Anxiety and worry! Emotions influence our behavior, our thoughts, and ultimately, our success. Negative emotions can stop us in our tracks. Research shows that negative emotions hinder us in many ways including our ability to think with mental clarity! Consider the following research on worry and anxiety as reported in the book Emotional Intelligence.

“Anxiety sabotages academic performance of all kinds: 126 different studies of more than 36,000 people found that the more prone to worries a person is, the poorer their academic performance …” (Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman; page 83)

The number of worries that people report while taking a test directly predicts how poorly they will do on it. The mental resources expended on one cognitive task – the worrying – simply detract from the resources available for processing other information; if we are preoccupied by worries that we’re going to flunk the test we’re taking, we have that much less attention to expend on figuring out the answers. Our worries become self-fulfilling prophecies, propelling us toward the very disaster they predict.” (Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman; page 84)

Simply stated, worry and anxiety take brain capacity, distracting from the brain capacity needed to take the test!

Part of our ministry – our mission – is to help students become “emotionally-balanced;” to help them overcome negative emotions and the impact they have on the students’ lives. A large percentage of students exhibit a significant level of anxiety for many different reasons. For example, most are experiencing anxiety over the circumstances that brought them into the ministry. They are feeling the anxiety of being in an unfamiliar place that is actually scary to many of them. Then in the classroom we add on top of that, reading, memorizing, writing, and other responsibilities.

As teachers, we must be mindful of this stress so that we are better prepared to help our students manage their negative emotions. We must acknowledge and work to help them to manage their worry and anxiety because these negative emotions have a significant impact on the students’ performance in the classroom and in the program. This article primarily addresses the stress they experience in the classroom, although the principles can be applied in the other areas of ministry.

If a student is struggling with any negative emotions, we often expect them to just “suck-it-up” and get the work done. But research shows that negative emotions, and positive emotions as well, have a definite impact on many areas of our life, including the learning process. As we help our students to develop optimism, hope, and other positive emotions, we will see their learning abilities develop.

We know and have experienced that the most important step in finding release from the control of negative emotions is making “peace with God”. Once the sin and accompanying guilt and conviction are surrendered to God, we see a spiritual, emotional, and even physical transformation. But we know that is not the end of all negative emotions. Continued growth and discipleship is needed. We can help them with this process. Here are a few initial ideas. Some will take more work and preparation than others.

1. Create a safe environment that encourages the student to acknowledge their emotions. Invite them to name it and own it. You can’t overcome it if you don’t recognize it.
2. Ask open ended questions that help the students to consider the source of the emotion. What is causing it?
3. Teach the student to pray, relax and breath prior to a test or stressful task. Research shows that doing so actually improves clarity of thought and test scores.
4. Create an environment that peaks student curiosity and interest in learning.
5. Add a dose of humor, this reduces stress and helps people to quickly let down their guards.
6. For learning to be engaging it must be challenging, but not so challenging that it is frustrating. Balance! Trying to find the right amount of challenge for each student can be a “challenge.” The PSNL classroom is designed to facilitate creating contracts that challenge the students on their level.
7. Encouragement and compassion go a long way. Letting the student know that you are there to help them through the learning curve will go a long way in helping them with their anxiety. Let them know that your goal is for them to learn, grow, and succeed – not to see them fail. You are here to help.
8. Provide resources (including older students or volunteers) that help them with study and memory work.

Think about it

• What steps can you take to implement the ideas listed above?
• What other things can you do to help your students overcome negative emotions?
• In addition to the classroom, where else can you apply these information and principles?