Students Ask About Anxiety: What To Do When You Don’t Want To Tell Anyone

High School Students Ask About Anxiety:

How do you handle it when you don’t want to tell anyone?

Dear high school students,

When Silence Feels Safer & Unshared Feelings Stack Up: Understanding the Importance of Opening Up

When struggling with complex emotions, especially in the challenging period of high school, it is common to feel the urge to hide them deep within. Picture your secret emotions as unread books, stacking higher and higher on a shelf. After some time, as with any overfilled shelf, the structure might collapse under too much weight.

The Burden of Unshared Feelings

Holding back emotions and experiences that feel too large or complicated shares similarity with an overstuffed bookshelf. Over time, the weight of these "unread books" begins to strain the structure, posing the risk of an emotional collapse. Such a collapse may induce a whirlwind of emotional turmoil, affecting not just your mental and emotional health, but also manifesting in physical symptoms like exhaustion, headaches, or even a weakened immune system.

Balanced Emotional Expression

However, the answer isn't to unload all the books onto someone else's lap at once. Sharing your feelings should be mindful, unburdening yourself to trusted individuals who can handle your innermost thoughts with care and respect. Understanding and accepting the weight of your feelings, deciding who is worth sharing them with—is a strong and self-aware step.

So, how can we start unloading these "books," especially when the thought of reaching out feels so overwhelming?

Step One: Recognize What You're Carrying

Firstly, it's essential to be honest with yourself. Can you recognize and name your feelings? Even if you're not ready to share them with others, simply acknowledging them to yourself is a step towards healthier emotional management.

Step Two: Unload Your Thoughts on Paper

Writing can be therapeutic. A personal journal or a digital note can hold your feelings without judgment. This practice allows your unsaid thoughts to be acknowledged, out of your head, without necessarily sharing them with others.

Step Three: Use Creative Outlets

Consider dabbling in creative activities to express your emotions. Artistic forms like drawing, painting, music, or writing provide outlets for self-expression, allowing you to process your feelings in indirect and often comforting ways.

Step Four: Consider the Consequences

Try to understand the impact of keeping your emotions to yourself. Seeing the potential effects of keeping every "book" on your shelf might be the motivation you need to begin sharing your feelings.

Step Five: Connect with Trusted Individuals

Identify your safe circle—those people you feel comfortable with, who you can trust to look through the "books" on your shelf without judgment or haste.

Family Systems for Better Communication

At Insights Counseling Center, we acknowledge the additional complexity that sharing your feelings can bring when it involves your family. Our therapists are experienced in family systems therapy, an approach that views emotional health issues within the context of the entire family.

In Closing: Seeking Support

Opening up about our struggles can be terrifying, yet it's a major step towards lightening the emotional load you're carrying. If the concept of seeking help seems as gigantic as climbing a mountain, remember that our therapists at Insights Counseling Center are here to guide you. With expertise in family systems, they can help facilitate conversations with your family members, teachers, or school counselors.

Remember, you deserve the same attention to your mental health as to your physical health. The move towards wellness begins with understanding that sharing your feelings—in a nurturing, supportive environment—can transform the weight of concealed emotions into a shared understanding. Let's work together towards that understanding. You're not alone. Reach out here if you would like to schedule a session with one of our therapists that see teens and young adults.

with hope,

The Insights Counseling Team