homework on anxiety

18 Anxiety Worksheets for Adults, Teens & More

And yet, it can also be energizing, focusing our attention and preparing us for action — an evolutionary response to the unexpected, difficult, or downright dangerous (Workman & Reader, 2015).

It is not so much what happens but how we respond that matters the most (Joseph, 2013).

Therapists, counselors, and coaches can help by working with clients to change how they react to anxiety-inducing situations.

In this article, we introduce a collection of free worksheets for use by mental health professionals with their clients or as self-help activities.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Stress & Burnout Prevention Exercises (PDF) for free . These science-based exercises will equip you and your clients with tools to better manage stress and find a healthier balance in your life.

This Article Contains

5 best anxiety worksheets, 4 anxiety worksheets for teens, 3 social anxiety worksheets, 3 anxiety activities for adults, cbt worksheets for anxiety, positivepsychology.com resources, a take-home message.

We can learn to break free from anxiety. With the right approaches, the same situations can have different outcomes (Forsyth & Eifert, 2016).

The following five worksheets encourage clients to recognize that they are not alone in their experiences and can, indeed, learn how to cope with anxiety.

The activities work on their own or can be combined. They support clients by helping them identify situations that cause anxiety, using mindfulness and meditation to restore a balanced perspective, and recognizing that someone should not be defined by the extreme emotions they are experiencing (Forsyth & Eifert, 2016; Southwick & Charney, 2018):

1. Anxiety Hierarchy

Intense fears, phobias, and stressful situations can be highly anxiety provoking. It is helpful to establish a list of challenging situations that result in extreme upset or negative emotions for clients (American Psychological Association, 2016).

Use the Anxiety Hierarchy exercise to list situations that lead to anxiety and rate them on a scale from 1 (mild discomfort) to 10 (extreme emotions such as panic).

Once these anxiety-inducing situations are listed and sorted in order, the practitioner can use graded exposure practices as part of systematic desensitization.

2. Breath Awareness While Waiting

Waiting for an event can leave us excited, concerned, nervous, or anxious. We may notice changes to our physiology (increased heart rate, sweating, and faster breathing), cognition (erratic thinking, poor decision-making, and a failing memory), and emotions (fear, upset, and panic ; Peterson, 2018).

Work with the client to identify times they are waiting during the week — for example, waiting for the bus, at the school gates, at an appointment — and how they expect to feel.

Then use this breath awareness practice for mindful breathing: slowly breathing in through the nose, holding, and slowly breathing out through the mouth. As unhelpful thoughts enter the mind, direct attention back to breathing.

3. Creating a Mindfulness Anxiety Plan

Our behavior often follows patterns, and so does our anxiety. It is possible to anticipate when anxiety might show up, especially when we become more in tune with our bodies and the events around us (Peterson, 2018).

By creating a mindfulness anxiety plan , we can be ready with a list of actions to perform when we begin to recognize our anxiety taking shape and in advance of situations that can be difficult. These actions should aim to improve our wellbeing and leave us less anxious throughout the day

For example, “If my anxiety is getting away from me, I will call my best friend.” Or “Every day, I will go outside for a walk at lunchtime and try to be more mindful.”

4. Who Am I Beyond My Anxiety?

We are not our emotions, but when fearful or anxious, we spend a great deal of time and energy focusing on what is wrong with us, forgetting our strengths (Forsyth & Eifert, 2016).

In this exercise , the client mindful reflects on the following prompts (among others):

I am someone who … I really like … My most important relationship is … I feel my best when …

Reading through the answers helps remind us that anxiety does not define who we are.

5. Funeral Meditation

Often, we stop ourselves from taking on or embracing a challenge for fear of failure or experiencing anxiety.

Despite its foreboding name, the Funeral Meditation  is used within Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help free ourselves from the grip of anxiety (Forsyth & Eifert, 2016).

This powerful meditation helps us reflect on what matters to us, recognizing that, at any time, we can start living in line with how we want to be remembered.

After several calming breaths, we imagine what our funeral would be like, including:

How do people look? Who would be there? What would they say? What would we like people to say about us?

Recognizing our values can help us eliminate anxiety and begin living the way we want.

The following worksheets can also be adapted for adult populations, and mental health practitioners will find them valuable when working with adolescents coping with anxiety.

1. Best and Worst

Children and teens can benefit from stepping back from anxiety-inducing situations to reflect upon how, despite being scary, they can also be exciting.

For example, joining a new class, school, or social group can bring with it feelings of anxiety. When also recognized as exciting, it can be energizing, leading to positive emotions such as hope, curiosity, and gratitude.

Work with your teen client to:

• Identify and capture a situation that makes them feel nervous or scared.
• Use the diagram to capture what is exciting in the left-hand circle and what is scary about the situation in the right-hand circle.
• Write down aspects of the situation that are both scary and exciting in the intersection between the two circles.

Identifying how something fills us with fear while providing energy can help us have a more balanced view regarding how to approach what is ahead.

2. FLARE for Anxiety and Fear

This helpful worksheet helps teach acceptance of difficult feelings (rather than hiding from or rejecting them) through self-acceptance and self-compassion (Khazan, 2019).

The FLARE acronym directs the client to:

• Feel each sensation. Become aware of their heart rate, breath, and body temperature.
• Label the sensations. Do they feel worried, fearful, or anxious?
• Allow the experience to remain as it is. They can say to themselves, “It is OK to feel this way.”
• Respond by refocusing on breathing, taking each breath slowly and making the out-breath longer than the in-breath.
• Expand awareness of their environment and reflect on what they are grateful for that day.

By focusing on positive emotions, the approach builds toward a spiral of positive feelings (Fredrickson, 2010).

3. Radio Doom and Gloom

Teenagers are vulnerable to focusing on the worst events, situations, and outcomes. As a result, it can almost seem like an endless radio program playing in the background, broadcasting negative stories and songs all day long.

While it’s not easy to turn down the volume on the radio (or turn it off completely), we can attend to it less. By learning to treat such negative thinking as background noise and focusing more on current activities, its impact and ability to heighten anxiety are reduced.

4. When I’m Scared

Children and adolescents (and even adults) feel scared sometimes. And that’s OK. It’s a perfectly normal fight-or-flight response to a perceived — or actual — uncomfortable or dangerous situation.

Talking to an adult can help.

When I’m Scared  can be used with individual youths or in a group setting.

They are asked to write down what makes them frightened, how it affects their thinking, how it feels physically, and one thing might be that makes them feel better.

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Social anxiety leads to persistent fear and the avoidance of social situations because of concerns about being evaluated by others (Schneier & Goldmark, 2015).

Therapy and the use of interventions enable clients to increase their social engagement and form deep, meaningful relationships (Schneier & Goldmark, 2015).

The following worksheets are valuable for mental health professionals helping clients identify what triggers their anxious thinking and manage them through visualization and mindfulness.

1. A Mountain of Worries

Our worries can mount up. Stresses, concerns, upsets, and things going wrong may seem never-ending, with even the most minor problems blown out of proportion, leaving our anxiety out of control.

This exercise captures situations that bother us and is particularly helpful for social anxiety, where we can begin to identify and reflect on unhelpful thought patterns and learn to expect and plan for how to handle them.

2. Event visualization worksheet

Visualization can feel as real to the mind as experiencing a situation first-hand — especially a social one — and offers a safe and controlled environment to explore and experiment with existing and future challenges (Clough & Strycharczyk, 2015).

Visualizing an event, especially one we are worrying about, can be a powerful and helpful way of reducing concern and anxiety and gaining confidence without the risk of failure or being overwhelmed.

Use the worksheet to:

• Identify an event likely to cause anxiety.
• Visualize the event in as much detail as possible using all the senses.
• Imagine the people and the situation.
• Reflect on how being successful might feel.

Clients can repeat the visualization exercise several times until they feel comfortable and less anxious.

3. The Documentary of You

Anxiety can arise from any environment and is particularly common in social situations (Schneier & Goldmark, 2015).

Mindfulness can help us think about ourselves and our situations with more compassion and forgiveness and less judgment (Forsyth & Eifert, 2016).

In this exercise , the client imagines their life playing out as a movie on a screen. They capture on paper, nonjudgmentally, situations that leave them feeling anxious.

Following a series of grounding breaths, the client considers each one mindfully without becoming too involved.

Finally, they reflect on how reading the story now makes them feel. What is their degree of anxiety?

Changing your relationship with it can help us take charge of our lives (Forsyth & Eifert, 2016).

Try the following three activities to create coping strategies, identify what we can control while learning to accept everything else, and become more comfortable with discomfort.

1. Anxiety Strategy Cards

Preparation is a crucial part of managing anxiety. This sheet contains a list of cards to help clients develop strategies for events and situations where they feel out of control and stressed, with their anxiety building.

Each card offers a valuable reminder of a powerful technique that will help them restore their physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral balance.

For example:

When I feel anxious, I could try … controlled breathing. When I feel anxious, I could try … visualization. When I feel anxious, I could try … a grounding technique.

Use them with psychoeducation and technique training to build confidence in the client’s ability to handle and overcome tough times.

2. Control–Influence–Accept Model

We can’t control every situation, so it’s helpful to recognize those that can be influenced by our behavior and those that cannot.

The Control–Influence–Accept Model  can stop individuals from feeling overwhelmed and experiencing feelings of hopelessness, frustration, and anxiety when they experience a loss of control or indecision (Thompson & Thompson, 2018).

The client is encouraged to perform each of the following:

• Identify a potentially tricky situation.
• Capture what can be controlled or influenced.
• What cannot be controlled or influenced must be accepted.
• List what needs to be accepted.

Having performed each step, the client reflects on how they now feel about the situation and whether they are left wishing to control or influence anything they have accepted.

3. Interoceptive Exposure

Anxiety has a strong physical element that we can use to increase awareness of panic-related physiological symptoms .

Interoceptive exposure is built on the premise that exposure to such sensations can increase our familiarity with them and our preparedness for future anxiety-inducing situations.

The worksheet uses activities that induce physical, cognitive, and emotional discomfort to replicate the sensations of panic and anxiety.

Note: These should only be used under the guidance of a physician or health professional in a suitably safe environment.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) treats anxiety by restructuring the client’s thinking, with the therapist exploring maladaptive expectations and worries related to upcoming events (Dobson & Dozois, 2021).

1. Anxiety Record

Reflecting on and sharing what makes us anxious can leave us feeling vulnerable, but it is essential. Understanding what leaves us feeling this way allows us to prepare for situations and learn appropriate coping skills.

One of the most powerful techniques is recognizing and, if possible, replacing unhelpful thinking.

Use the simple form in the worksheet to capture the following:

What does the anxiety feel like? When does it happen? What thoughts do you experience? How realistic are these thoughts? What thoughts could you replace them with? Are they more realistic?

Capturing our anxieties is an essential part of reducing them and bringing them under control.

2. Dealing with anxiety: Reverse the Rabbit Hole

The two words “what if?” can be anxiety- inducing, sending our thoughts racing down a rabbit hole of all that could go wrong.

What if I forget the words when I’m on stage? What if my date doesn’t like me?

Reframing an experience helps us experience it differently. We can turn a negative into a positive — reverse the rabbit hole.

In this exercise , we write negative outcomes in the left-hand column and then a corresponding reversed, positive outcome on the right.

What if I nail the speech? What if my date goes really well?

3. Tackling Anxious Thoughts

Anxiety can bias our thinking by making us buy into the likelihood of something terrible happening. As a result, it can be helpful to consider the following three points:

What is the worst potential consequence of this scenario? What is the best possible consequence of this scenario? What do you feel is the most likely consequence of this scenario?

Following these questions, the client thinks about how it would feel in a year’s time if the worst actually happened.

After all, even if the worst outcome becomes a reality, it may be less catastrophic than we imagine.

17 Exercises To Reduce Stress & Burnout

Help your clients prevent burnout, handle stressors, and achieve a healthy, sustainable work-life balance with these 17 Stress & Burnout Prevention Exercises [PDF].

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

We have many resources available for therapists to support clients experiencing anxiety.

More extensive versions of the following tools are available with a subscription to the Positive Psychology Toolkit© , but they are described briefly below:

• Replacing Unhelpful Thoughts with Helpful Alternatives CBT is based on the premise that emotions and behaviors result from a person’s interpretation of a situation.

This exercise invites clients to examine the “helpfulness” of a thought they are having about a current challenging situation before formulating a more helpful alternative thought:

• Step one – Describe a challenging situation.
• Step two – Identify the automatic unhelpful thought.
• Step three – Rate the helpfulness of this thought.
• Step four – Come up with a more helpful alternative thought.
• Step five – Rate the helpfulness of this alternative thought.
• Step one – Visualize yourself in a relaxing environment.
• Step two – Add detail to the visualization by exploring all your senses.
• Step three – Enjoy the scene you have created and allow yourself to spend some time taking it all in.
• Step four – Close your eyes and continue taking slow, deep breaths as you visualize the stress leaving your body in waves with each exhale.

This exercise is valuable for stress reduction by connecting the sensations of relaxation with peaceful visual imagery during times of stress.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others manage stress without spending hours on research and session prep, check out this collection of 17 validated stress management tools for practitioners. Use them to help others identify signs of burnout and create more balance in their lives.

Anxiety is a normal reaction to life events and can be beneficial in many situations, alerting us to dangers and increasing our attention and readiness for action.

It is often less about our environment or the challenges we face, but how we interpret them.

As a result, anxiety can dramatically impair our ability to function and perform in education, work, and social environments (American Psychological Association, 2016).

Its effects are widespread, impacting 30% of adults at some point in their lives and preventing them from living normally (American Psychiatric Association, 2021). They can find themselves avoiding opportunities and shying away from challenges due to intrusive thoughts or concerns.

Anxiety disorders are treatable. Therapists and counselors can help clients manage anxiety-inducing situations by changing how they view them and learning to cope with stressful conditions.

The anxiety worksheets in this article can be used independently or together as interventions for better managing anxiety. When combined with ongoing therapeutic assessment, it is possible to see how clients bring their feelings under control and return to the lives they wish to lead.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Stress & Burnout Prevention Exercises (PDF) for free .

Ed: Updated March 2023

• American Psychiatric Association. (2021).  What are anxiety disorders? Retrieved March 17, 2023, from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/anxiety-disorders/what-are-anxiety-disorders
• American Psychological Association. (2016). Beyond worry: How psychologists help with anxiety disorders . Retrieved March 13, 2023, from https://www.apa.org/topics/anxiety/disorders
• Clough, P., & Strycharczyk, D. (2015). Developing mental toughness: Coaching strategies to improve performance, resilience and wellbeing . Kogan Page.
• Dobson, K. S., & Dozois, D. J. (2021). Handbook of cognitive-behavioral therapies . Guilford Press.
• Forsyth, J. P., & Eifert, G. H. (2016). The mindfulness & acceptance workbook for anxiety: A guide to breaking free from anxiety, phobias & worry using acceptance & commitment therapy (2nd ed.). New Harbinger Publications.
• Fredrickson, B. (2010). Positivity: Groundbreaking research reveals how to release your inner optimist and thrive . Oneworld.
• Joseph, S. (2013). What doesn’t kill us: A guide to overcoming adversity and moving forward . Piatkus.
• Khazan, I. Z. (2019). Biofeedback and mindfulness in everyday life: Practical solutions for improving your health and performance . W.W. Norton & Company.
• Khesht-Masjedi, M. F., Shokrgozar, S., Abdollahi, E., Habibi, B., Asghari, T., Ofoghi, R. S., & Pazhooman, S. (2019). The relationship between gender, age, anxiety, depression, and academic achievement among teenagers. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care , 8 (3), 799–804.
• Peterson, T. J. (2018). The mindfulness workbook for anxiety: The 8-week solution to help you manage anxiety, worry & stress . Althea Press.
• Schneier, F., & Goldmark, J. (2015). Social anxiety disorder. In D. J. Stein & B. Vythilingum (Eds.), Anxiety disorders and gender (pp. 49–67). Springer.
• Southwick, S. M., & Charney, D. S. (2018). Resilience: The science of mastering life’s greatest challenges . Cambridge University Press.
• Thompson, S., & Thompson, N. (2018). The critically reflective practitioner . Macmillan International Higher Education.
• Workman, L., & Reader, W. (2015). Evolutionary psychology: An introduction . Cambridge University Press.

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August 16, 2021

Is it time to get rid of homework? Mental health experts weigh in

by Sara M Moniuszko

It's no secret that kids hate homework. And as students grapple with an ongoing pandemic that has had a wide-range of mental health impacts, is it time schools start listening to their pleas over workloads?

Some teachers are turning to social media to take a stand against homework .

Tiktok user @misguided.teacher says he doesn't assign it because the "whole premise of homework is flawed."

For starters, he says he can't grade work on "even playing fields" when students' home environments can be vastly different.

"Even students who go home to a peaceful house, do they really want to spend their time on busy work? Because typically that's what a lot of homework is, it's busy work," he says in the video that has garnered 1.6 million likes. "You only get one year to be 7, you only got one year to be 10, you only get one year to be 16, 18."

Mental health experts agree heavy work loads have the potential do more harm than good for students, especially when taking into account the impacts of the pandemic. But they also say the answer may not be to eliminate homework altogether.

Emmy Kang, mental health counselor at Humantold, says studies have shown heavy workloads can be "detrimental" for students and cause a "big impact on their mental, physical and emotional health."

"More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies," she says, adding that staying up late to finish assignments also leads to disrupted sleep and exhaustion.

Cynthia Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Talkspace, says heavy workloads can also cause serious mental health problems in the long run, like anxiety and depression.

And for all the distress homework causes, it's not as useful as many may think, says Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery treatment center.

"The research shows that there's really limited benefit of homework for elementary age students, that really the school work should be contained in the classroom," he says.

For older students, Kang says homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night.

"Most students, especially at these high-achieving schools, they're doing a minimum of three hours, and it's taking away time from their friends from their families, their extracurricular activities. And these are all very important things for a person's mental and emotional health."

Catchings, who also taught third to 12th graders for 12 years, says she's seen the positive effects of a no homework policy while working with students abroad.

"Not having homework was something that I always admired from the French students (and) the French schools, because that was helping the students to really have the time off and really disconnect from school ," she says.

The answer may not be to eliminate homework completely, but to be more mindful of the type of work students go home with, suggests Kang, who was a high-school teacher for 10 years.

"I don't think (we) should scrap homework, I think we should scrap meaningless, purposeless busy work-type homework. That's something that needs to be scrapped entirely," she says, encouraging teachers to be thoughtful and consider the amount of time it would take for students to complete assignments.

The pandemic made the conversation around homework more crucial

Mindfulness surrounding homework is especially important in the context of the last two years. Many students will be struggling with mental health issues that were brought on or worsened by the pandemic, making heavy workloads even harder to balance.

"COVID was just a disaster in terms of the lack of structure. Everything just deteriorated," Kardaras says, pointing to an increase in cognitive issues and decrease in attention spans among students. "School acts as an anchor for a lot of children, as a stabilizing force, and that disappeared."

But even if students transition back to the structure of in-person classes, Kardaras suspects students may still struggle after two school years of shifted schedules and disrupted sleeping habits.

"We've seen adults struggling to go back to in-person work environments from remote work environments. That effect is amplified with children because children have less resources to be able to cope with those transitions than adults do," he explains.

'Get organized' ahead of back-to-school

In order to make the transition back to in-person school easier, Kang encourages students to "get good sleep, exercise regularly (and) eat a healthy diet."

To help manage workloads, she suggests students "get organized."

"There's so much mental clutter up there when you're disorganized... sitting down and planning out their study schedules can really help manage their time," she says.

Breaking assignments up can also make things easier to tackle.

"I know that heavy workloads can be stressful, but if you sit down and you break down that studying into smaller chunks, they're much more manageable."

If workloads are still too much, Kang encourages students to advocate for themselves.

"They should tell their teachers when a homework assignment just took too much time or if it was too difficult for them to do on their own," she says. "It's good to speak up and ask those questions. Respectfully, of course, because these are your teachers. But still, I think sometimes teachers themselves need this feedback from their students."

©2021 USA Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Developing Psychological Flexibility

Disqualifying The Positive

Embracing Uncertainty

Emotional Reasoning

Emotions In Panic (Psychology Tools For Overcoming Panic)

Emotions Motivate Actions

Evaluating Unhelpful Automatic Thoughts

Exercise For Mental Health

Exposure Practice Form

Exposure Session Record

Exposures For Fear Of Appearing Anxious

Exposures For Fear Of Body Sensations

Exposures For Fear Of Breathlessness

Exposures For Fear Of Death

Exposures For Fear Of Flying

Exposures For Fear Of Heights

Exposures For Fear Of Illness

Exposures For Fear Of Losing Control Of Your Mind

Exposures For Fear Of Uncertainty

Exposures For Fear Of Vomiting

Externalizing

Facing Your Fears (CYP)

Facing Your Fears And Phobias

Fear Ladder

Fight or Flight (CYP)

Fight Or Flight Response

Grounding Statements (Audio)

Grounding Techniques

Grounding Techniques Menu

Habituation

Health Anxiety - Self-Monitoring Record

Health Anxiety Formulation

Health Anxiety Self-Monitoring Record (Archived)

Health Anxiety Thought Record

How Breathing Affects Feelings

How Does This All Add Up To A Panic Attack? (Psychology Tools For Overcoming Panic)

How Is Panic Disorder Different From A Panic Attack? (Psychology Tools For Overcoming Panic)

How Much Do You Know About Panic? (Psychology Tools For Overcoming Panic)

How Your Body Responds To Stress

Identifying The Meaning Of Body Sensations

Interoceptive Exposure

Interpersonal Beliefs And Styles

Intolerance Of Uncertainty

Introduction To CBT (Psychology Tools For Overcoming Panic)

Intrusive Memory Record

Jumping To Conclusions

Learning To Relax (CYP)

Living With Worry And Anxiety Amidst Global Uncertainty

Magnification And Minimization

Links to external resources.

Psychology Tools makes every effort to check external links and review their content. However, we are not responsible for the quality or content of external links and cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time.

• Scale Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Reference Lambe, S., Bird, J. C., Loe, B. S., Rosebrock, L., Kabir, T., Petit, A., ... & Freeman, D. (2023). The Oxford agoraphobic avoidance scale. Psychological Medicine, 53(4), 1233-1243.
• Scale – Adult Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Scale – Child Age 11-17 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Spence, S. H. (1998). A measure of anxiety symptoms among children. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36 (5), 545-566.
• Scale website link Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Meyer, T. J., Miller, M. L., Metzger, R. L., & Borkovec, T. D. (1990). Development and validation of the penn state worry questionnaire. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28(6), 487-495.
• Scale archive.org Download Primary Link
• Shear, M. K., Brown, T. A., Barlow, D. H., Money, R., Sholomskas, D. E., Woods, S. W., … & Papp, L. A. (1997). Multicenter collaborative panic disorder severity scale. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154(11), 1571-1575.
• Scale Download Archived Link
• Chambless, D. L., Caputo, G. C., Jasin, S. E., Gracely, E. J., & Williams, C. (1985). The mobility inventory for agoraphobia. Behaviour research and therapy, 23(1), 35-44.
• Scale Download Primary Link
• Reference Salkovskis, P. M., Rimes, K. A., Warwick, H. M. C., & Clark, D. M. (2002). The Health Anxiety Inventory: development and validation of scales for the measurement of health anxiety and hypochondriasis. Psychological Medicine, 32(05), 843-853.
• Hamilton, M. (1959).The assessment of anxiety states by rating. British Journal of Medical Psychology 32, 50-55.
• Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JBW, Lowe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder. Arch Inern Med. 2006;166:1092-1097.
• Marks, I. M., & Mathews, A. M. (1979). Brief standard self-rating for phobic patients. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 17(3), 263-267.
• Brief Fear Of Negative Evaluation Scale | Leary | 1983 Download Primary Link Archived Link

Guides and workbooks

• Specific phobia: patient treatment manual | Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression (CRUfAD) Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Working To Overcome Anxiety (Workbook) | Lucock, Noble, Pallister, Horsefield, Padgett, Westley, Atha, Khan | 2015 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Anxiety And Substance Use | NDARC: Mills, Marel, Baker, Teesson, Dore, Kay-Lambkin, Manns, Triningham | 2011 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Social Anxiety (An NHS Self-Help Guide) | Lesley Maunder, Lorna Cameron | 2020 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Phobia Self-Help Booklet | Anne Joice, Jim White | 2006 Download Archived Link
• Panic attacks: what they are and how to stop the next one | Glasgow STEPS Download Archived Link
• Coping with panic | Charles Young, Alison Hunte, Jessica Newell, Pat Valian | 2011 Download Archived Link
• Health Anxiety – A Self-Help Guide | Maunder, Cameron, Young, Leyland | 2015 Download Archived Link

Information Handouts

• What Is Panic? Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Biology and Psychology of Panic Download Primary Link Archived Link
• The Vicious Cycle of Anxiety Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Breathing Retraining Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Behavioural Experiments (Negative Predictions) Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Situational Exposure Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Physical Sensations and Panic Download Primary Link Archived Link
• What Are Safety Behaviours? Download Primary Link Archived Link
• What is health anxiety? Download Primary Link
• What are safety behaviors? Download Primary Link
• Dealing with health information Download Primary Link
• What is social anxiety? Download Primary Link
• What can be done about social anxiety? Download Primary Link
• Breathing retraining Download Primary Link
• Progressive muscle relaxation Download Primary Link
• Improving how you feel Download Primary Link
• Thinking and feeling Download Primary Link
• Analysing your thinking Download Primary Link
• Changing your thinking Download Primary Link
• Unhelpful thinking styles Download Primary Link
• What are core beliefs? Download Primary Link
• Situational exposure Download Primary Link
• Staying healthy Download Primary Link
• What is anxiety? Download Primary Link
• The vicious cycle of anxiety Download Primary Link
• Behavioral experiments Download Primary Link
• What are safety behaviours? Download Primary Link
• Stress and anxiety Download Primary Link
• Coping with stress Download Primary Link
• Anxiety and exercise Download Primary Link
• What is needle phobia? Download Primary Link
• Overcoming needle phobia Download Primary Link
• CBT for anxiety Download Primary Link

Information (Professional)

• Task Concentration Training Definition | Bögels Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Interoceptive Exposure Definition | White, Basden, Barlow Download Archived Link
• Assertive defense of the self (A more effective treatment focus for social phobia?) | Padesky | 1985 Download Primary Link Archived Link

Presentations

• Why worry? Key cognitive processes that maintain worry and Generalised Anxiety Disorder | Colette Hirsch Download Primary Link Archived Link
• New developments in exposure therapy for anxiety and related disorders: the inhibitory learning approach | Blakey, Abramowitz | 2018 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Bringing Specificity to Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Conceptualization and Treatment of GAD using Intolerance of Uncertainty as the Theme of Threat | Robichaud | 2013 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• GAD – a cognitive model and treatment Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Desirable difficulties: optimizing exposure therapy for anxiety through inhibitory learning | Abramowitz, Jacoby, Blakey | 2018 Download Primary Link Archived Link

Self-Help Programmes

• Module 1: Overview Of Generalized Anxiety Download Primary Link
• Module 2: Overview Of Worrying Download Primary Link
• Module 3: Challenging Uncontrollability Beliefs Download Primary Link
• Module 4: Attention Training Download Primary Link
• Module 5: Challenging Danger Beliefs Download Primary Link
• Module 6: Challenging Positive Beliefs Download Primary Link
• Module 7: Problem-Solving Download Primary Link
• Module 8: Helpful Thinking Download Primary Link
• Module 9: Accepting Uncertainty Download Primary Link
• Module 10: Self Management Plan Download Primary Link
• Module 1: Understanding Social Anxiety Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Module 2: Overcoming Negative Thinking Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Module 3: Overcoming Avoidance Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Module 4: Behavioral Experiment Stepladders Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Module 5: Safety Behaviors Download Primary Link
• Module 6: The Role Of Attention Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Module 7: How I Think I Appear To Others Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Module 8: Challenging Core Beliefs Download Primary Link
• Module 9: Strengthening New Core Beliefs Download Primary Link
• Module 10: Maintaining Your Gains And Dealing With Setbacks Download Primary Link
• Module 1: Overview Of Panic Download Primary Link
• Module 2: What Keeps Panic Disorder Going Download Primary Link
• Module 3: Overcoming Thoughts About Panic Download Primary Link
• Module 4: Coping With Physical Alarms Download Primary Link
• Module 5: Facing Feared Situations Download Primary Link
• Module 6: Dropping Safety Behaviors Download Primary Link
• Module 7: Maintaining Your Gains Download Primary Link

Treatment Guide

• Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety: an application of the F.E.A.R. model for adults | Stephen Lenz Download Primary Link Archived Link
• The CARS cognitive behavioral treatment for anxiety manual | Center for Adolescent Research in Schools | 2014 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Comprehensive cognitive behavior therapy for social phobia: a treatment manual | Deborah Roth Ledley, Edna B. Foa, Jonathan D. Huppert (in consultation with David M. Clark) | 2005 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Canadian clinical practice guidelines for the management of anxiety, posttraumatic stress and obsessive-compulsive disorders (2014) | Katzman et al | 2014 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Panic disorder: Manual for Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) High intensity CBT therapists. | David Clark, Paul Salkovskis | 2009 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Comprehensive cognitive behavior therapy for social phobia: a treatment manual | Ledley, Foa, Huppert, Clark | 2006 Download Primary Link
• NICE Guidelines For Social Anxiety Disorder | NICE | 2013 Download Primary Link
• NICE Guidelines For GAD And Panic | NICE | 2011 Download Primary Link
• A brief cognitive-behavioural treatment for social anxiety disorder | Eric P. Morris, David Mensink, and Sherry H. Stewart Download Archived Link
• Breathing Rate Record Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Anxiety Symptoms Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Monitoring Relaxation Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Situational Exposure Diary Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Internal Exposure Record Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Anxiety symptoms record Download Primary Link
• Breathing rate record Download Primary Link
• Monitoring your relaxation level Download Primary Link
• Weekly activity schedule Download Primary Link
• Weekly goals record Download Primary Link
• Making the connection Download Primary Link
• Thought diary 1 Download Primary Link
• Thought diary 2 Download Primary Link
• Thought diary 3 Download Primary Link
• Thought diary (tri-fold) Download Primary Link
• Core beliefs worksheet Download Primary Link
• Situational exposure: building steps Download Primary Link
• Healthy me Download Primary Link
• Goal setting: end of therapy Download Primary Link
• Anxiety Symptoms Record Download Primary Link
• Breathing Rate Record Download Primary Link
• Monitoring Relaxation Download Primary Link
• Situational Exposure Diary Download Primary Link
• Making The Connection Download Primary Link
• Thought Diary 1 Download Primary Link
• Thought Diary 2 Download Primary Link
• Thought Diary 3 Download Primary Link
• Thought Diary (Tri-Fold) Download Primary Link
• Behavioral Experiment Worksheet Download Primary Link

Recommended Reading

Health anxiety.

• Salkovskis, P. M., Warwick, H. M. C., Deale, A. C. (2003). Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Severe and Persistent Health Anxiety (Hypochondriasis). Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 3, 353-367 btci.edina.clockss.org Download Archived Link

Social Anxiety Disorder

• Warnock-Parkes, E., Wild, J., Stott, R., Grey, N., Ehlers, A., & Clark, D. M. (2017). Seeing is believing: Using video feedback in cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder. Cognitive and behavioral practice, 24(2), 245-255. view Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Veale, D. (2003). Treatment of social phobia. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 9, 258-264 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Wild, Hackmann, Clark (2008). Rescripting early memories linked to negative images in social phobia: a pilot study. Behaviour Therapy, 39(1), 47-56. Download Primary Link
• Moscovitch, D. A. (2009). What is the core fear in social phobia? A new model to facilitate individualized case conceptualization and treatment. Cognitive and Behavioural Practice, 16. 123-134 Download Archived Link
• Clark, D. M. (2001). A cognitive perspective on social phobia Download Archived Link

Panic disorder

• Wells, A. (1997). Cognitive Therapy of Anxiety Disorders. Chichester: Wiley.
• Schmidt, N. B., Woolaway-Bickel, K., Trakowski, J. et al. (2000). Dismantling cognitive-behavioural treatment for panic disorder: Questioning the utility of breathing retraining. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(3), 417-424 Download Archived Link
• Huppert, J. D., & Baker-Morissette, S. L. (2003). Beyond the manual: The insider’s guide to panic control treatment.Cognitive and Behavioral Practice,10(1), 2-13.
• Clark, D. A. (1999). Anxiety disorders: Why they persist and how to treat them. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 37, S5-S27 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Walker, J. R., Furer, P. (2008). Interoceptive exposure in the treatment of health anxiety and hypochondirasis. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 22(4), 366-378 Download Primary Link
• Warnock-Parkes, E., Wild, J., Thew, G., Kerr, A., Grey, N., & Clark, D. (2022). ‘I’m unlikeable, boring, weird, foolish, inferior, inadequate’: How to address the persistent negative self-evaluations that are central to social anxiety disorder with cognitive therapy. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 15, E56. doi:10.1017/S1754470X22000496 view Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Furer, P., Walker, J. R. (2008). Death anxiety: A cognitive behavioural approach. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 22(2), 167-182 Download Primary Link
• Asmundson, G. J. G., Abramowitz, J. S., Richter, A. A., Whedon, M. (2010). Health anxiety: current perspectives and future directions. Current Psychiatry Reports, 12, 306-312 Download Primary Link

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• Roemer, L., Salters, K., Raffa, S. D., & Orsillo, S. M. (2005). Fear and avoidance of internal experiences in GAD: Preliminary tests of a conceptual model.Cognitive Therapy and Research,29(1), 71-88.
• Roemer, L., & Orsillo, S. M. (2002). Expanding our conceptualization of and treatment for generalized anxiety disorder: Integrating mindfulness/acceptance‐based approaches with existing cognitive‐behavioral models.Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice,9(1), 54-68 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Mennin, D. S., Heimberg, R. G., Turk, C. L., & Fresco, D. M. (2002). Applying an emotion regulation framework to integrative approaches to generalized anxiety disorder.Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice,9(1), 85-90 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Fresco, D. M., Mennin, D. S., Heimberg, R. G., & Ritter, M. (2013). Emotion regulation therapy for generalized anxiety disorder.Cognitive and Behavioral Practice,20(3), 282-300 nih.gov Download Primary Link
• Wells, A. (1995). Meta-cognition and worry: A cognitive model of generalized anxiety disorder.Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy,23(3), 301-320 Download Archived Link
• Hjemdal, O., Hagen, R., Nordahl, H. M., & Wells, A. (2013). Metacognitive therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: Nature, evidence and an individual case illustration.Cognitive and Behavioral Practice,20(3), 301-313.
• Hjemdal, O., Hagen, R., Nordahl, H. M., & Wells, A. (2013). Metacognitive therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: Nature, evidence and an individual case illustration.Cognitive and Behavioral Practice,20(3), 301-313 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Borkovec, T. D., Alcaine, O., & Behar, E. (2004). Avoidance theory of worry and generalized anxiety disorder.Generalized anxiety disorder: Advances in research and practice,2004.
• Dugas, M. J., Gagnon, F., Ladouceur, R., & Freeston, M. H. (1998). Generalized anxiety disorder: A preliminary test of a conceptual model.Behaviour research and therapy,36(2), 215-226.
• Milne, S., Lomax, C., & Freeston, M. H. (2019). A review of the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and threat appraisal in anxiety. the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 12. Download Primary Link
• Hirsch, C. R., Beale, S., Grey, N., & Liness, S. (2019). Approaching cognitive behavior therapy for generalized anxiety disorder from a cognitive process perspective. Frontiers in psychiatry, 10, 796. Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Bottesi, G., Ghisi, M., Carraro, E., Barclay, N., Payne, R., & Freeston, M. H. (2016). Revising the Intolerance of Uncertainty Model of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Evidence from UK and Italian Undergraduate Samples.Frontiers in psychology,7, 1723 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Behar, E., DiMarco, I. D., Hekler, E. B., Mohlman, J., Staples, A. M. (2009). Current theoretical models of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): Conceptual review and treatment implications. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 1011-1023 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Clark, D. M. (1999). Anxiety disorders: why they persist and how to treat them. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 37, S5-S27 Download Primary Link Archived Link
• Task concentration training and fear of blushing | Bögels, Mulkens, De Jong | 1997 Download Archived Link

What Is Anxiety?

Signs and symptoms of anxiety disorders.

Different anxiety disorders are characterized by various foci of concern.

• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive worry about hypothetical future events .
• Health anxiety is characterized by concern about one’s health or illness.
• Panic attacks are characterized by an abrupt surge or intense fear .
• Specific phobia is characterized by the ability for a specific object or situation to provoke marked fear or anxiety .
• Social anxiety disorder is characterized by a fear of social situations in which the individual may be exposed to possible scrutiny .

In addition to disorder-specific cognitive content, individuals experiencing anxiety disorders are likely to experience physical symptoms of anxiety including:

• palpitations or accelerated heart rate
• trembling or shaking
• difficulty breathing
• a feeling of choking
• nausea or abdominal discomfort
• derealization or depersonalization
• fear of losing control or passing out
• fear of dying
• hot flushes or cold chills
• numbness or tingling
• fear of vomiting
• urgency or fear of urination or defecation

Psychological Models and Theories of Anxiety

One broad conceptualization of anxiety can be summarized by an ‘anxiety equation’ (Beck, Emery, & Greenberg, 1985; Salkovskis, Forrester, & Richards, 1998):

Anxiety = (perceived probability of therapy × perceived cost or awfulness of danger) ÷ (perceived ability to cope + perceived ‘rescue factors’)

Disorder-specific ‘CBT for anxiety’ cognitive models  have been developed for all of the anxiety disorders. These are helpful in that they direct the therapist’s attention toward key interpretations and behaviors that act to perpetuate the anxiety disorders . For example, the critical mechanism that Clark identified in the cognitive model of panic (1986) is that body sensations are misinterpreted catastrophically as signs of danger , with concomitant effects upon emotions, behavior, and secondary cognitions.

Evidence-Based Psychological Approaches for Working with Anxiety

Cognitive behavior therapy has a strong evidence base for treating all of the anxiety disorders. Key components of CBT for anxiety interventions include exposure to the feared situations or stimulus, and an experimental approach to test the accuracy of beliefs .

Resources for Working with Anxiety

Psychology Tools resources available for working therapeutically with anxiety may include:

• psychological models of anxiety
• information handouts for anxious patients
• exercises for anxiety
• CBT worksheets for anxiety
• self-help programs for anxiety including a guide to overcoming panic attacks and panic disorder
• Beck, A. T., Emery, G., & Greenberg, R. L. (1985). Anxiety disorders and phobias: A cognitive perspective . New York: Basic Books.
• Clark, D. M. (1986). A cognitive approach to panic. Behaviour  Research and Therapy , 24 (4), 461–470.
• Salkovskis, P. M., Forrester, E., & Richards, C. (1998). Cognitive–behavioral approach to understanding obsessional thinking. The British Journal of Psychiatry , 173 (S35), 53–63.
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How Worksheets For Anxiety Can Help You

Anxiety disorders may be the most common type of mental illness in today’s world, and mental health professionals have developed many tools to combat these conditions. One common method is to provide patients with structured exercises designed to help the user assess and modify their mental habits. These worksheets might enable you to gain new insights into your condition and suggest strategies for change.

• Overestimating threats
• Remaining on constant alert for dangers or negative scenarios
• Intense fear in response to minimal dangers
• Hypersensitivity to stimuli
• Avoiding worrying situations

Not only can this help your therapist assess the nature and severity of your condition, but it can also help you take a clear-eyed look at what you’re dealing with. The simple act of describing your mental illness in terms of specific symptoms may help it seem more manageable. 

• Cognitive symptoms like difficulty concentrating, intrusive thoughts, inability to stop thinking about worrying situations, racing thoughts, or fixation on worst-case scenarios.
• Emotional symptoms like persistent worry, panic, dread, helplessness, or urges to run away.
• Physical symptoms like sweating, heart palpitations, muscle tension, difficulty sleeping, or gastrointestinal distress.
• Behavioral symptoms like avoiding situations you’d normally enjoy, distancing yourself from family and friends, or diminished performance at work.

Your therapist might also ask you to keep a log of the symptoms you feel during a given day or week. Noting down when and where you experience particular symptoms could reveal your specific triggers and patterns.

• All-or-nothing thinking: Assuming that people or situations must be all good or all bad. “If I don’t ace this presentation, my career is done for.”
• Magnification: Exaggerating the importance of something negative. “I got a negative review. Everyone thinks my art is terrible.”
• Discounting the positive: Finding reasons to downplay good qualities or events. “They were just being polite when they invited me.”
• Mind reading: Jumping to conclusions about what other people think. “She didn’t laugh at my joke. She must think I’m boring and insensitive.”
• Fortune telling: Assuming you know how something will go in the future. “If I go to that party, everyone is going to ignore me and I’ll have a terrible time.'

If you’re feeling anxious about a particular situation, you may try to avoid thinking about it — yet this can often cause your worries about it to grow stronger. A visualization worksheet could help by guiding you through an imagined experience of the threatening event in a structured way. 

First, it might encourage you to imagine a range of specific details—such as the weather, the location, the decor, and the background noise—helping you to ground it in a sense of what’s real. Next, it may suggest that you picture yourself interacting with the environment and other people there.

A visualization worksheet will typically encourage you to picture the event proceeding in a successful, enjoyable way. Creating a detailed mental picture of a good outcome may help you diminish your worries about things going wrong. 

This type of worksheet often directs users to break down a particular task into the individual, concrete steps they’ll need to take. These smaller actions often feel much more achievable. Meanwhile, checking them as you complete them can help you build a sense of accomplishment, momentum, and confidence. 

• Inventories of coping skills that you can refer to when you’re feeling worried
• Gratitude lists or journals
• Noting people, places, or activities that make you feel safe
• Recording your achievements in areas of life about which you feel anxious
• Listing positive personal qualities

Although therapy over the web is a newer method, repeated studies have concluded that it can achieve positive results. A 2016 meta-analysis of clinical research found that in-person and online CBT  worked equally well for a wide variety of anxiety disorders.

• Navigating Potential Treatments For Test Anxiety Medically reviewed by April Justice , LICSW
• Identifying The Signs And Symptoms Of Anxiety Medically reviewed by Majesty Purvis , LCMHC
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By submitting my email address. i certify that i am 13 years of age or older, agree to recieve marketing email messages from the princeton review, and agree to terms of use., how to manage homework stress.

Feeling overwhelmed by your nightly homework grind? You’re not alone. Our Student Life in America survey results show that teens spend a third of their study time feeling worried, stressed, or stuck. If you’re spending close to four hours a night on your homework (the national average), that’s over an hour spent spent feeling panicky and still not getting your work done. Homework anxiety can become a self-fulfilling prophecy: If you’re already convinced that calculus is unconquerable, that anxiety can actually block your ability to learn the material.

Whether your anxiety is related to handling your workload (we know you’re getting more homework than ever!), mastering a particular subject like statistics, or getting great grades for your college application, stress doesn’t have to go hand-in-hand with studying .

In fact, a study by Stanford University School of Medicine and published in The Journal of Neuroscience shows that a student’s fear of math (and, yes, this fear is completely real and can be detectable in scans of the brain) can be eased by a one-on-one math tutoring program. At The Princeton Review this wasn’t news to us! Our online tutors are on-call 24/7 for students working on everything from AP Chemistry to Pre-Calc. Here’s a roundup of what our students have to say about managing homework stress by working one-one-one with our expert tutors .

1. Work the Best Way for YOU

From the way you decorate your room to the way you like to study, you have a style all your own:

"I cannot thank Christopher enough! I felt so anxious and stressed trying to work on my personal statement, and he made every effort to help me realize my strengths and focus on writing in a way that honored my personality. I wanted to give up, but he was patient with me and it made the difference."

"[My] tutor was 1000000000000% great . . . He made me feel important and fixed all of my mistakes and adapted to my learning style . . . I have so much confidence for my midterms that I was so stressed out about."

"I liked how the tutor asked me how was I starting the problem and allowed me to share what I was doing and what I had. The tutor was able to guide me from there and break down the steps and I got the answer all on my own and the tutor double checked it... saved me from tears and stress."

2. Study Smarter, Not Harder

If you’ve read the chapter in your history textbook twice and aren’t retaining the material, don’t assume the third time will be the charm. Our tutors will help you break the pattern, and learn ways to study more efficiently:

"[My] tutor has given me an easier, less stressful way of seeing math problems. It is like my eyes have opened up."

"I was so lost in this part of math but within minutes the tutor had me at ease and I get it now. I wasn't even with her maybe 30 minutes or so, and she helped me figure out what I have been stressing over for the past almost two days."

"I can not stress how helpful it is to have a live tutor available. Math was never and still isn't my favorite subject, but I know I need to take it. Being able to talk to someone and have them walk you through the steps on how to solve a problem is a huge weight lifted off of my shoulder."

3. Get Help in a Pinch

Because sometimes you need a hand RIGHT NOW:

"I was lost and stressed because I have a test tomorrow and did not understand the problems. I fully get it now!"

"My tutor was great. I was freaking out and stressed out about the entire assignment, but she really helped me to pull it together. I am excited to turn my paper in tomorrow."

"This was so helpful to have a live person to validate my understanding of the formulas I need to use before actually submitting my homework and getting it incorrect. My stress level reduced greatly with a project deadline due date."

4. Benefit from a Calming Presence

From PhDs and Ivy Leaguers to doctors and teachers, our tutors are experts in their fields, and they know how to keep your anxiety at bay:

"I really like that the tutors are real people and some of them help lighten the stress by making jokes or having quirky/witty things to say. That helps when you think you're messing up! Gives you a reprieve from your brain jumbling everything together!"

"He seemed understanding and empathetic to my situation. That means a lot to a new student who is under stress."

"She was very thorough in explaining her suggestions as well as asking questions and leaving the changes up to me, which I really appreciated. She was very encouraging and motivating which helped with keeping me positive about my paper and knowing that I am not alone in my struggles. She definitely eased my worries and stress. She was wonderful!"

5. Practice Makes Perfect

The Stanford study shows that repeated exposure to math problems through one-on-one tutoring helped students relieve their math anxiety (the authors’ analogy was how a fear of spiders can be treated with repeated exposure to spiders in a safe environment). Find a tutor you love, and come back to keep practicing:

"Love this site once again. It’s so helpful and this is the first time in years when I don’t stress about my frustration with HW because I know this site will always be here to help me."

"I've been using this service since I was in seventh grade and now I am a Freshman in High School. School has just started and I am already using this site again! :) This site is so dependable. I love it so much and it’s a lot easier than having an actual teacher sitting there hovering over you, waiting for you to finish the problem."

"I can always rely on this site to help me when I'm confused, and it always makes me feel more confident in the work I'm doing in school."

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Education scholar Denise Pope has found that too much homework has negative effects on student well-being and behavioral engagement. (Image credit: L.A. Cicero)

A Stanford researcher found that too much homework can negatively affect kids, especially their lives away from school, where family, friends and activities matter.

“Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good,” wrote Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education .

The researchers used survey data to examine perceptions about homework, student well-being and behavioral engagement in a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California communities. Along with the survey data, Pope and her colleagues used open-ended answers to explore the students’ views on homework.

Median household income exceeded $90,000 in these communities, and 93 percent of the students went on to college, either two-year or four-year.

Students in these schools average about 3.1 hours of homework each night.

“The findings address how current homework practices in privileged, high-performing schools sustain students’ advantage in competitive climates yet hinder learning, full engagement and well-being,” Pope wrote.

Pope and her colleagues found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They cite prior research indicating that homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school.

Their study found that too much homework is associated with:

* Greater stress: 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.

* Reductions in health: In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems. The researchers asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems.

* Less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits: Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were “not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills,” according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.

A balancing act

The results offer empirical evidence that many students struggle to find balance between homework, extracurricular activities and social time, the researchers said. Many students felt forced or obligated to choose homework over developing other talents or skills.

Also, there was no relationship between the time spent on homework and how much the student enjoyed it. The research quoted students as saying they often do homework they see as “pointless” or “mindless” in order to keep their grades up.

“This kind of busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points,” Pope said.

She said the research calls into question the value of assigning large amounts of homework in high-performing schools. Homework should not be simply assigned as a routine practice, she said.

“Rather, any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development,” wrote Pope.

High-performing paradox

In places where students attend high-performing schools, too much homework can reduce their time to foster skills in the area of personal responsibility, the researchers concluded. “Young people are spending more time alone,” they wrote, “which means less time for family and fewer opportunities to engage in their communities.”

Student perspectives

The researchers say that while their open-ended or “self-reporting” methodology to gauge student concerns about homework may have limitations – some might regard it as an opportunity for “typical adolescent complaining” – it was important to learn firsthand what the students believe.

The paper was co-authored by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner from Villanova University.

Media Contacts

Denise Pope, Stanford Graduate School of Education: (650) 725-7412, [email protected] Clifton B. Parker, Stanford News Service: (650) 725-0224, [email protected]

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End Homework Anxiety: Stress-Busting Techniques for Your Child

Sometimes kids dread homework because they'd rather be outside playing when they're not at school. But, sometimes a child's resistance to homework is more intense than a typical desire to be having fun, and it can be actually be labeled as homework anxiety: a legitimate condition suffered by some students who feel intense feelings of fear and dread when it comes to doing homework. Read on to learn about what homework anxiety is and whether your child may be suffering from it.

What is Homework Anxiety?

Homework anxiety is a condition in which students stress about and fear homework, often causing them to put homework off until later . It is a self-exacerbating condition because the longer the student puts off the homework, the more anxiety they feel about it, and the more pressure they experience to finish the work with less time. Homework anxiety can cripple some kids who are perfectly capable of doing the work, causing unfinished assignments and grades that slip.

What Causes Homework Anxiety?

There are many causes of homework anxiety, and there can be multiple factors spurring feelings of fear and stress. Some common causes of homework anxiety include:

• Other anxiety issues: Students who tend to suffer anxiety and worry, in general, can begin to associate anxiety with their homework, as well.
• Fear of testing: Often, homework is associated with upcoming tests and quizzes, which affect grades. Students can feel pressure related to being "graded" and avoid homework since it feels weighty and important.
• General school struggle: When students are struggling in school or with grades, they may feel a sense of anxiety about learning and school in general.
• Lack of support: Without a parent, sibling, tutor, or other help at home, students may feel that they won't have the necessary support to complete an assignment.
• Perfectionism: Students who want to perform perfectly in school may get anxious about completing a homework assignment perfectly and, in turn, procrastinate.

Basic Tips for Helping with Homework Anxiety

To help your child with homework anxiety, there are a few basic tips to try. Set time limits for homework, so that students know there is a certain time of the day when they must start and finish assignments. This helps them avoid putting off homework until it feels too rushed and pressured. Make sure your student has support available when doing their work, so they know they'll be able to ask for help if needed. Teaching your child general tips to deal with anxiety can also help, like deep breathing, getting out to take a short walk, or quieting racing thoughts in their mind to help them focus.

How can the Brain Balance Program Help with Homework Anxiety?

Extensive scientific research demonstrates that the brain is malleable, allowing for brain connectivity change and development and creating an opportunity for improvement at any age. Brain Balance has applied this research to develop a program that focuses on building brain connectivity and improving the foundation of development, rather than masking or coping with symptoms.

If you have a child or a teenager who struggles with homework anxiety, an assessment can help to identify key areas for improvement and create an action plan for you and your child. To get started, take our quick, free online assessment by clicking the link below. 

Get started with a plan for your child today.

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Top 10 Practical CBT Exercises For Anxiety Relief (+FREE Worksheets PDF)

Today, you’re going to learn all about living with generalized anxiety disorder and how to use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT exercises for anxiety relief.

Generalized anxiety disorder (or GAD) is characterized by  excessive, exaggerated anxiety and worry about almost everything for no particular reason .

People with symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder tend to engage in unhelpful thinking styles , such as catastrophizing and always expecting the worst.

This is where CBT comes into play.

The guiding principle behind Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is that our thoughts determine our feelings and behaviors. By gaining better control over your thoughts, you’ll be able to change your feelings and behavior.

What Is Anxiety?

Functional vs. dysfunctional anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder relief: cognitive-behavioral therapy cbt, free cbt worksheets for anxiety pdf, top 10 practical cbt exercises for anxiety relief, before you start, 1. regulating your automatic nervous system, 2. reframing your negative thoughts, 3. gradual exposure, bonus tip. natural remedies for generalized anxiety disorder.

Anxiety is the feeling of uneasiness a person feels about a certain person, place, object or situation. It can be experienced in the form of fear or worry.

It’s a common feeling everyone experiences at a certain point in his life. However, some people develop certain kinds of anxiety disorders that cause negative feelings, and extreme and irrational behavioral responses.

Related: Anxiety Free Resources

There are six major forms of anxiety disorders:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Social Anxiety
• Specific phobias
• Panic Disorder
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Each of these forms of anxiety is triggered and addressed differently. ( * )

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the preferred psychosocial intervention for most of them.

Related: Anxiety Relief: How to Treat Anxious Symptoms and Thoughts Effectively?

Anxiety is a normal human emotion.

There are many times when it is perfectly natural that we feel anxious, such as giving a presentation at work, learning how to drive a car, talking to someone we’re attracted to, etc.

This kind of anxiety isn’t just normal, it’s also functional. Feeling anxious as the exams draw close can motivate you to study harder.

The question here is and when does anxiety stop serving its purpose and become a disorder?

Function anxiety is generally connected to a specific situation. For example, you may feel anxious about an upcoming exam, but once it’s over, the anxiety dissipates.

Dysfunctional anxiety, on the other hand:

* Is not connected to a specific trigger or situation

* Is not time limited.

* Can be much more intense than a typical anxiety response, and may even lead to a panic attack.

* Is interfering with your life in some way (e.g. your ability to perform at work, your ability to engage in social activities, etc.)

Living With Generalized Anxiety Disorder: What’s Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is one of the most common anxiety disorders.

The individual who has GAD, usually, sufferers from excessive worry about almost everything for no particular reason or cause – be it their health, family, friends, professional life, financial status. ( * )

How Do You Know You Have Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

Some of the most common symptoms of GAD include:

• Excessive worry or tension,
• Restlessness,
• Sleeping difficulties,
• Mood swings,
• Concentrating difficulties, and

How Generalized Anxiety Disorder Affects Life?

People who suffer from GAD are constantly worried that something bad will happen, they see things from a negative point of view, and they expect the worst case scenario about almost everything.

This makes it difficult for someone to lead a happy and fulfilling life.

Anxiety medication for generalized anxiety disorder is not the only option.

CBT is one of the most popular kinds of therapy available to us right now. This is mostly due to its easy application and simple techniques.

It targets our negative ways of thinking which are distorting our attitudes towards ourselves and the world around us, and corrects them to help us become emotionally and mentally balanced.

Even though it won’t rid you of depression or cure your mental illness completely and permanently, it can do a lot to make it more manageable and improve your overall life quality. ( * )

1. Embrace change and the discomfort that comes with it

CBT is about creating positive change in your life through reframing your mindset. Sometimes change can be hard, uncomfortable and even painful but it’s a crucial part of healing. Trust in the process and keep in mind that sometimes, things get worse before they get better.

2. Set a deadline for yourself

Setting deadlines for your goals makes you more committed to getting better through CBT.

3. Allow yourself to be emotionally vulnerable

It can be scary to admit that you have a problem or even think about it. But unless you allow yourself to be emotionally vulnerable and completely honest, CBT won’t offer you much.

Take the time to ponder on what your problems are which of your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are dysfunctional.

Yoga help individuals who have GAD relieve their muscle tension.

Studies show that yoga helps lower a person’s stress and relax their muscles. Sign up for a yoga class or do it at home.

If you choose to do it at home, do it in the afternoon or at the end of the day to help you decompress. Play some relaxing music and breathe deeply. Choose which poses you want to perform and take your time through all the movements.

Most importantly, keep your mind clear and enjoy yourself.

#2. Breathing exercises

Breathing exercises is a good practice when you start to feel yourself getting anxious.

• Breathe as deep down into your belly as is comfortable.
• Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
• Some people find it helpful to count steadily from 1 to 5.
• Then, without holding your breath, breathe out gently, counting from 1 to 5 again.
• Keep doing this for 3 to 5 minutes.

Apps like Prana Breath , MindShift CBT , Breath Ball , and Health through Breath can help make breathing exercises easier.

#3. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

This technique could be done along with deep breathing exercises to help you release the built-up tension within your muscles and help you relax. ( * )

* Choose a quiet room.

* Remove tight clothing or items that may cause you uneasiness.

* Sit in a comfortable position.

* Take deep, slow breaths.

* Pay attention to all your muscles. Start with your face muscles. Clench your muscles as you inhale and feel your face muscles as you exhale.

* Repeat twice before moving on to other areas like arms, shoulders, chest, stomach, back, legs, feet.

#4. Meditation for Anxiety

Meditation help individuals who have GAD stop over-thinking and emotional turmoil.

Here’s how you can do it:

1. Choose some guided meditation videos from YouTube or an app .

2. Choose which time of the day is best for you, and do it on a regular basis, preferably every day.

3. Find a quiet place where you can be alone and away from distractions.

4. Devote all your attention to these mediations and forget about everything else going on in your life.

#5. Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation allows individuals to calm their minds while also focusing on the present moment.

This can be done by following these steps:

1. Sit in a comfortable position and breathe deeply.

2. Notice how your body feels as you breathe in and out. Pay attention to everything that is happening to your body in this moment.

3. Start redirecting your attention toward what’s happening around you (like the sounds around you or even the thoughts running through your mind) without assessing if it’s positive or negative.

This helps you remain calm while reflecting on your thoughts and understanding what’s going on inside your body.

#6. Positive Affirmations

Repeat positive affirmations in your mind. The following are some example:

• I am strong and powerful.
• I am growing stronger and healthier.
• I believe in myself. I can overcome this.
• This will pass and I’ll be okay again.

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How Your Thinking May Be Contributing to Your Anxiety?

There is always a trigger for our emotions.

Most of the time, the situation itself is not the trigger. Rather it is the way we interpret or think about the situation that triggers our emotions.

#7. Become Aware of Your Anxious Thoughts

1. Stop for a moment, and mindfully, assess the current situation you’re faced with and describe it to yourself – how it make you feel and identify those feelings.

2. Become aware of your “negative automatic thoughts”. Go through a certain interaction and identify the first few thoughts that pop into your head. These are your “automatic thoughts”.

3. Write down your anxious thoughts for closer examination.

#8. Tackling Your Thoughts

Thoughts profoundly affect emotions and feelings in addition to behavior. By changing unhelpful, inaccurate thoughts, you can alleviate your anxiety and emotional distress.

Begin tackling these thoughts by doing to the following:

1. Search for evidence

Examine your thoughts objectively and go through the facts.

Use the following questions to search for evidence:

Have I had thoughts like these at other times in my life? Have my dire predictions come true?

1. Do I have experiences that would contradict my thoughts in any way?

2. What evidence do I have that what I believe is actually true?

3. Am I falling into a thinking trap (e.g., catastrophizing or all-or-nothing treatment)?

4. What would I tell a friend if he/she had the same thought?

5. Am I confusing a thought with a fact?

6. Am I basing my conclusion mostly on my feelings or on the true evidence?

While feelings are valid, they’re not evidence for supporting anxious thoughts. If, for example, you feel extremely anxious about doing a job interview, the anxiety is not evidence of how you will perform.

2. Rethink the risk

When you feel anxious, it’s easy to overestimate the odds of unwanted consequences actually occurring. Because disasters grab attention, we tend to focus on negative events, rather than positive ones.

That’s why you need to do a reality test and try to think about the real, objective odds of your predicted disaster.

Use the following questions to reassess the risk:

1. How many times have I predicted this outcome, and how many times has it actually happened?

2. How often does this happen to other people?

3. If a dear friend made this prediction, would I agree?

4. Am I assuming this will happen just because I’m feeling anxious, or is there a reasonable chance that it will really happen?

3. Imagine the worst-case scenarios

Even after searching for evidence and reassessing the risk, you might still believe that the events you fear might happen.

People who worry a lot, often, underestimate their own ability to cope and deal with consequences.

If you’re worried you might spill something at a party, consider the worst-case scenario.

Would people point and laugh at you? Not likely.

You might blush and feel embarrassed, but the party and your life would go on.

Some rude people may laugh, but most would forget the incident and certainly wouldn’t view you any differently.

Answering these questions will further help ease your worries:

1. Have I ever dealt with anything like this or worse in the past?

2. How much will this affect my life a year from now?

3. Do I know people who’ve dealt with something like this?

4. Do I know anyone I could turn to for help or support?

Related: How to Challenge and Change Your Negative Core Beliefs?

How Avoidance Intensifies Your Anxiety?

While escaping an anxiety-provoking situation can provide some relief in the short term, it also sends the message to your mind that you can’t tolerate the situation.

This will in turn intensify your anxiety and may cause you to avoid similar situations in the future. This limits your world as you have to avoid more and more situations.

Stop avoiding and start facing these situations. In other words, act opposite to the urge triggered by your anxiety.

#9. Make An Exposure List

Construct a list of exposure goals by doing the following:

1. Make a list of every single thing you’d have to do if you were to face your fear.

2. Arrange the items beginning with the least feared item at the bottom and ending with the most feared item on the top.

This constitutes your exposure hierarchy. If making this list is causing you some anxiety, remind yourself that you just need to think about facing the least feared item and that you don’t have to worry about the rest.

Besides, the goal is to actually want to invite anxiety into your life, and allow it to stay a while. As you face your fears may discover it’s not as terrifying as you thought.

#10. Face your fears

Start with the first item on your exposure list. Consider adding a few steps if the fear seems too difficult, such as looking at pictures of what you fear, imagining yourself in the feared situation, or talking about your fear with other people .

For example, if you fear flying, your list might look like this:

• Visiting an airport without flying
• Reading about airplane safety
• Talking to people about travel plans
• Going on a short flight with a friend
• Going on a longer flight by myself

When going through exposure process, consider the following:

* Don’t let lots of time go by without taking on another exposure item. Consider taking a step every day if you have the time and it feels okay to you.

* Stay with each step until your anxiety drops a little.

* Allow yourself to feel anxious, knowing that it’ll pass and that you need and want it. Don’t make a complete retreat unless you feel absolutely out of control.

* Try to avoid using crutches, such as alcohol, tranquilizers, distracting yourself with song lyrics, asking someone to reassure you, etc.

These might interfere with the effectiveness of exposure and prevent you from actually facing your fears.

Related: How to Defeat Social Anxiety and Build Confidence?

Natural supplements can be effective in alleviating anxiety.

1. Chamomile

Chamomile used in the form of tea, tablet, or extract can help relieve stress and anxiety.

A 2016 clinical trial  investigated the efficacy and safety of chamomile as a long-term treatment for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Results show that taking chamomile helped reduce the severity of anxiety symptoms.

Note: people who experience allergic reactions to plants like ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, and daisies may also experience allergic reactions to chamomile.

Note: Chamomile may interact with certain drugs like warfarin and cyclosporine. If you are taking any type of medication check with your doctor before consuming chamomile teas or supplements.

2. Lavender

Lavender is often used to help calm the nerves and alleviate anxiety.

You can use lavender in the following ways:

• essential oil in aromatherapy
• mixing the essential oil into a base oil for massage
• adding the oil or flowers to baths

A 2017 review article suggests that chemicals in lavender called linalool and linalyl acetate can have a calming effect on chemical receptors in the brain and constitute an effective short-term treatment for anxiety disorders.

3. Passionflower

Passionflower is shown to be effective in treating restlessness, nervousness, and anxiety.

You can take passionflower in the form of:

• Tea. To make the infusion boil some water with 3 or 4 tablespoons of passion flower and let it simmer for 10 minutes. You can sweeten with a little honey.
• Extract. You can also directly take the liquid (approximately 45 drops of the extract) or, if you prefer, you can dilute it with a little water to lessen the taste.
• Tablets. You can take 1 or 2 times a day.

4. Kava kava

Kava kava, or simply kava, is a shrub that is native to the islands of the Pacific Ocean used to relieve stress and alter mood.

A 2013 placebo-controlled trial  investigated the efficacy of kava as a treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Participants taking kava showed a significant reduction in anxiety compared with those who received the placebo. The study also found kava to be safe.

The goal here is not to stop thinking anxious thoughts. We need to keep thinking and feeling.

But the goal is to believe less in your thoughts and realize that feeling a bit anxious doesn’t mean that something is wrong with you. The goal is to relate to thoughts and feelings, even the anxious ones, differently.

If you’re still struggling, try out these 10 Powerful Techniques To Control Your Negative Thoughts

Can Dehydration Cause Anxiety?

Yes, dehydration can cause anxiety.

When our body is dehydrated, it triggers a stress response that can result in feelings of anxiety or tension.

This happens because dehydration leads to a decrease in blood volume and blood pressure, which can activate the sympathetic nervous system responsible for the “fight or flight” response.

Additionally, dehydration affects the balance of electrolytes in our body, which can lead to increased anxiety levels and other symptoms like headaches, dizziness, and fatigue.

It is important to stay hydrated by drinking enough water to prevent such symptoms.

Is Anxiety Neurodivergent?

Anxiety is not necessarily considered a neurodivergent condition. Neurodivergent conditions are typically those that affect the way the brain works and processes information, such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and others.

Anxiety, on the other hand, is a natural response to stress and can affect anyone regardless of their neurology.

However, some neurodivergent individuals may be more prone to anxiety due to their specific challenges and experiences.

How Does Stress Contribute To Anxiety?

Stress can significantly contribute to the development and exacerbation of anxiety.

When individuals experience high levels of stress, their bodies release stress hormones such as cortisol, which activates the body’s “fight-or-flight” response.

While this response is adaptive in short-term situations, chronic stress can lead to prolonged activation of this response, causing disruptions in the body’s stress regulation systems.

Prolonged exposure to stress hormones can impair the functioning of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for regulating emotions and decision-making.

This impairment can make individuals more susceptible to experiencing anxiety symptoms.

Additionally, chronic stress can impact the hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in memory formation and regulation of emotions, leading to further anxiety-related difficulties.

Related: +20 Overgeneralization Examples & How to Avoid It

Is Anxiety A Lifelong Condition?

Anxiety is not always a lifelong condition, although some individuals may experience it chronically.

The duration and course of anxiety disorder can vary from person to person.

For some individuals, anxiety may be situational, triggered by specific events or periods of stress, and may resolve on its own or with appropriate treatment.

Others may experience recurrent episodes of anxiety throughout their lives.

It is important to remember that anxiety disorders are treatable, and many individuals find relief and learn effective coping strategies with therapy and/or medication.

Related:  How To Break The Cycle Of Performance Anxiety?

Are There Specific Triggers That Can Worsen Anxiety?

Yes, different triggers can exacerbate anxiety symptoms in individuals.

Triggers can vary depending on the type of anxiety disorder and the individual’s unique circumstances.

Common triggers include:

1. Stressful life events: Major life changes, conflicts, or traumatic experiences can intensify anxiety symptoms. 2. Social situations: Public speaking, social gatherings, or meeting new people can trigger social anxiety. 3. Health concerns: Physical health issues, chronic pain, or illness may increase anxiety levels. 4. Substance use: Certain substances like caffeine, alcohol, or drugs can worsen anxiety symptoms. 5. Time pressures: Excessive workloads, deadlines, or time constraints can contribute to higher anxiety levels. 6. Environmental factors: Loud noises, crowded spaces, or chaotic environments can trigger anxiety. 7. Certain phobias: Specific phobias, such as fear of flying or heights, can cause severe anxiety in relevant situations.

Identifying personal triggers and learning healthy coping strategies to manage anxiety in these situations can be helpful.

Related:  Impulsive vs Intrusive Thoughts (& How to Manage Them)

Can Anxiety Lead To Physical Health Problems?

Yes, prolonged and untreated anxiety can have adverse effects on physical health.

Anxiety activates the body’s stress response system, leading to increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and rapid breathing.

Over time, chronic anxiety can contribute to the development or worsening of various physical health problems, including:

1. Cardiovascular issues: Long-term anxiety can strain the cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of heart disease, hypertension, and heart attacks. 2. Gastrointestinal problems: Anxiety can disrupt digestion, leading to conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), stomach ulcers, or acid reflux. 3. Respiratory disorders: Frequent panic attacks or chronic anxiety may result in respiratory problems, such as asthma or shortness of breath. 4. Weakened immune system: Chronic anxiety can suppress the immune system, making individuals more susceptible to infections and illnesses. 5. Sleep disturbances: Anxiety often interferes with sleep patterns, leading to insomnia or inadequate rest, which can negatively impact overall health. 6. Muscle tension and pain: Anxiety-related muscle tension can contribute to chronic pain, headaches, or temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ).

It is crucial to address anxiety symptoms promptly to prevent potential physical health complications.

Related:  Future Tripping: Top 9 Ways to Avoid Future-Tripping

Is It Possible To Outgrow Anxiety?

While it is possible for some individuals to experience a decrease in anxiety symptoms over time, anxiety disorders do not simply vanish without intervention.

As children develop into adolescence and adulthood, they may acquire new coping mechanisms, skills, and tools that allow them to better manage their anxiety.

However, without proper treatment, anxiety symptoms may persist or resurface in different forms.

For some individuals, anxiety symptoms may subside as they enter less stress-inducing life stages or experience significant personal growth.

Moreover, with proper therapy or medication, individuals can learn effective strategies to manage their anxiety more successfully and lead fulfilling lives.

Related:  Best 10 Intrusive Thoughts Books

Portions of this article were adapted from the book Cognitive Behavioral Therapy : The 21 Day CBT Workbook for Overcoming Fear, Anxiety And Depression, © 2019 by Jacob Greene. All rights reserved.

Portions of this article were adapted from the book Overcoming Anxiety for Dummies, © 2002 by Charles H. Elliott and Laura L. Smith . All rights reserved.

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder Study | Center for Psychotherapy Research | Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (upenn.edu)
• Generalized anxiety disorder: Study looks at heart-brain link (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov)
• Worry and Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Review and Theoretical Synthesis of Evidence on Nature, Etiology, Mechanisms, and Treatment – PMC (nih.gov)
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA
• Generalized anxiety disorder – Symptoms and causes – Mayo Clinic
• Learn More About General Anxiety Disorder (webmd.com)
• NIMH » Generalized Anxiety Disorder: When Worry Gets Out of Control (nih.gov)
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Symptoms and More (healthline.com)
• Overview – Generalised anxiety disorder in adults – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) | Johns Hopkins Medicine
• Generalized anxiety disorder – Wikipedia
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) – HelpGuide.org

Hadiah is a counselor who is passionate about supporting individuals on their journey towards mental well-being. Hadiah not only writes insightful articles on various mental health topics but also creates engaging and practical mental health worksheets.

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Is it time to get rid of homework? Mental health experts weigh in.

It's no secret that kids hate homework. And as students grapple with an ongoing pandemic that has had a wide range of mental health impacts, is it time schools start listening to their pleas about workloads?

Some teachers are turning to social media to take a stand against homework. 

Tiktok user @misguided.teacher says he doesn't assign it because the "whole premise of homework is flawed."

For starters, he says, he can't grade work on "even playing fields" when students' home environments can be vastly different.

"Even students who go home to a peaceful house, do they really want to spend their time on busy work? Because typically that's what a lot of homework is, it's busy work," he says in the video that has garnered 1.6 million likes. "You only get one year to be 7, you only got one year to be 10, you only get one year to be 16, 18."

Mental health experts agree heavy workloads have the potential do more harm than good for students, especially when taking into account the impacts of the pandemic. But they also say the answer may not be to eliminate homework altogether.

Emmy Kang, mental health counselor at Humantold , says studies have shown heavy workloads can be "detrimental" for students and cause a "big impact on their mental, physical and emotional health."

"More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies," she says, adding that staying up late to finish assignments also leads to disrupted sleep and exhaustion.

Cynthia Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Talkspace , says heavy workloads can also cause serious mental health problems in the long run, like anxiety and depression. 

And for all the distress homework  can cause, it's not as useful as many may think, says Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery treatment center.

"The research shows that there's really limited benefit of homework for elementary age students, that really the school work should be contained in the classroom," he says.

For older students, Kang says, homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night. 

"Most students, especially at these high achieving schools, they're doing a minimum of three hours, and it's taking away time from their friends, from their families, their extracurricular activities. And these are all very important things for a person's mental and emotional health."

Catchings, who also taught third to 12th graders for 12 years, says she's seen the positive effects of a no-homework policy while working with students abroad.

"Not having homework was something that I always admired from the French students (and) the French schools, because that was helping the students to really have the time off and really disconnect from school," she says.

The answer may not be to eliminate homework completely but to be more mindful of the type of work students take home, suggests Kang, who was a high school teacher for 10 years.

"I don't think (we) should scrap homework; I think we should scrap meaningless, purposeless busy work-type homework. That's something that needs to be scrapped entirely," she says, encouraging teachers to be thoughtful and consider the amount of time it would take for students to complete assignments.

The pandemic made the conversation around homework more crucial 

Mindfulness surrounding homework is especially important in the context of the past two years. Many students will be struggling with mental health issues that were brought on or worsened by the pandemic , making heavy workloads even harder to balance.

"COVID was just a disaster in terms of the lack of structure. Everything just deteriorated," Kardaras says, pointing to an increase in cognitive issues and decrease in attention spans among students. "School acts as an anchor for a lot of children, as a stabilizing force, and that disappeared."

But even if students transition back to the structure of in-person classes, Kardaras suspects students may still struggle after two school years of shifted schedules and disrupted sleeping habits.

"We've seen adults struggling to go back to in-person work environments from remote work environments. That effect is amplified with children because children have less resources to be able to cope with those transitions than adults do," he explains.

'Get organized' ahead of back-to-school

In order to make the transition back to in-person school easier, Kang encourages students to "get good sleep, exercise regularly (and) eat a healthy diet."

To help manage workloads, she suggests students "get organized."

"There's so much mental clutter up there when you're disorganized. ... Sitting down and planning out their study schedules can really help manage their time," she says.

Breaking up assignments can also make things easier to tackle.

"I know that heavy workloads can be stressful, but if you sit down and you break down that studying into smaller chunks, they're much more manageable."

If workloads are still too much, Kang encourages students to advocate for themselves.

"They should tell their teachers when a homework assignment just took too much time or if it was too difficult for them to do on their own," she says. "It's good to speak up and ask those questions. Respectfully, of course, because these are your teachers. But still, I think sometimes teachers themselves need this feedback from their students."

More: Some teachers let their students sleep in class. Here's what mental health experts say.

More: Some parents are slipping young kids in for the COVID-19 vaccine, but doctors discourage the move as 'risky'

The Truth About Homework Stress: What Parents & Students Need to Know

• Fact Checked

Written by:

published on:

• December 21, 2023

Updated on:

• January 9, 2024

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Homework is generally given out to ensure that students take time to review and remember the days lessons. It can help improve on a student’s general performance and enhance traits like self-discipline and independent problem solving.

Parents are able to see what their children are doing in school, while also helping teachers determine how well the lesson material is being learned. Homework is quite beneficial when used the right way and can improve student  performance.

This well intentioned practice can turn sour if it’s not handled the right way. Studies show that if a student is inundated with too much homework, not only do they get lower scores, but they are more likely to get stressed.

The age at which homework stress is affecting students is getting lower, some even as low as kindergarten. Makes you wonder what could a five year old possibly need to review as homework?

One of the speculated reasons for this stress is that the complexity of what a student is expected to learn is increasing, while the breaks for working out excess energy are reduced. Students are getting significantly more homework than recommended by the education leaders, some even nearly three times more.

To make matters worse, teachers may give homework that is both time consuming and will keep students busy while being totally non-productive.

Remedial work like telling students to copy notes word for word from their text books will  do nothing to improve their grades or help them progress. It just adds unnecessary stress.

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Effects of homework stress at home

Both parents and students tend to get stressed out at the beginning of a new school year due to the impending arrival of homework.

Nightly battles centered on finishing assignments are a household routine in houses with students.

Research has found that too much homework can negatively affect children. In creating a lack of balance between play time and time spent doing homework, a child can get headaches, sleep deprivation or even ulcers.

And homework stress doesn’t just impact grade schoolers. College students are also affected, and the stress is affecting their academic performance.

Even the parent’s confidence in their abilities to help their children with homework suffers due increasing stress levels in the household.

Fights and conflict over homework are more likely in families where parents do not have at least a college degree. When the child needs assistance, they have to turn to their older siblings who might already be bombarded with their own homework.

Parents who have a college degree feel more confident in approaching the school and discussing the appropriate amount of school work.

“It seems that homework being assigned discriminates against parents who don’t have college degree, parents who have English as their second language and against parents who are poor.” Said Stephanie Donaldson Pressman, the contributing editor of the study and clinical director of the New England Center for Pediatric Psychology.

With all the stress associated with homework, it’s not surprising that some parents have opted not to let their children do homework. Parents that have instituted a no-homework policy have stated that it has taken a lot of the stress out of their evenings.

The recommended amount homework

The standard endorsed by the National Education Association is called the “10 minute rule”; 10 minutes per grade level per night. This recommendation was made after a number of studies were done on the effects of too much homework on families.

The 10 minute rule basically means 10 minutes of homework in the first grade, 20 minute for the second grade all the way up to 120 minutes for senior year in high school. Note that no homework is endorsed in classes under the first grade.

Parents reported first graders were spending around half an hour on homework each night, and kindergarteners spent 25 minutes a night on assignments according to a study carried out by Brown University.

Making a five year old sit still for half an hour is very difficult as they are at the age where they just want to move around and play.

A child who is exposed to 4-5 hours of homework after school is less likely to find the time to go out and play with their friends, which leads to accumulation of stress energy in the body.

Their social life also suffers because between the time spent at school and doing homework, a child will hardly have the time to pursue hobbies. They may also develop a negative attitude towards learning.

The research highlighted that 56% of students consider homework a primary source of stress.

And if you’re curious how the U.S stacks up against other countries in regards to how much time children spend on homework, it’s pretty high on the list .

Signs to look out for on a student that has homework stress

Since not every student is affected by homework stress in the same way, it’s important to be aware of some of the signs your child might be mentally drained from too much homework.

Here are some common signs of homework stress:

• Sleep disturbances
• Frequent stomachaches and headaches
• Decreased appetite or changed eating habits
• New or recurring fears
• Not able to relax
• Regressing to behavior they had when younger
• Bursts of anger crying or whining
• Becoming withdrawn while others may become clingy
• Drastic changes in academic performance
• Having trouble concentrating or completing homework
• Constantly complains about their ability to do homework

If you’re a parent and notice any of these signs in your child, step in to find out what’s going on and if homework is the source of their stress.

If you’re a student, pay attention if you start experiencing any of these symptoms as a result of your homework load. Don’t be afraid to ask your teacher or parents for help if the stress of homework becomes too much for you.

What parents do wrong when it comes to homework stress

Most parents push their children to do more and be more, without considering the damage being done by this kind of pressure.

Some think that homework brought home is always something the children can deal with on their own. If the child cannot handle their homework then these parents get angry and make the child feel stupid.

This may lead to more arguing and increased dislike of homework in the household. Ultimately the child develops an even worse attitude towards homework.

Another common mistake parents make is never questioning the amount of homework their children get, or how much time they spend on it. It’s easy to just assume whatever the teacher assigned is adequate, but as we mentioned earlier, that’s not always the case.

Be proactive and involved with your child’s homework. If you notice they’re spending hours every night on homework, ask them about it. Just because they don’t complain doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem.

How can parents help?

• While every parent wants their child to become successful and achieve the very best, it’s important to pull back on the mounting pressure and remember that they’re still just kids. They need time out to release their stress and connect with other children.
• Many children may be afraid to admit that they’re overwhelmed by homework because they might be misconstrued as failures. The best thing a parent can do is make home a safe place for children to express themselves freely. You can do this by lending a listening ear and not judging your kids.
• Parents can also take the initiative to let the school know that they’re unhappy with the amount of homework being given. Even if you don’t feel comfortable complaining, you can approach the school through the parent-teacher association available and request your representative to plead your case.
• It may not be all the subjects that are causing your child to get stressed. Parents should find out if there is a specific subject of homework that is causing stress. You could also consult with other parents to see what they can do to fix the situation. It may be the amount or the content that causes stress, so the first step is identifying the problem.
• Work with your child to create a schedule for getting homework done on time. You can set a specific period of time for homework, and schedule time for other activities too. Strike a balance between work and play.
• Understanding that your child is stressed about homework doesn’t mean you have to allow them not to try. Let them sit down and work on it as much as they’re able to, and recruit help from the older siblings or a neighbor if possible.
• Check out these resources to help your child with their homework .

The main idea here is to not abolish homework completely, but to review the amount and quality of homework being given out. Stress, depression and lower grades are the last things parents want for their children.

The schools and parents need to work together to find a solution to this obvious problem.

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Does Homework Cause Stress? Exploring the Impact on Students’ Mental Health

How much homework is too much?

Jump to: The Link Between Homework and Stress | Homework’s Impact on Mental Health | Benefits of Homework | How Much Homework Should Teacher’s Assign? | Advice for Students | How Healium Helps

Homework has become a matter of concern for educators, parents, and researchers due to its potential effects on students’ stress levels. It’s no secret students often find themselves grappling with high levels of stress and anxiety throughout their academic careers, so understanding the extent to which homework affects those stress levels is important. 

By delving into the latest research and understanding the underlying factors at play, we hope to curate insights for educators, parents, and students who are wondering  is homework causing stress in their lives?

The Link Between Homework and Stress: What the Research Says

Over the years, numerous studies investigated the relationship between homework and stress levels in students. 

One study published in the Journal of Experimental Education found that students who reported spending more than two hours per night on homework experienced higher stress levels and physical health issues . Those same students reported over three hours of homework a night on average.

This study, conducted by Stanford lecturer Denise Pope, has been heavily cited throughout the years, with WebMD eproducing the below video on the topic– part of their special report series on teens and stress : 

Additional studies published by Sleep Health Journal found that long hours on homework on may be a risk factor for depression while also suggesting that reducing workload outside of class may benefit sleep and mental fitness .

Lastly, a study presented by Frontiers in Psychology highlighted significant health implications for high school students facing chronic stress, including emotional exhaustion and alcohol and drug use.

Homework’s Potential Impact on Mental Health and Well-being

Homework-induced stress on students can involve both psychological and physiological side effects. 

1. Potential Psychological Effects of Homework-Induced Stress:

• Anxiety: The pressure to perform academically and meet homework expectations can lead to heightened levels of anxiety in students. Constant worry about completing assignments on time and achieving high grades can be overwhelming.

• Sleep Disturbances : Homework-related stress can disrupt students’ sleep patterns, leading to sleep anxiety or sleep deprivation, both of which can negatively impact cognitive function and emotional regulation.

• Reduced Motivation: Excessive homework demands could drain students’ motivation, causing them to feel fatigued and disengaged from their studies. Reduced motivation may lead to a lack of interest in learning, hindering overall academic performance.

2. Potential Physical Effects of Homework-Induced Stress:

• Impaired Immune Function: Prolonged stress could weaken the immune system, making students more susceptible to illnesses and infections.

• Disrupted Hormonal Balance : The body’s stress response triggers the release of hormones like cortisol, which, when chronically elevated due to stress, can disrupt the delicate hormonal balance and lead to various health issues.

• Gastrointestinal Disturbances: Stress has been known to affect the gastrointestinal system, leading to symptoms such as stomachaches, nausea, and other digestive problems.

• Cardiovascular Impact: The increased heart rate and elevated blood pressure associated with stress can strain the cardiovascular system, potentially increasing the risk of heart-related issues in the long run.

• Brain impact: Prolonged exposure to stress hormones may impact the brain’s functioning , affecting memory, concentration, and cognitive abilities.

The Benefits of Homework

It’s important to note that homework also offers many benefits that contribute to students’ academic growth and development, such as: 

• Development of Time Management Skills: Completing homework within specified deadlines encourages students to manage their time efficiently. This valuable skill extends beyond academics and becomes essential in various aspects of life.

• Preparation for Future Challenges : Homework helps prepare students for future academic challenges and responsibilities. It fosters a sense of discipline and responsibility, qualities that are crucial for success in higher education and professional life.

• Enhanced Problem-Solving Abilities: Homework often presents students with challenging problems to solve. Tackling these problems independently nurtures critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

While homework can foster discipline, time management, and self-directed learning, the middle ground may be to  strike a balance that promotes both academic growth and mental well-being .

How Much Homework Should Teachers Assign?

As a general guideline, educators suggest assigning a workload that allows students to grasp concepts effectively without overwhelming them . Quality over quantity is key, ensuring that homework assignments are purposeful, relevant, and targeted towards specific objectives. 

Advice for Students: How to balance Homework and Well-being

Finding a balance between academic responsibilities and well-being is crucial for students. Here are some practical tips and techniques to help manage homework-related stress and foster a healthier approach to learning:

• Effective Time Management : Encourage students to create a structured study schedule that allocates sufficient time for homework, breaks, and other activities. Prioritizing tasks and setting realistic goals can prevent last-minute rushes and reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed.

• Break Tasks into Smaller Chunks : Large assignments can be daunting and may contribute to stress. Students should break such tasks into smaller, manageable parts. This approach not only makes the workload seem less intimidating but also provides a sense of accomplishment as each section is completed.

• Find a Distraction-Free Zone : Establish a designated study area that is free from distractions like smartphones, television, or social media. This setting will improve focus and productivity, reducing time needed to complete homework.

• Be Active : Regular exercise is known to reduce stress and enhance mood. Encourage students to incorporate physical activity into their daily routine, whether it’s going for a walk, playing a sport, or doing yoga.

• Practice Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques : Encourage students to engage in mindfulness practices, such as deep breathing exercises or meditation, to alleviate stress and improve concentration. Taking short breaks to relax and clear the mind can enhance overall well-being and cognitive performance.

• Seek Support : Teachers, parents, and school counselors play an essential role in supporting students. Create an open and supportive environment where students feel comfortable expressing their concerns and seeking help when needed.

How Healium is Helping in Schools

Stress is caused by so many factors and not just the amount of work students are taking home.  Our company created a virtual reality stress management solution… a mental fitness tool called “Healium” that’s teaching students how to learn to self-regulate their stress and downshift in a drugless way. Schools implementing Healium have seen improvements from supporting dysregulated students and ADHD challenges to empowering students with body awareness and learning to self-regulate stress . Here’s one of their stories. 

By providing students with the tools they need to self-manage stress and anxiety, we represent a forward-looking approach to education that prioritizes the holistic development of every student. 

To learn more about how Healium works, watch the video below.

About the Author

Sarah Hill , a former interactive TV news journalist at NBC, ABC, and CBS affiliates in Missouri, gained recognition for pioneering interactive news broadcasting using Google Hangouts. She is now the CEO of Healium, the world’s first biometrically powered immersive media channel, helping those with stress, anxiety, insomnia, and other struggles through biofeedback storytelling. With patents, clinical validation, and over seven million views, she has reshaped the landscape of immersive media.