Stress is great. Your body’s in-built stress response enables you to react brilliantly and deal with things in the short term. But just like a tap filling a bath – left on too long, there’s going to be a flood.
Your teaching day is demanding: planning, meetings, teaching, marking, discipline issues, sorting resources, parent consultations… to name a few. And let’s not forget your life beyond the job.
Let it out!
So learn to pull the plug. Just for a moment. Even one minute here and there will keep you in control – and the water safely in the bath.
In fact, just turning off the stress tap for even a minute can prevent long term health issues and give you a sense of control. Leave the tap on: stress can build up, and without release lead to long term problems.
Teacher Tips: Instant Action in Your Hands
Let’s be realistic. No one is going to tell you to take a break or grant you ten minutes off in the middle of a hands-on lesson. So it’s up to you to take responsibility for yourself.
Tip 1
Pause reminder
Great! You’ve got the idea, and even given yourself permission to pause. But for this to work, you’re going to need a simple visual reminder.
Scribble a pause sign (the one with the two vertical lines inside a circle) onto a few pieces of paper and place them in locations you will notice during the day: laptop cover, car seat, wallet, coat pocket, on a pinboard in the classroom, back of the door. Anywhere!
Every time you see it, take in a lovely, long deep breath; hold it a moment and let it go slowly. No one will even notice. Maybe try another, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try to breathe out for a few seconds longer than you breathe in. Repeat a few more times, rolling your shoulders and having a sneaky stretch.
Tip 2
Read this! (It will take less than a minute!)
Knowledge is Key. Realising what is happening means that you can gauge your body better.
When stress is in the air, your ANS (Autonomic System) kicks in. To deal with the situation, your brain gives instructions beyond your conscious control. The result is an increase in pulse, faster breathing and high levels of alertness. Stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline are released and digestion is affected, or even stops.
When the stressful situation is over, the brain normally releases hormones that bring everything back into balance. However… during a heavy day’s teaching, that rarely happens. And you can’t afford to wait until the end of the day.
Results of never giving yourself permission to pause could be:
- Exhaustion and burnout.
- Eventual shutting off of the immune system leading to illness.
- High blood pressure, heart problems, stroke, high cholesterol levels.
- Internal stress, too. Subconsciously we may believe we are weak if we stop. Teachers are terrors for this belief.
- Spending every holiday ill as your body tries to catch up
Remember, people who appear calm and coping may be quietly experiencing stress beyond what is healthy. With a little knowledge, you can unwind the tension. Every little helps.
Tip 3
Take your favourite place to work
Think about a place special to you that makes you feel calm. Perhaps it’s somewhere you visited, or a childhood memory. Maybe you instantly know where that is and can feel it right away.
If nothing springs to mind, then build it for yourself. Take time to make it just right. Include personal calm colours and sounds… and even aromas. You might be secure in a small place, or staring out over a view. Ensure the image feels comfortable. And then breathe.
Practise closing your eyes and conjuring your favourite place of relaxation. You can’t do this too often! Spend a few minutes there, feeling your body and mind unwinding.
Now - when you notice the pause button you made, you can close your eyes for a second, or simply imagine being in this place. Add it to the breathing in Tip 1 and you’ll benefit immediately. Pause…visualise… breathe...relax.
Tip 4
Jaw ache
Oh boy, do teachers talk a lot. And tension is often held in the jaw, with some teachers even clenching their teeth. So a stressed teacher will have a double whammy of tension and jaw ache to contend with.
Spot that pause button sign you put up?
Give your neck a gentle roll, and open and close your mouth. Puffing out your cheeks will bring a spot of relief, too. Carefully move your jaw from side to side. Check your teeth aren’t touching. Add a shoulder shrug or two, and you’ve let at least a litre of tension (sorry – water!) out of the bath.
Tip 5
Write it down
You’re getting better! All these pause signs and breathing tips are keeping the lid on things and helping your natural stress system realign and reduce the fight or flight response.
However, what if the stress factor isn’t general, but specific? A niggling issue at the back of your mind, or an event that’s triggered a tense response you can’t let go. You can breathe… visualise… all of those things. But sometimes getting it out of your head and onto paper is more helpful.
Keep a notebook in your bag… or simply grab a scrap piece of paper and scribble a symbol on the back of that means something only to you. Getting ‘the thing’ out in the open tells your subconscious that you’re aware and will handle it at the right time. And then let it go.
In just a minute, the process of taking it from the back of your mind and onto the paper can really help. You can then put the paper out of sight – or even screw it up and throw it in the bin!
In summary:
The bad news: teachers’ lives are unlikely to become stress-free.
The good news? You can take some control.
- Print off, or make, some pause signs (or any symbol that means something to you). Then practise these ‘minute or less’ ideas.
- Understand that your body’s stress responses need you to help the hormones rebalance regularly.
- Breathe, visualise, stretch. Even if you only reduce tension by 10%, it is better than nothing.
- Do it often. A learned response will soon make each time more effective – and feel good.
- Why not share part of the secret with your class. Pupils need to pause, too!
- Give yourself permission to pause!