When anxiety symptoms are present in school, it is classified as "Academic Anxiety", with S[63] defining it as ""The feeling of being distressed, fearful, or stressed out as a result of school pressures is called academic anxiety".
S[38] Symptoms of academic anxiety include both physical and psychological hinderances. For example, physical symptoms might cause one to feel "dizzy", "nauseous" , and some worse cases, may cause "trouble breathing"[S38]. Consequential Psychological symptoms of anxiety may cause uncontrollable "racing thoughts", "constant worry", and in many cases "procrastination" due to worry [S38].
Academic anxiety can subsequently cause " a high level [of anxiety] can threaten individuals' mental and physical health and have negative effects on their social, occupational, and academic performance (Dordi Nejad et al., 2011)" [S39].
-
The prevalence of how academic anxiety symptoms negatively impact academic success, can initially be traced back to how students prepare for important academic engagements. Despite potentially experiencing impeding anxiety symptoms during said engagements, preparation in the form of studying can heavily supplement one's performance.
Therefore, the effectiveness of a student's study habits is important to potentially reducing the feeling of unpreparedness, which can trigger academic anxiety overall. [S38]
A common practice in high schools, is to allot students a "study hall", which "do not count as a class or something that would have an effect on a student’s GPA. " [S81]
These unscripted periods give students an opportunity to utilize their time to academically advance themselves depending on their personal needs (such as studying for classes they find difficult or pressing).
Similar to libraries, study spaces often are "developing transformative teen-centered spaces" and "facilitate informal learning, creation, socialization, and community engagement", and are common throughout high schools in the US and Canada alike [S80].
Seeing as these spaces are common ground for many students, including those who experience academic anxiety, attempts to generally improve study habits for these students, could include modifying these in school study spaces. In theory, this could be widely beneficial for these individuals.
[S38] "Signs to identify include a decrease in grades, frequently missed assignments, feeling overwhelmed by schoolwork, consistent procrastination and difficulty focusing on tasks."
-