Eleven years ago, I got my first assistant head job at a local primary school. Aged 30, I’d done the subject leader stuff and the phase leader stuff, and now I was embarking on a whole new adventure.
Little did I know what was in store.
Using the word ‘adventure’ there is deliberate. Perhaps it makes you think of Frodo in Lord of the Rings, skipping out of the Shire at the beginning of the story and following Gandalph with a spring in his step. Unaware of the turmoil and struggle ahead.
I was Frodo. Skipping out of phase leadership and into assistant headship - minus the hairy feet.
Four years later, I still resembled Frodo. But the Frodo crawling out from Mount Doom. A shadow of my former self and exhausted from the stress of my job. Emotional at the drop of a hat, barely eating. At least I wasn’t missing a finger - silver lining and all that.
What I was missing was a way to manage my stress levels.
Teachers and stress - quite the double act
It often feels like being a teacher and feeling stressed go hand-in-hand. Like Ant and Dec, French and Saunders or Morecambe and Wise. You can’t seem to have one without the other. Furthermore, stress is accepted in the teaching profession. It’s part and parcel of the job, right? You want to feel less stressed? “Get a different job,” seems to be the retort.
Stress management for teachers is often given a cursory nod at best. Any of these sound familiar?
- “We’ll get pizzas in on a Friday; that’ll help!”
- “You just need to manage your time better.”
- “It’s part of being a teacher!”
And my personal favourite: “Just make sure you put your feet up during the holidays.”
As a result, teachers live their lives from holiday to holiday. Weekend to weekend. Hoping that this time, they really will be able to rest and relax - and lower their stress levels. But the reality is that stress management needs to be an ongoing part of your life. Not treated like a trip to get your roots done in the half-term break.
As we know, the system is broken. It ain’t going to be fixed any time soon, either - change has to start from the top, and quite frankly, Rishi and his gang don’t seem that bothered. It’s down to you to grab stress by the scruff of the neck and manage it on your terms. No one is going to do it for you. I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but it comes from a place of empowerment, not criticism. From experience, not denial.
So what can you do?
Managing your stress levels
Stress management for teachers doesn’t just include looking after your mental health. Stress can affect your physical health, too - especially if it’s chronic (long-term) stress over a period of months. Much like the stress I felt during my years as an assistant - and then deputy - head.
When we experience high levels of stress, our body goes into a "fight or flight" response. This response is a natural physiological reaction that prepares the body to deal with a perceived threat. During this response, the body releases several hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, which can significantly impact our physical and mental health.
When we’re constantly in ‘fight or flight’ mode, our body starts to struggle. From cardiovascular disease and digestive issues to a weakened immune system and chronic pain and inflammation, our bodies have to do something with the stress we’re experiencing, and these issues can result.
If you feel like you’re experiencing or struggling with chronic stress, here’s what you can do right now to make some changes.
- Awareness - is the most crucial factor when it comes to stress management. Maybe, as I did, you’ve been ignoring it or trying to suppress it. However, becoming aware that the problem exists - and admitting it to yourself - is the most important first step. You can learn more about the signs of stress and burnout in this video from Dr Rangan Chatterjee.
Use these feelings as a signal to tell you something; it reduces unnecessary stress – i.e. stressing about stress. In other words, don’t try and fight it or be worried that you’re stressed. Instead, go with it and believe it will pass but ask yourself what the stress tells you. How can you listen to it and use it as a signal for what you need to do?
- Communication - talking about what you’re experiencing sounds so obvious, but often we try to hide how we feel for fear of looking as though we can’t cope. But, as you now know, suppressing those emotions can contribute to a whole host of health issues. Who you speak to is up to you, but if you can talk to a professional, it would be a great place to start. If that’s too much for you, open up to a family member or friend. If neither of those things appeals, speak to someone at Education Support.
- Action - what that action looks like depends on your situation. You likely have a boundaries issue - I know I did! Setting clear expectations with others is vital; sticking to them? Even more so. Take the time to look at each area of your teaching life. What boundaries do you need to put in place? Write down precisely what you’ll say when someone pushes those boundaries - thus removing the overwhelm and that ‘thinking on the spot’ problem.
Something else to put in place is learning to say ‘no’ - as a recovering people-pleaser, I found this super hard at first. But I learned that there are many different ways of saying ‘no’ without feeling icky.
A simple way that our Head of Happiness, Stephanie Davies, advocates is giving yourself time to respond. Acknowledge the request, but say you’ll get back to them. It gives you time to craft a response that doesn’t feel pressured. This video by Stephanie about people-pleasing gives you three simple and helpful tips.
Viewing stress differently
Before we love you and leave you, we thought we’d just mention that not all stress is bad. In fact, stress didn’t always have such a bad rep. When Hungarian endocrinologist and pioneering stress researcher Hans Selye brought the word into the medical lexicon, he defined it simply as “the nonspecific response of the body to any demand.”
The body’s stress response is designed to help us thrive and survive when faced with threats or challenges to our existence and our goals. Unfortunately, for many years, the spotlight has been on the negative aspects of stress.
However, research published in 2013 showed that when people under a lot of stress believed it was good for them, they fared better than people who thought it was bad for them.
Sometimes, changing our mindset towards stress can help - even if it sounds difficult.
Ultimately, there is no magic bullet when it comes to stress management - the harsh truth is that nothing will end stress once and for all. Instead, we have to work on managing it daily rather than letting it build up and overwhelm us.
The small changes you make to your stress management can significantly impact your health and wellbeing. Helping you be more Frodo in the Shire than you ever thought possible.
If you’d like support with mental health and wellbeing in your school, check out our Mental Wellbeing workshop or contact our Doug - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. He hasn’t got hairy feet, either.
