During the pandemic, everyone has been forced to adapt to a new kind of chronic stress. Young children and students have been hit particularly hard -- with a new study by Dr. Rosanna Breaux at Virginia Tech revealing that 25% of students aged 6-18 experienced anxiety and depression in the spring and summer of 2020.
Chronic stress has had a disproportionate impact on students with learning disorders, ADHD, and Autism, as well as those from low income families.
With a new school year and in-person classes looming, it’s normal for some level of nerves to surface in students and parents alike. It’s important to implement as much social-emotional support as possible now before the school year winds up again, as this will hopefully help prevent normal levels of nerves from developing into clinical anxiety levels.
How to Manage the Stress
Some strategies that may be helpful in creating support at home for your student revolve around instituting stable routines. Work on creating calm and stability at home through consistency in daily routines, such as sleep patterns and family meal times. This structure can grant a great deal of calm to an otherwise uncertain time.
Also remember to check in with your children, and allow them to share their responses to the stress they face into the new semester. Make sure that mental health can be discussed openly, and keep an eye out for any warning signs that things may begin to require outside help. If your child is having meltdowns, engaging in avoidance behaviors, experiencing nightmares, or complaining of physical symptoms like headaches and stomach upset, it is a good idea to seek professional support.
Want to Learn More?
In addition to keeping you up to date on all things clinical trials, we also act as a digital CRO with a specific focus on patient recruitment and retention. We believe that patient recruitment and study startup (especially study design and study material) are heavily intertwined. After all, study design can make or break clinical trials, and the patient-perspective should be considered when designing studies to ensure that patient targets are met not only on time, but also on budget.
For Citruslabs, patient recruitment starts with study design and ends with trial completion. We recruit patients through our network of health apps, which enables you to connect with thousands of patients in real time. The best part: these patients are already educated and prepared for the clinical trial process.