A STRESSED TEACHER-----Who,Why&How ?

SAMBIT K.PADHI

Rationale

• A teaching job is a delicate job that requires specific behaviour in the classroom. Teachers need psychological, physical and spiritual balance. Our society expects teachers to be well rounded educationally and emotionally balanced.

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• However, teachers experience a number of different pressures and stressors such as: taking work home, difficult students, difficult classes, lack of administrative support, pressure from parents, teachers’ evaluation, ongoing learning, social isolation, job uncertainty, integration of intelligence and technology, students’ and parents

• Teaching is becoming more challenging as a profession: more paperwork, more bureaucracy and more unruly classes

• A stressed teacher is an unhappy teacher, and, more importantly, is an ineffective teacher

• Introduction Discussion • Group work • Stress presentation • Stress test • Tips for reducing stress and relaxation

techniques

Test Your Stress Level

Answer yes or no to the following questions: 1. Do you worry about the future? 2. Do you sometimes have trouble falling

asleep? 3. Do you often reach for a cigarette, a drink, or

a tranquilizer in order to reduce tension

4.Do you become irritated over basically insignificant matters?

5. Do you have less energy than you seem to need or would like to have?

6. Do you have too many things to do and not enough time to do them

7. Do you have headaches or stomach problems? 8. Do you feel pressure to accomplish or get things done? 9. Are you very concerned about being either well liked

or successful? 10. Do you perform well enough in life to satisfy

yourself? 11. Do you get satisfaction from the small joys or simple

pleasures of life? 12. Are you able to really relax and have fun?

Definition

• stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources that the individual is able to mobilize

• stress is a stimulus which creates a feeling of being blocked or thwarted in satisfying or attaining a goal that the individual perceives as significant.

• Stress is manifested by feelings of frustration, great pressure and lack of control over one’s emotion and environment (Werner, 1980).

Identify the sources of stress in your life

• Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things going on right now”) even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather?

• Do you define stress as an integral part of your work or home life (“Things are always crazy around here”) or as a part of your personality (“I have a lot of nervous energy, that’s all”).

• Do you blame your stress on other people or outside events, or view it as entirely normal and unexceptional

Causes

• External stressors - physical conditions such as heat or cold, stressful psychological environments such as working conditions and abusive relationships, eg., bullying.

• Internal stressors - physical ailments such as infection or inflammation, or psychological problems such as worrying about something

• Stressors are also described Short-term and Long-term

Short-term (acute)- also known as the fight or flight response - noise, over-crowding, danger, bullying or harassment, or even an imagined or recalled threatening experience

• Long-term (chronic)- are those pressures which are ongoing and continuous ongoing pre-ssurised work, ongoing relationship problems, isolation, and persistent financial worries.

causes of stress at work

• These are typical causes of stress at work:• bullying or harassment by anyone, not

necessarily a person's manager • feeling powerless and uninvolved in determining

one's own responsibilities • continuous unreasonable performance demands • lack of effective communication and conflict

resolution

• lack of job security • long working hours • excessive time away from home and family • office politics and conflict among staff • a feeling that one's reward reward is not

commensurate with one's responsibility • working hours, responsibilities and pressures

disrupting life-balance (diet, exercise, sleep and rest, play, family-time, etc)

Signs of stress

• sleep difficulties • loss of appetite • poor concentration or poor memory retention • performance dip • uncharacteristic errors or missed deadlines

• anger or tantrums • violent or anti-social behaviour • emotional outbursts • alcohol or drug abuse • nervous habits

Coping with stress

Unhealthy ways & Healthy way

Unhealthy way-These coping strategies may temporarily reduce stress, but they cause more damage in the long run

• Smoking • Drinking too much

• Overeating or undereating • Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer • Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities • Using pills or drugs to relax • Sleeping too much • Procrastinating • Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing

problems • Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry

outbursts, physical violence)

Dealing with Stressful Situations

The Four A’s• Change the situation:• Avoid the stressor. • Alter the stressor. • Change your reaction: • Adapt to the stressor. • Accept the stressor

Healthy ways to relax and recharge

• Go for a walk. • Spend time in nature. • Call a good friend. • Sweat out tension with a good workout. • Write in your journal. • Take a long bath. • Light scented candles

• Savor a warm cup of coffee or tea. • Play with a pet. • Work in your garden. • Get a massage. • Curl up with a good book. • Listen to music. • Watch a comedy