Lesson 8.2 Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders

Overview

This lesson focuses on anxiety and the impacts that anxiety disorders can have on a person’s health and well-being.

Learning Targets

  • LO4: Compare and contrast anxiety and anxiety disorders.
  • LO5: Identify five symptoms of anxiety disorders.
  • LO6: Explain three common influences on teen anxiety.
  • LO7: Describe the value of gratitude and explain two ways to practice it.

Preparation

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the Journal Question on the board or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 8.2 PowerPoint slides or make copies of the Lesson 8.2 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 8.2 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Practicing Healthy Behaviors: Gratitude.

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on task.

  • Journal Question: What does it feel like to be anxious? Identify a time when you were feeling anxiety and try to describe what it felt like and what you noticed about how you felt.
    • Option: Write or project the question and have students respond in their journal or on their “bell ringer” sheet as they enter class.
    • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
  • Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 8.2 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 8.2 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
    • Option: Collect the quiz and use it alongside a posttest to demonstrate student learning.
    • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

Lesson Focus: Practicing Healthy Behaviors: Gratitude

  1. Give each student a copy of the Lesson 8.2 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Practicing Healthy Behaviors: Gratitude.
  2. Have students work individually to complete the worksheet.
  3. Ask students to pair up and share their responses.

Challenge Activity

Have students needing an additional challenge work on the following Thinking Critically task.

Research a common anxiety disorder that interests you. Use the information you find to create a social media thread about the disorder from the point of view of the person with the disorder. Try to convey what it would be like to have that disorder.

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you...

  • Compare and contrast anxiety and anxiety disorders?

    Anxiety is an emotion that includes tension; worried thoughts; and physical changes, such as increased blood pressure. People with anxiety disorders frequently have intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. These feelings of anxiety and panic interfere with daily activities, such as going to school or hanging out with friends.

  • Identify five symptoms of anxiety disorders?

    Common symptoms of anxiety disorders include

    • feeling nervous, restless, or tense;
    • having a sense of impending danger, panic, or doom;
    • increased heart rate;
    • breathing rapidly (hyperventilation);
    • sweating;
    • trembling;
    • feeling weak or tired;
    • trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry;
    • having trouble sleeping;
    • stomach or intestinal problems; and
    • having the urge to avoid things that cause the anxiety.

  • Explain three common influences on teen anxiety.

    Common influences on teen anxiety include high expectations and pressure to succeed (contributing to a feeling of being overwhelmed); social threats and violence (experiencing or accessing media about school shootings and other violent incidences can increase anxiety); and social media (the presence of judgement and criticism and a culture of comparison can contribute to anxiety).

  • Describe the value of gratitude and explain two ways to practice it.

    When we express our gratitude, it tends to overshadow other feelings we might have and can help us refocus in a positive and calming way.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

Take It Home

Write down comparisons and contrasts of anxiety and anxiety disorders. Include common ways each is manages or treated and provide at least one resource for each (e.g., an app that provides coping skills instruction, the name of a nearby mental health professional or office etc.). Share your work with a parent or guardian and ask them if they have ever thought about what makes everyday anxiety different from an anxiety disorder.