Freaked out over educational situations,even walking past school children!

[Wee-Mee]

Along with all my other problems and worries,this is one of them too.

I did not have very good experiences in secondary school,so my teenage years were very much filled with anxiety,bullying,depression,councellors etc and lost grades.

So after I gota little better I tried my hand in college..only to find that I could not cope. And I don't think it was the work,more the situationa and the settings.

Now My heart thumps a thousand beats per sec if I even walk past a few school children,I'm not joking. I'm 23 yrs of age and I freak out over children in uniforms

I dunno what to do. I really want to be a journalist and as I didn't get my Higher English,this is beneficial to get into the journalism course.

But I can't get near educational grounds without having near death experiences.

And it all stems from school. :(

[Bluebelle]

Hi Sweetie,
I can totally relate to the fear of school children. I am 38 years old and terrified of teenagers. If there is a pack of them outside the entrance of a shop I cannot walk through them to get into the shop.
Recently my counsellor has started this "what if" game and this has helped. what you do is go through all the what if's and them evaluate.

This is how I've been doing it-
1-I am afraid to walk through the pack of teenagers
2-WHAT IF I walk through them
3-What if I am robbed, attacked, pushed, laughed at, sneezed on, etc

If I am robbed-I'll call the police
If I am attack a passerby will help me
if I am pushed I will get up
If I am laughed at- I won't slow down and just keep walking

Once I've worked through all the possible things I am afraid of I seem to settle down and look at the situation more calmly and less terrified.
I haven't actually walked through a pack of teenagers yet but it has started to reassure me that maybe I could walk through the pack.

Maybe we could try working through your what if's- or you could look at schooling in a different setting. In Canada there are opportunities to take community college courses on-line maybe there is something similar available to you and you could completely avoid the educational settings !

Take Care
Love Bluebelle