anxiety about going on school camp

[jenekay]

hi 😄 this is my first time on beyond blue and idk how this stuff works, so please feel free to tell me if i've accidentally done something considered rude

basically, school camp is in a few months but i've been really stressed about it lately. whenever someone mentions it my heartrate spikes and i feel like crying cause im so scared about going on camp. ive narrowed it down to 3 things, but im not really sure how to deal with them so if someone could share coping strategies that would be great.

1. homesick
like most people, i do get homesick on camp. i had a counsellor last year because i was struggling with camp as well and together we made a booklet with little messages from my parents to cheer me up, but it didn't work that well because whenever i read it i would start crying and it would make me more homesick. preferably i can just forget about home and not have constant reminders about who's not there with me when im on camp.

2. scared of exercise?

going from walking 5km a day to 20km+ for 4 days is quite a big change for me, and since i'm not the most athletic of people im worried i wont be able to keep up, and also when i get tired i get really sad and start feeling emotional? which doesn't help with the homesickness at all.

3. no friends

our year level coordinator tries to separate us from our friends during school camp, because she wants us to make new friends, but as an introvert i find that very difficult. the previous years i've mostly spent the 4 days by myself trailing after the rest of the group, with just the teacher to talk to.

thats basically a summary of why i really dislike camp this year, if you bothered to read this then thank you 🙂 have a nice day!

- Jen

[Sophie_M]

Hi jenekay,

Welcome to the forums and thank you for sharing your story with us here.

We are sorry to hear that you have been really stressed about your upcoming school camp. We understand how overwhelming things like this can be, so we just want to remind you that you are not alone and there is always support available to you. 

If you would like to talk to someone, the Beyond Blue Support Service is available 24/7 by phone on 1300 22 4636 or on Webchat 1pm-12am AEST on our website: www.beyondblue.org.au/getsupport  One of our friendly counsellors will be able to talk through these feelings with you and can offer support, advice and referrals. Or if you feel it may be helpful, you are always welcome to get in touch with Kids Helpline. They are a confidential and anonymous, telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged 25 and under.   We hope that you will find some comfort here on the forums. 

[Petal22]

Hi jenekay,

Wellcome to our forums!

Im sorry you are feeling this way I understand it would be difficult for you.

Have you been able to speak to your parents about the way you are feeling about going on camp?

I understand all of your reasons I felt similar to you when I was younger.

[Croix]

Dear Jen~

I'd like to join Sophie_M in welcoming you here, Sophie gives good advice, particularly about the Kids Help Line. Both places she mentions have on-line chat if you do not feel like talking.

https://kidshelpline.com.au/get-help/webchat-counselling
https://online.beyondblue.org.au/#/chat/start

OK, but there is something else. Just because you are a young person does not mean you are not entitled to have ideas -which may well be right. At the moment you are in distress well in advance of the camp -and you know why. You are assuming you must do everything in the camp wihtout question.

It may well be if you explain to the teacher that wants to split you up it does not work, and you end up alone. To the the teacher that wants 20k walks that one has to build up to such things and you are not confident you could do the same as some others, and lagging behind makes you feel bad.

Point out how upset it is making you now, months in advance, and see if a compromise can be reached. With your friends at least some of the time, ramping up walks from what you normally do and slowly build better with supervision and encouragement.

A reasonable teacher should at least listen, and may well take your feelings into account.

Do you think you'd be able to do that? An easy way might be just to show your post - which explains it all very clearly.

You have used a councilor before, and maybe have a favorite teacher. Perhaps if you do not want to talk to the teacher concerned with the camp you could show your post to these and ask them to intervene.

As for homesickness, I think while your councilor had a good idea, it did the opposite of what was intended, and just reminded you of all you were missing.

There is no magic formula for homesickness, the best I can say is the more involved and occupied you are by interesting, fun or enjoyable things at the camp the less you will feel it.That's how I got though cadets camps.

So what do you think?

Croix

[sbella02]

Hey Jen,

Thank you so much for your post, welcome to our forums! We're happy to see you join our community.

I get where you're coming from about your school camp. I've graduated now, but I remember when I was still at school (especially when I was younger), I used to get quite stressed about going on camps because I'd get homesick too. We weren't allowed to bring our phones, and I remember that for one of the camps I went on, my parents had arranged for my teachers to keep my SIM card with them so that on break times I could put it back into my phone and call them so I felt less homesick. I'm not quite sure whether or not this will help, but I also kept a diary on most of my camps so that I could recall everything I did and tell my family when I got home. This helped me to reframe my thoughts from missing my parents, to looking forward to sharing everything with them at the end.

Your point about excessive exercise also hits home for me, as somebody who wasn't the most athletically inclined person when I was younger. Do you have people in your camping group (if you know who's in it yet) who would be happy to walk with you, or even one of the teachers? You could even have a chat to the teachers in private about your concerns, and see what they suggest.

With regards to teachers separating friends, I always got annoyed when they did this, as I find that only tends to work for the people in school who are very comfortable and confident socially. I was quite shy in school and had difficulty making friends on camps and events like that. Your post also reminded me a lot of my younger sister, who is still in school and is highly introverted. She also has difficulty in environments where she doesn't know people very well, or doesn't have many friends in. My parents ended up having a chat to the teachers about this, and asked if she could have at least one of her friends in her camping group so that she felt more comfortable. You could always ask your parents/teachers if this is a possibility.

Are there any activities on this camp that you're excited for? Is there anything you'd feel happy if you achieved or accomplished on this camp? You could always find a challenge you'd like to overcome on this camp, you may find that it'll give you something to distract yourself from your feelings of homesickness.

Feel free to chat some more with us!

All the best, SB

[geoff]

Hello Jen, you have done nothing wrong and it reminds me of when I had to go on school camp many years ago and felt exactly the same as you, even though I had a twin going.

I was told to take it one day at a time and found out much later on that it wasn't missing my family, I was missing my room because months later my parents took my twin and myself away but I also got homesick, so I was missing my surroundings, the comfort of my room, so it wasn't missing my parents.

Don't forget that your teacher may also be feeling just like you and would appreciate someone taking the time to talk with them.

Take something small from your room you can attach yourself to.

Best wishes.

Geoff.