Stress Management

30.11.09

To ensure that all of our students and ourselves are aware and prepared for the onset of stress, a proactive class activity is to:

• conduct a class brainstorm and compile a list of possible stressors that may push our buttons
• create a plan of attack for each of them to minimise their impact
• ask students to individually identify their stressors and build their personal defence plans
• then ask them to share their plans with their family and critical friend
• it would benefit us also to design our own stress plan
• adopting this positive approach is preventative rather than curative

During this class activity, it is well worth sowing seeds about students (and us) being wary of adopting a “victim mentality” of:

• blaming others for their problems and situation
• justifying their actions to ourselves
• storytelling and minimising their contribution

It only aggravates the stressful situation; the keys are to face up to and share the issue.

The following strategies will prove successful in keeping stress at bay for both ourselves and our students:

• create regular non-negotiable time for ourselves; totally personal timeout
• exercise regularly; minimum 4 to 5 times weekly for 30 minutes
• don’t attend every school function or activity
• avoid excessive processed food, caffeine and alcohol
• eat healthy brain food such as nuts, cereals, grains, green leaf vegetables and fruit
• realise that the school can operate without us; no one is indispensable
• accept that colleagues may not be as passionate as us or may show it in different ways
• categorise our activities using 2x2 Matrix of Importance versus Urgency; very often after doing this, we realise that we devote much of our time and energy to “busy operational” work, rather than focussing on our core business of teaching and learning
• try something different; another leisure activity, catch a film, eat out somewhere different, window shop for cars, houses etc, visit somewhere different, walk in a public garden etc

It is no accident that certain people manage stress effectively because they:

• realise that it has the capacity to be a debilitating influence, if not well planned for
• are strategic and disciplined in their approach

Unfortunately, far too many of us “mature” adults adopt the very common adolescent attitude that “it won’t happen to me”, the reality is that it does.
Be very sure of one thing, should the stressors not be addressed properly, there is a real chance that distress may develop into more serious physical and mental illnesses and disorders. We can ignore it in the short term, but it won’t just go away on its own.

In class we spend much of our time encouraging and empowering our students to be self managed and take responsibility for their lives.
- let’s all role model this, particularly in relation to stress.

“Never get activity mixed up with action”   MW