08/22/2026
School anxiety can look like refusal, tears, stomach aches, anger, shutdown or a child simply saying, “I don’t want to go.”
But underneath those visible behaviours, the brain’s alarm system may already be working incredibly hard.
The amygdala is constantly scanning for possible threat. If school has repeatedly become associated with sensory overload, difficult work, social uncertainty, separation, masking, fear of getting things wrong or feeling overwhelmed, the brain can begin to anticipate that difficulty before it has even happened.
And this is where we can see anxiety start to spread.
First it might be one lesson.
Then entering the classroom.
Then getting dressed.
Then the night before.
Eventually, simply thinking about school may be enough to activate the stress response.
This is why identifying what is driving the anxiety for this particular child matters so much.
When I work with a child, I’m not simply asking, “How do we get them into school?” I’m asking, “What is activating their alarm system — and what can we change, support or help them learn to manage?”
The earlier we understand the why, the greater our opportunity to prevent that alarm response becoming stronger and more generalised.
📌 For instructions on how to download the School Anxiety Guide, please see the page for the launch post.
