Stress-busting tips for teachers!
It's a well known fact that stress in the workplace occurs time
after time and perhaps even more so in the education setting. Teaching has a
particular tendency for causing stress due to the intensive nature of the work
during term time, especially with the increased amounts of bureaucracy that
needs to be dealt with before you spend any time in the classroom.
For this reason, we need to learn to recognise and cope with our
stress. That can be easier said than done, so how do we best 'cope' with stress?
Whether we’re an experienced teacher, or are about to embark on teaching our
first class we need to know how we are going to deal with stress - before it
deals with us.
Find a close friend or colleague that we can share our concerns
with. Make a list of people and situations that make us feel ‘hot under the
collar’.
First and foremost, we need balance, so take the holistic view.
We need to arrange our life so that we have time for essential rest and play, as
well as work. We need to manage our time…if we do this effectively we will
hopefully eliminate one of the worst stress-makers - lack of time!
There are many ways to avoid stress - listen to relaxing music,
exercising, reading or pursuing other leisure activities. These techniques allow
us to relax because we 'switch off' and concentrate on the lighter side of life.
We forget about work or worries and change our mindset to 'happy' instead of
'anxious'. To be less stressed during term time we need to try to switch off
from our marking and lesson plans at least one day a week and allow ourselves
time to pursue some completely different… an activity that we really enjoy.
And how about indulging ourselves in some real deep relaxation
therapies? Therapies such as massage or aromatherapy treatments can really allow
is to relax, refresh and revive our tired mind and body. Try to set aside time
for solitude and quiet, time for being ‘me’, time to be calm and relaxed.
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