With our entire nation and the world dealing with a public health crisis, it is inevitable that people are experiencing worry, anxiety, fears and a sense of everything being out of control. These feelings are real and understandable in the unique times we are living in! As Dr. Scott Poland, Ed.D. shared in our recent webinar, coping with our emotional state constructively and adjusting to the rapid changes around us is essential to our mental health.
As educators, you may have found that being out of the classroom and off campus was disorienting. It’s also possible that the prospect of returning to school is causing concerns as well. Will you be able to protect yourself and your students? How will the routine change and physical distancing be managed? What will happen with class size and time management?
"Recognize when stress is affecting you to avoid responding to emotions negatively."
If all of this is overwhelming, we suggest you remember the acronym CALM:
Control – focus on the things that you do have control over
Awareness – be alert to your own emotions and the factors that affect them
Limit – keep your exposure to media limited and your expectations for yourself reasonable
Manage – maintain your activity schedule and acknowledge emotions before they reach a peak
Emotional awareness is a skill for recognizing when stress is affecting you and to avoid responding to stress-induced emotions negatively. Watch for these signs of adult stress:
- Anxiety, worry and fear that begin to consume your time and energy
- Feeling on edge
- Changes in your appetite and physical activity
- Problems with sleeping
- Irritability
- Increased drug or alcohol use
When you become aware of the signs stress is affecting you, it’s the time to take action to bring your responses to your stresses under your control. A few suggested coping approaches include:
- Self-care “first aid”, such as deep breathing, stretches, meditation and exercise
- Stay in the moment and resist worrying about things that haven’t happened yet
- Remember that you have the choice about how you respond
- Connect with friends and family who have been supportive to you
- Seek help if you think about endangering yourself. Call the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Distress Help Line at 800-985-5900
Even in the midst of this pandemic and the emotional toll it is causing, we will get through this and we can be resilient!