The heart begins to race, breathing gets rapid, and the sense of impending panic rises. Suddenly, all you can focus on is the feeling of confinement and the sense of not being able to escape. These are merely a few symptoms of anxiety that many people unfortunately suffer.

Anxiety is completely normal for teenagers, as it is a trigger of stress. Things like preparing for dates, tests, competitions, and receiving a text from the person you’ve been crushing on are all situations that may cause someone to feel anxious and uneasy. But for many teenagers, it goes beyond feeling uneasy and nervous. It reaches the point where the anxiety negatively impacts relationships, friendships, schoolwork, how they deal with social gatherings, and even their normal day to day lives.

It is no surprise that many students here at MCHS suffer from anxiety disorders which make it incredibly hard to balance school work, social life, and mental health. There are kids going through a lot at home, all while dealing with four college classes and high school classes as well. I’m sure that more than half of the students have dealt with some sort of breakdown. Senior Amy Texzocotitla said, “Sophomore and junior year, I had multiple anxiety attacks, and I felt like I couldn’t handle college at all.” High school, in general, is incredibly stressful, but adding the pressure of obtaining an AA and passing college classes can be very straining for MCHS students.

Everyone has their own set of triggers that lead them to have panic attacks or feeling in danger. Senior Kenya Villela said, “Being in crowded places, in public, family issues, and my stress triggers my anxiety.” Villela never truly knew she had an anxiety disorder until she felt a tear in her chest and went to go visit her doctor. Her doctor diagnosed her with an anxiety disorder and prescribed her Lorazepam pills to help calm her down. Villela, however, does not take the pills. She says, “I’d rather handle my attacks by myself because it’s just me and my mind, and I’m not going to allow medication to take over my body.”

People deal with and overcome their anxiety in many different ways. A few different ways to deal with anxiety are to take deep breaths, eat healthy, exercise, and to think positively. I found that once I transformed my eating habits and began to go to the gym daily, my anxiety began to decrease, and I no longer would have anxiety attacks. Also, taking deep slow breaths in and out helped immensely, as it quiets and calms the mind and neutralizes any mood. Positivity is also key to getting rid of anxiety. Positive affirmations such as saying, “Everything is okay,” or “I will get better,” are helpful too. Senior Ramiro Rico said, “One way I deal with anxiety is taking deep breaths. I do this for approximately 30 seconds up to a minute. If one afternoon before a big test I’m getting anxiety, I try to exercise to try to distract myself.”

Dealing with anxiety is a hassle and can really mess up your mind and body as well. Although school is very important, you have to keep in mind that you need to take care of your mental health and every once in a while take a break from everything and just breathe. Anxiety is treatable, and there are many ways to overcome and break free from it. Make sure to treat yourself by going out with friends to help distract you and lower your stress. Even doing small things such as walking around your neighborhood and listening to music can help you relax. Once you incorporate all these things which can help improve your anxiety, you will notice a huge change.