Is Anxiety a Personal Issue?

Currently I’m in the middle of my first semester of college, and I have definitely already made mistakes and learned from them. Taking twenty-one hours is something I question everyday, but it’s to qualify for a scholarship, so that’s what keeps me going. I plan to transfer to a university next school year and major in civil engineering. I’ve always excelled in math, because my brain likes when there is only one answer, but my English 1301 class has grown on me, because I can really commit to essays that are about something I’m interested in, while past English classes have focused on analyzing literature. My interest level doesn’t include a two and half page essay about how a poem conveys a theme that has to be written in fifty minutes. The nerves would really set in and I think I would stare at the paper for a solid ten minutes. I’ve had noticeable anxiety about writings, and public speaking is even worse, but I have definitely learned how to deal and prevent any flares of nerves.

            In the blog post “The Response: Should You Tell Your Professor About Your Anxiety/Depression?” written by Ellen Bremen, she goes through the steps one can take in communicating his or her disabilities to the professor. First, she answers the question presented in the title, “Should you approach your professors? I say absolutely.” She then points out that professors aren’t unaware of anxiety and depression; they probably have experienced it or known someone that has and will understand your situation. Bremen discusses the importance of showing your professor “you are serious about longitudinally staying focused.” Next, she tells any student reading the article to stop consistently looking at bad grades; it doesn’t do any good and just makes you more anxiety driven. Lastly, Bremen gets the input of Jennifer Sandler, the head of the Access/Disability Services at Highline Community College, where she reiterates a few of Bremen’s points and also adds that “‘[c]lear communication between yourself and the prof is key’” and that professors are there to give accommodations, whether to register with the Disability Service office or not, but not free passes.

            When Bremen states “secrets don’t help people,” it strikes a cord, because it reminds me that internalizing issues doesn’t do anything thing but hinder your confidence. Knowing people with anxiety and depression, I understand that the thought of telling a stranger their problems creates even more anxiety, which only makes a vicious cycle. She points out that the student with anxiety/depression may feel like their professors won’t understand the severity of the problem, but makes it clear that anxiety and depression is a disability that affects many people and some of their professors are those people. Bremen addresses that professors are people to; they don’t live at school. For people who don’t have anxiety and/or depression, the action of talking with their professors seems like a mundane task, but for those who do, it feels like they’ve been given the task to pass a calculus II test with the knowledge of algebra I; it’s impossible. She’s compelling when she reminds the reader anxiety/depression is a universal problem, which is significant, because the advice is coming from a current professor.

            Another point that stuck out was when she is talking about the “grades that are making you sick.” As a current professor, she knows of solutions that someone outside the teaching profession might not even knows exists. She mentions the use of the Academic Renewal, which will allow the student to wipeout an entire term and that it’s provided at many institutions. Before reading this blog post, I was completely unaware of this device, which gives her more credibility and trust, because she is making it apparent that she has the student’s interests in mind. Once someone feels comforted, it becomes much easier for him or her to open up and actually listen to the speaker, which is something Bremen took into account.

            Bremen is informative and concise in addressing the issue of if and how one should go about communicating one’s issue to their professor. With her credibility and compassion towards the student, the blog post gives advice that anyone reading with anxiety and/or depression will be most likely to take in a heartbeat.