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Bestselling Author and Clinical Psychologist Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary Visits GPS for Two-Part Event
In our ongoing commitment to the health and wellness of our students and through our partnership with McCallie, we were pleased to welcome Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, a clinical psychologist and researcher and digital health technology entrepreneur, to campus last week.
On Tuesday, September 17, Dr. Dennis-Tiwary spoke to parents in Frierson Theatre. The following day she addressed students.
In her evening talk with parents, Dr. Dennis-Tiwary started with a picture of Dr. Scott Parazynski, who became famous for performing the longest spacewalk in history at the time to repair a fully energized solar array. Dr. Dennis-Tiwary said she had the opportunity to interview him on stage once, asking him, “How did you do it?” His response, “Anxiety.”
The bestselling author of Future Tense, Dr. Dennis-Tiwary argues we need a new framework for defining and managing anxiety—our brains’ response to uncertainty. “The language of anxiety is one of dysfunction and despair,” she said. “It puts us in a mindset of danger and alarm.” In reality, she says, “Anxiety can be an advantage–it’s what happens when we think about a plan for an uncertain future–it contains hope.”
Dr. Dennis-Tiwary argues that we can’t eradicate anxiety completely, and more importantly, we shouldn’t try to. Anxiety evolved to help us imagine, plan, and prepare for tomorrow—it makes us more future-oriented and persistent so we can chase our goals. If we can learn to experience the healthy aspects of anxiety, and work through the difficult parts, we’ll be better equipped to face our uncertain future with hope, tenacity, and courage.
After explaining the difference between normal anxiety and anxiety disorders, which require a different response, Dr. Dennis-Tiwary offered three steps for changing our mindset about anxiety and helping our daughters manage their own anxiety: Listen, Leverage, and Let Go.
Following examples for each, she answered crowd questions.
The next afternoon, Dr. Dennis-Tiwary met with students in grades eight through 12 to speak on the same topic. She told them, “Avoidance amplifies anxiety. But it also keeps us from building coping skills; no one can learn to work through tough emotions if they’re not allowed to feel them.” Ultimately, the goal, she explained, isn’t to NOT feel anxiety. “It’s to learn how to feel anxious so it doesn’t block you.”
She continued by telling the students the increased awareness of anxiety and mental health is good because it allows us to be real and vulnerable, but sometimes our awareness can lead to overthinking in unhelpful ways. Defining some age-appropriate examples, such as perfectionism vs. excellentism in the classroom, arts, and athletics, she offered tips for embracing anxiety as it relates to test prep and more, including everything from mental to physical exercises to managing procrastination.
If you have any questions about how GPS can partner with you as you navigate your daughter’s social and emotional wellbeing, please reach out to Kathryn Outlaw, Director of Student Support, or your division level counselor, Marci Waldorf, for Upper School, and Casey Caldwell Santos ’08, for Middle School.
