousness your child may feel about reconnecting with friends is no different than how a teacher feels when standing in front of a classroom of teenagers. That is why healthy habits outside these activities set you up for success.

Seeking Outside Support

At the end of the day, a healthy mindset is one that says it is okay to be a little anxious or nervous. Everyone else has these emotions too. What is important is that we all maintain a positive outlook on the future and focus on what we can improve instead of what may or may not happen.

That is where Alley Breeze Wellness can help. We provide brain-based coaching that helps you, your family, and your career focus develop a healthier mindset for tackling the challenge of returning to school. Our professional coaches have the personal experience needed to help you achieve success and overcome the various difficulties of reengaging with full-time school life.

To learn more about our family coaching services, call us at (267) 853-8808 or reach out on our website to schedule an appointment. We all know school can get a little hectic, so why not get a helping hand from a team who can provide the skills, tools, and support you need to navigate heading back to school? Reach out to our coaching center today, and let’s chat.

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