Essays Make Me Anxious: 5 Ways to Deal with Writing Anxiety
Suffering from the fear of the blank page, getting stuck in the middle of the essay having no clue what to write next, starting a paper from scratch numerous times because it’s not good enough—these are examples of writing anxiety that are familiar to all students. Anxiety makes order an essay unbearable. When it rises to extreme levels, it impedes your progress and prevents you from getting the grades you deserve. Let’s take a look at the nature of writing anxiety with its causes and effects and find ways to get it under control.
What Is Writing Anxiety?
Writing anxiety is an informal term that describes negative feelings associated with writing. It may manifest itself as excessive worry, agitation, and lack of confidence. Writing anxiety may even cause physical symptoms like trembling, dizziness, pacing, and nausea.
Some people experience it regardless of writing activity, while others suffer from writing anxiety while working on a certain type of paper or subject. For example, you may write a short story without the slightest strain but feel uneasy about starting an argumentative essay.
Causes of Writing Anxiety
Knowing what makes you anxious about writing is key to handling the feeling. In most cases, these are factors like:
- Fear to get a less-than-perfect grade;
- Tough competition;
- The need to learn a new type of writing;
- Tight deadline;
- Fear of judgment;
- Exaggerated importance of the task;
- Lack of confidence;
- Overly critical environment;
- Pressure from parents.
Most students have experienced at least one of these stressors at some point during their studies. If you feel that you’re overwhelmed and writing anxiety impedes your progress, it might be a good idea for you to take a break and recharge. You can pay for essay writing and get more free time to deal with personal or academic issues that cause your anxiety. Meanwhile, expert essay writers will handle your papers to help you excel in college.
Effects of Writing Anxiety
Writing anxiety results in a number of negative consequences that can influence a student’s performance:
- A student becomes more likely to procrastinate and postpone writing till the last minute. As a result, they often end up being even more stressed because of the lack of time to research, outline, and edit their paper properly.
- Writing anxiety might have a crippling effect that prevents a student from working on the task entirely.
- Without feeling confident in their abilities, a student might devote too much time to the task, revising and rewriting their draft dozens of times. This results in excessive stress and makes a student mentally exhausted.
Ways to Handle Writing Anxiety
Luckily, there are a few strategies that can help you deal with writing anxiety and approach your college papers in a more healthy manner.
1. Get Help
Writing is a complex process. It might be challenging to navigate through on your own. If you experience writing anxiety, contact a writing center at your institution and find a mentor or academic advisor who can support you. There are also professional resources like EssayService that can craft an essay for you. Another way to deal with anxiety is to join a writing club and find friends to study together and talk through your struggles.
2. Practice Freewriting
Freewriting is a useful warm-up exercise for your “writing muscles” that allows you to let go of the expectations and get started. All you need to do is to grab a piece of paper, choose a topic, and set a time frame. Allow yourself to write down anything that pops up in your mind without worrying about structure and grammar. You may use this practice as a brainstorming activity to gather ideas for your paper.
3. Create an Outline
Sometimes anxiety results from a lack of organization. In such cases, a simple outline can help you structure your ideas and overcome negative feelings. Start by reading the assignment carefully to make sure you understand the prompt. Then, figure out the main ideas and develop a thesis. Add sub-points, evidence, and any other important details. Finally, make sure that the outline has a logical structure. When moving on to drafting, you can start from any point in your outline that you feel most comfortable with to break the ice.
4. Exercise
Physical exercise is an effective intervention if you want to overcome anxiety. Research shows that regular physical activity has a positive psychological impact and boosts a person’s cognitive functioning and wellbeing. It triggers the release of growth factors in the brain, which results in a better mood as well as reduced stress and anxiety levels. Besides, exercise stimulates the release of dopamine and serotonin that help you relax and stay positive.
5. Change Your Mindset
Having a growth mindset is a secret to dealing with writing anxiety. Treat challenges as the opportunity to become a better writer. Every new paper you create, even if it’s not perfect, takes you a step forward. You develop your strengths, learn new techniques, and become more knowledgeable about different subject areas. The challenges you’re facing now will pay off, making you more resilient and experienced. Your future self will thank you for embracing them and never giving up.
The Bottom Line
Nobody is immune to writing anxiety. Even professional authors sometimes feel uneasy about writing. However, instead of letting it undermine their progress, they learn how to get the feeling under control and write despite their anxiety. You can do the same! Put the situation in perspective and identify the triggers. Try freewriting and outlining, exercise regularly, develop a growth mindset, and get support from people who care about you to manage negative feelings associated with writing.
