{"id":3996,"date":"2014-11-05T05:47:08","date_gmt":"2014-11-05T05:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/?p=3996"},"modified":"2026-03-30T10:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T10:45:00","slug":"dyslexia-stress-anxiety-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/dyslexia-stress-anxiety-connection\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dyslexia-Stress-Anxiety Connection"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Dyslexia-Stress-Anxiety Connection
\nImplications for Academic Performance and Social Interactions<\/h3>\n

\"International<\/p>\n

What is stress?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stress is the reaction of the body and brain to situations that put us in harm\u2019s way. The stressor may be a physical threat (e.g., a baseball coming quickly toward you) or a psychological threat (e.g., a worry or fear that you will make a mistake delivering your lines in a play or write a passage that won\u2019t make sense to the reader). Stress, or more specifically, the stress response, is our body\u2019s attempt to keep us safe from harm. It\u2019s a biological and psychological response. When we\u2019re under stress, the chemistry of our body and our brain (and,\u00a0therefore, our thinking) changes. A part of the brain called the amygdala does a great job learning what\u2019s dangerous, and it makes a connection between certain situations and negative outcomes.<\/p>\n

How does good and bad stress work with dyslexia?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Individuals with dyslexia are confronted regularly by tasks that are, either in reality or in their perception, extremely difficult for them. These tasks might be reading, spelling, or math. If they have experienced success at mastering this kind of task in the past, good stress helps them face the challenge with a sense of confidence, based on the belief that \u201cI can do this kind of task.\u201d If, on the other hand, someone has met with repeated failure when attempting this or a similar task in the past, his or her body and brain may be working together\u00a0to send out a chemical warning system that gets translated as \u201cThis is going to be way too difficult for you! Retreat! Retreat!) That\u2019s bad stress in action.<\/p>\n

And remember, perception is everything! It doesn\u2019t matter if a teacher, a friend, or a spouse believes that you can do something; it\u2019s that you think you can do it that matters.<\/p>\n

What is anxiety?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anxiety comes in many forms. It can be situational (that is, specific to one kind or class of worry, like traveling or being in social situations). Individuals with dyslexia may experience marked anxiety in situations in which they feel they will make mistakes, be ridiculed, or made to feel foolish in front of others. Severe anxiety or fears are known as phobias.<\/p>\n

When the anxiety is specific to or triggered by the demands of being with or interacting with people, and is characterized by a strong fear of being judged by others and of being embarrassed, it is known as social anxiety disorder (or social phobia). This fear can be so intense that it gets in the way of going to work or school or doing everyday activities. Children and adults with social phobia may worry about social events for weeks before they happen. For some people, social phobia is specific to certain situations, while others may feel anxious
\nin a variety of social situations.<\/p>\n

Anxiety can also be generalized (that is, a kind of free-floating sense of worry or impending trouble that doesn\u2019t seem to be specific to one trigger or event). In its more serious form, this is considered a psychiatric disorder known as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). According to the National Institutes of Mental Health website http:\/\/www.nimh.nih.gov\/health\/topics\/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad\/index.shtml:<\/p>\n

GAD is diagnosed when a person worries excessively about a variety of everyday problems for at least 6 months. Generalized anxiety disorders affect about 3.1% American adults age 18 years and older (about 18%) in a given year, causing them to be filled with fearfulness and uncertainty. The average age of onset is 31 years old.<\/p>\n

How is anxiety different from stress?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Simply put, anxiety is a state of worry about what might be\u2014as compared to stress, which is a reaction to what is. Both stress and anxiety trigger the same chemical reactions in the brain, which does a really good job remembering negative experiences. If you worry all the time about something bad happening to you, that puts you in a state of chronic stress. Individuals with dyslexia worry about reading, writing, and arithmetic much of the time. The irony is, the more they master, the more work they get. It\u2019s an unending cycle.<\/p>\n

Individuals with dyslexia may have learned that being in the company of others places them at risk for making public mistakes and the inevitable negative reactions that may ensue. It makes sense, then, that many people with dyslexia have become withdrawn, sought the company of younger people, or become social isolates.<\/p>\n

How can individuals with dyslexia move from distress to DE-STRESS?<\/strong><\/p>\n