Stress management for teachers

Stress is a daily part of our lives. A certain amount of stress is healthy and helps us to respond to challenges and obstacles. Regular high levels of stress can however lead to anxiety, depression and physical ailments. We can’t completely eliminate stress, but we can learn how to manage and deal with it in an effective way. Here are a few ways to address the issue of stress, before it becomes unmanageable.

Breathing exercises

We usually forget about this easy, calming way to automatically feel better when stressed. Breathe deeply by inhaling through your nose for a few seconds and exhaling through your mouth for the same amount of time. Keep this up for a few minutes. Make this a daily habit and introduce breathing into your life by doing it at a set time every day and when you feel particularly under pressure.

Focus on what you can control

Once we start feeling anxious and stressed, we lose perspective and focus on things outside of our control. It is important to remind yourself of those experiences, events and situations that you can control and those which you cannot. Do not stress about events that you can’t control, because worrying will not result in a different outcome.

Work-life balance

It is necessary to set boundaries and say no to projects to protect your energy. You can decline extra responsibilities or projects politely when you know that it will make you feel overwhelmed. Make sure that you thoughtfully schedule your time between work and your personal life and hold yourself accountable to your planned calendar by avoiding to work over weekend or late in the evenings. If you know that it is crunch time and you will have to put in a few more hours, start an hour or two earlier if possible.

Exercise

Exercise has many stress-relieving properties. It increases endorphins and can give you an instant mood boost. Exercising regularly will do wonders for your overall health and well-being. To reap the benefits of being active, you don’t have to do strenuous workouts. You can go for a 20-minute walk or easy hike to unwind.

Use helpful resources

Use resources to educate yourself about stress and techniques to handle it. You can use meditation apps like Headspace or Calm to do guided activities that helps with stress relief. You can listen to podcasts like the Teacher Self-Care Podcast and Teacher’s Aid which discuss topic such as self-cate and managing teacher stress. Books like The Happy Teacher’s Handbook and Today I Made a Difference will help you to feel motivated and inspired. The resources that can help you are really endless.

Stress makes us feel worried, anxious, fearful and overwhelmed. By managing stress we will start feeling happy and inspired again.  How you respond to stress will help you to avoid burnout or will be part in causing it. By managing your stress you’ll become a better teacher to your students.