Students with anxiety disorders may have trouble in college, but there are options to help make life less overwhelming.

Christy Hamilton, a counselor with Counseling and Psychological Services, said the Student Health Center received 654 students for individual therapy and 115 students for group therapy during fiscal year 2014.

Counseling and Psychological Services is a portion of the Student Health Center that provides counseling and crisis counseling services to students.

The American College Health Association reported in its 2014 National College Health Assessment anxiety affected the academic standing of 21 percent of students surveyed.

The Mayo Clinic website states anxiety disorders come in several forms and are characterized by the sudden and persistent onset of fear. They also share common symptoms such as increased heart rate, feelings of powerlessness, sweating, trembling and difficulty concentrating.

Gabrielle Morris, a junior from St. Louis studying rehabilitation services, said she has had generalized anxiety for about two years and experiences shaking and an increased heart rate. She said her long-term experience with anxiety helps her.

“I know it’s going to be there, but I know how to handle it better than when I first started having anxiety,” Morris said.

Morris said she will not talk in some situations, but can still perform everyday tasks.

Jani Jones, a therapist with Goya Health in Energy, said it would be difficult to know if a person is having a panic attack without knowing him or her intimately.

“For the most part, unless it’s a severe anxiety attack, no one’s really going to know you’re having one,” Jones said. “If they break out in a sweat and turn really pale, you may be going ‘Oh, this person’s about to faint on me.’”

Hamilton said students with social anxiety might avoid social situations, which sometimes affects their performance in classes.

“They go to great lengths to try to avoid that interaction,” Hamilton said.

She said attending smaller classes is a challenge for students with anxiety because they engage in deeper critical discussions.

“They’re going to be expecting that they’re going to have to participate and that might really exacerbate the anxiety,” Hamilton said.

Jones said she has seen clients’ grades suffer because anxiety causes them to withdraw from classes.  She said students dealing with anxiety may not understand something in class, but are reluctant to ask for help because they do not want attention drawn to them.

Hamilton said she has met with clients who are avoiding classes because they fear having to speak when there.

Morris said she has trouble talking in front of a class.

“It took me a while to get comfortable to really speak in class, so I generally only speak in my major classes because I know the students, and I am in multiple classes with them,” she said.

Morris said it takes time to be able to raise her hand, but she adapts by emailing the instructors questions later as opposed to asking in person.

Jones said the stigma surrounding mental illness does not have merit and is inaccurate.

“It’s a physical condition. The whole ‘mental illness’ [description], I hate that because it is a physical illness,” she said.

She said mental illness is caused by hormonal imbalance, which is a physical issue.

Morris said people react strangely when she tells them she sees a therapist.

“They automatically go to the worst possible scenario and they’re like ‘Is everything okay with your family?’ or ‘Did something happen to you?’ and I’m just like, ‘No. I just have really bad anxiety,'” she said.

Morris said people should not belittle anxiety.

“Don’t tell me that my anxiety is wrong or I shouldn’t have it because it’s not really controllable,” Morris said.

Morris is part of Active Minds, which is a Registered Student Organization formed with the goal of reducing the stigma of mental illness.

“Active Minds helps because everyone has stuff they go through… It’s not judgmental at all and they understand where I’m coming from,” she said.

Hamilton said students can ease their way into university social life by joining a group or RSO that shares a common interest with them. She said common interests would reduce the fear of judgment. She also said exposure to fear helps to reduce the power that fear has.

Jones said if you are aware of someone having anxiety problems, it is better to ask them what they need.

“If you’re around someone and you can kind of see they’re shutting down or they’re withdrawn physically, you can just say ‘Let’s go take a walk,'” Jones said. “Anything to distract that person; main thing is just get them out of that situation.”

She also said one way to help calm a panic attack is by singing because it changes people’s breathing patterns.

She said it is also important for students to build strong social bonds so they have somewhere to go during difficult situations.

“Good relationships can do all sorts of things for our sense of safety and help us feel understood,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said group therapy is the gold standard of treatment for those with anxiety because it is a safe place for students to share their concerns.

“These types of groups are really great for trying out new types of social behavior,” Hamilton said.

She said those seeking help can use counseling groups to acclimate to social situations.

“For this particular concern, it’s much more powerful than one-on-one individual counseling,” Hamilton said. “It truly is one of the most powerful ways for a person to try out those new social behaviors because it is the safest way to do that.”