Informative Speech Outline On Anxiety

Title: A Better Understanding of Anxiety in College Students

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about anxiety in college students with a focus on test anxiety, how our bodies express stress, and time management skills.

Thesis: Once you understand the differences between regular anxiety and an anxiety disorder, learn how your body communicates anxiety, and improve your time management skills you will be able to cope with anxiety much more efficiently.

Introduction:

I. A study from spring of 2012 states that, and I quote “more than 25 percent of college students have been diagnosed or treated by a professional for a mental health condition within the past year.”

II. Once you understand the differences between everyday anxiety and

an anxiety disorder, learn how your body communicates anxiety, and improve your time management skills you will be able to cope with anxiety much more efficiently.
III. As a college student with mid-terms just around the corner, an understanding of anxiety can help you better improve your study skills as well as how to approach your test.
IV. By the end of my speech you should feel a little less anxious about preparing for tests and coping with normal anxiety symptoms due to a better understanding.

Transition: First, let’s familiarize ourselves with what exactly anxiety is and when it becomes a disorder.

Body:

I. Understanding what anxiety is as well as the differences between everyday anxiety and anxiety disorder responses can assure you that everyone else is experiencing a similar situation.

A. According to the source “Under Pressure and Overwhelmed” and I quote, “At its most basic level, anxiety is the apprehension, uneasiness, or worry we experience when we perceive a threat to our security.”

B. Many people confuse the experiences of anxiety with a life that knows nothing but anxiety.

1. Leibow, author of “What to Do When College is Not the Best Time of Your Life” suggests considering the three Is when inquiring about a disorder: intensity (extreme, intolerable), intractable (lingering anxious feeling), and interfere (with daily functioning).

2. A chart displaying some examples comparing a response with and without an anxiety disorder from “Under Pressure and Overwhelmed” may also help us get a better understanding of the difference.

a. Common responses of someone with normal anxiety (and I quote):

i. “Realistic fear of a threatening object, place, or

stimulation.”
ii. “Wanting to be sure that you are healthy and living in a safe, hazard-free environment.”
iii.

“Anxiety, sadness, or difficulty sleeping immediately following a traumatic event.”

b. Common responses of someone with an anxiety disorder (and I quote):

i. “Irrational fear or avoidance of an object, place, or situation that poses little or no threat of danger.”

ii. “Performing uncontrollable, repetitive actions, such as washing your hands repeatedly or checking things over and over.”

iii. “Ongoing and recurring nightmares, flashbacks, or emotional numbing related to a traumatic event in your life that occurred several months or years ago.”

C. One of the more common types of anxiety in college students is test anxiety – the uneasy feeling about a test due to fear or worry, explains “Under Pressure and Overwhelmed”.

a. Also according to “Under Pressure and Overwhelmed”, most students with test anxiety are well aware of the problem in which they suffer.

b. Grayson and Cauley, both of who have a Ph.D., mention that procrastination is often correlated with test anxiety.

i. Not enough studying can lead to extra anxiety and regretting not spending your time more wisely.

ii. Anxious thinking, as I mentioned before, fills up your brain with worried thoughts leaving no room in your brain for the information you need to actually complete the

test.
iii. How many of you view yourself as a perfectionist?
iv. Perfectionism also causes a lot of unnecessary anxiety; for example, when perfectionists receive a test back the first thing they do is see how many they got wrong and then begin to focus on that one you got wrong instead of all those others that were correct.

Transition: Now that you have a basic understanding of anxiety and what it is, let’s learn about how our bodies display this anxiety.

II. By understanding the three different ways our bodies display anxiety, we can learn how to deal with anxiety without creating more anxiety for ourselves by doing things such as managing our time better.
A. According to “Under Pressure and Overwhelmed”, our body expresses anxiety in three main ways: cognitively, physically, and behaviorally.
a. The cognitive aspect of anxiety is the way you interpret a situation.
b. The physical aspect of anxiety are things such as shortness of breath, a racing heart, tense muscles, upset stomach, or unsteadiness, all of which are related to something in our bodies that prepares us to respond to danger.
c. The behavioral aspect is the way a person responds when faced with anxiety; many people approach these situations in different ways such as procrastination, avoidance, overcompensating, or refusal to participate.
B. Time Management can be a really difficult skill to obtain, but once you have it mastered, it will be your key to success in college.
1. “Under Pressure and Overwhelmed” suggests setting goals, learning to say “no” when you need to get things done, and not to forget to give yourself a break every so often.
2. They also suggest that you establish your priorities (you could use something similar to the “Time Management Matrix” given as an example), decide what you need to get done and in what time frame.

Transition: Now that you understand a little bit more about anxiety, coping with day-to-day stressors should be a little easier.

Conclusion:
I. Understanding the differences between regular anxiety and an anxiety disorder, learning how your body communicates anxiety, and improving your time management skills enables you to cope with anxiety much more efficiently.
II. Hopefully you feel a little less anxious about preparing for tests and coping with everyday anxiety symptoms due to a better understanding of what anxiety is and how your body reacts in response to it.
III. Just remember to stop in the Counseling and Testing center here on campus if you ever feel your anxiety getting out of control, or if you would just like to try out their relaxation room, they’re open Monday through Friday from 7:45am to 4:30pm on the second level of Centennial Hall.