Heading 1NDMTSS Conference
Description
Teachers have always needed to know and practice protective strategies in their social emotional first aid kits to manage the daily stressors of working on the front lines of a human-service oriented profession. That need has never been greater given the massive increase in uncertainty and unpredictability in the teaching profession and in one's personal life due to COVID.
In short, teaching is emotional labor-- the effort required to manage and metabolize strong emotions like anger, shame, guilt, anxiety, and overwhelm, as well as generate and stoke positive emotions like joy, hope, and compassion.
Stress significantly diminishes a teacher's capacity to regulate their negative emotions and cultivate positive emotions. Ironically, teachers who leave the profession often cite their inability to cope with their own emotional reactions to loss of control, unpredictability, and lack of purpose in their teaching as the primary reason for burnout.
There are many, many strategies and practices rooted in cognitive and affective neuroscience and social and behavioral sciences that teachers can learn, practice, and integrate into their personal and professional lives as teachers to metabolize stress, manage negative energy, protect themselves from the burnout cycle, and find joy in teaching the whole year through!
Learning Objectives
In this session, teachers will:
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Explore the core elements of the teacher burnout cycle and learn how to protect one's self from the 2 paths to burning out,
Toxic Stress
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Chronic exposure to stressful situations where one PERCEIVES the situation as a threat vs. a challenge.
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Brain and body adapt to consistent hyper-arousal.
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Activates trauma reactions (flight, fight, flee) in body.
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Revs up the inflammatory system, shooting stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) throughout the body.
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Impairs mood regulation, emotional regulation, shortens one's "window of tolerance."
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Diminishes one's ability to access "higher brain" in the pre-frontal cortex.
Secondary Trauma
Symptoms
aka: Compassion Fatigue, Vicarious Trauma
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diminished joy toward things once loved
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feeling trapped by one's work
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feelings of hopelessness associate with teaching
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dealing with intrusive thoughts
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diminished sense of efficacy, satisfaction, and accomplishment
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loss of sleep
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increased irritation/ anger
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over or under-eating
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feeling jumpy or on edge
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worried about not doing or being enough for students
Resilience:
Style of Stress Perception
vs.
