I’ve been a therapist now for going on 8 years and one of the most common issues I see with students is a lack of organization, that leads to procrastination and avoidance that leads to anxiety that leads to depression.
It’s a classic. I know it well because it’s exactly what I used to do.
The start of this cycle generally happens due to a student’s ability to skirt by in middle school or early high school with no real organization or structure. Often times there are a few “uh oh” moments that require staying up late to finish an assignment or just forgetting an assignment entirely. Then as years roll on, instead of creating a strategy, the student simply carries on as normal.
As time goes on and class demands increase, the avoidance increases in an effort to deal with the incoming pressure but this also simultaneously creates more anxiety.
Think about if you knew there was a pipe leaking in your house somewhere and you just decided to ignore it and go watch a movie. If you really tried to distract yourself, you could probably have moments where you’re engaged with the movie and fully forgetting about the leaky pipe. But, you would also likely have sudden sharp pains of extreme anxiety.
To stick with the same metaphor, let’s say this is what the student is facing. If the student decides after avoiding for weeks to finally tackle the problem, he or she will likely be facing a flooding, nearly unstoppable problem where water is pouring down all around them. This is where the depression comes in and brings on feelings of hopelessness. At a certain point, if a student has avoided work for long enough or they have been fighting an un-winnable battle, they are likely feeling hopeless and just give up.
All of this can be avoided by having a few simple tools for students to use.
Part 2 coming soon!