How to Manage Anxiety for Students During Senior Year 

In this article, you’ll learn:

• How the “Elephant Method” can help break overwhelming senior year responsibilities into manageable steps

• Why finding a healthy outlet is important for reducing stress and clearing your mind

• How letting go of perfectionism can ease anxiety and improve your mindset

• Why remembering that you’re not alone can make a big difference during stressful moments

• Practical ways to balance school, future plans, and personal well-being during senior year
  
  

The stress and expectation of your senior year can be daunting. You are trying to wrap up four years or more with the people you’ve been seeing every day, prepare yourself for college, or trade school, or a year abroad, and on top of that you are still expected to get the best final grades you can.

In between all those major hurdles, there is more than likely a myriad of other personal trials and tribulations you are trying to work through. 

All of these combined can be a lot for one student to handle. So how do you not only work through it, but come out the other side ready to write your next chapter? 

That’s what we’d like to discuss in this article. Check out the sections below for some of the best ways you can weather the storm of these changing tides.

The Elephant Method 

Whenever we are faced with a big problem, like getting through all the work of wrapping up our senior year, it’s important to think of an old phrase: “how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

Some of you may have heard about this, while some of you have no idea what this is supposed to be. The basic point is that whenever you have a lot to deal with, the best way to deal with it is one piece at a time.

For instance, if you’re playing for a team in your senior year, and you’re struggling in your math class, and you’re worried about getting that scholarship for your freshman year of college, that can be a lot. But with the elephant method, you can deal with each issue one at a time.

When you’re faced with your math homework, try to only focus on that, and leave the sports and scholarship for when they come up in real time. Worrying about everything all at once is what creates the most well-known form of anxiety.

Finding an Outlet 

We all need room to breathe, to get out of our own head, and to maybe even get out of our own way. If you are struggling with senior year pressure, try and find a way to relax and leave your worries for a while.

This could be going to see a movie with a friend, going for a walk in the woods, reading by a fire in a nice cafe, or even just going shopping. Whatever your outlet is, try and make time for it. As long as it's a healthy outlet, your indulgence in it every so often will help minimize that anxiety you might be feeling.  

Nobody is Perfect 

Anxiety can be an everyday conflict, an inner war we wage within our minds and even within our bodies. The problem with anxiety is that it feeds on itself.

It can create an expectation that only compounds the more we let the anxiety overwhelm us. This constant worry pushes us to expect the perfect outcome. But the good news is that it just doesn’t exist.

And, what’s more, expecting that perfect outcome is a complete and utter waste of your time. Nobody has ever or will ever be perfect. We all have flaws, good days, bad days, and parts of our lives that we will continue to struggle with as long as we continue to live the lives we were gifted with.

So, if you are looking for perfection, close your eyes and accept what you already have within yourself. From there, with that acceptance, you might find it easier to tackle all the other pieces of that puzzle which made you so anxious in the first place. 

You Are Not Alone  

The final component we’d like to leave you with is a simple one, which is that you are not alone. The reason we write these articles and publish them for all of you reading is to show all of you just how many people there are struggling with the exact same thing.

Sure, we all have our different versions of stress. But the feeling of anxiety is universal. So if you are feeling isolated by this pressure, just turn to your nearest friend, fellow student, or even your parent or teachers, and ask them for support.

 By the mere act of reaching out, you will feel some of that weight lifted off your chest. Perhaps this friend of yours can help you take things apart using the elephant method. They could join you on your time off by going on a walk, to the movies, or maybe they can just be there to remind you that you are doing a good job, in spite of all your unavoidable and perfectly acceptable imperfections.

The next time you’re feeling anxious about this time in your life, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help.  

At NSHSS, we want to be there for you. Our motto, “Be Honored, Be More” applies just as much to us as it does to you.

We are honored to be more for you by providing you with support, resources, and a general helping hand wherever you need it. We hope that this article has helped you see that there is still a bright future ahead, even when it feels like the anxiety might become too overwhelming.

If you are struggling with individual stressors such test scores, scholarships, or time management, then please feel free to check out our other blogs on those topics, as well as so much more.