Stress+Management+-+Teachers

=Stress Management For Teachers - How to Help Our Students=

Adults (and teachers) erroneously think that students have an easy life with very little stress (LaRue and Herrman, 2008). In fact, students encounter a great deal of stress in their daily lives and have few resources to manage it. They lack experience, resources, and coping strategies that adults normally use (Seiffge-Krenke et la. 2009).

**What stressors do students encounter?**

The most common stressors for students include school pressures, family pressures, personal relationships, and many more (Charette et al. 1997, LaRue and Herrman 2008, Suldo et al. 2009, Seiffge-Krenke et al. 2009):

A more complete list is available on Common Causes of Stress.

It's important to recognize stressors, some students may not be aware that so many situations can cause stress. Recognition of stressors is necessary before they can be resolved.

Coping With Stress
There are several identified coping strategies that are used by students (Seiffge-Krenke et al. 2009): 1. Active coping - when students seek help to discuss their problems. 2. Internal coping - when students independently plan and find solutions to their stressors. 3. Withdrawal coping - this is associated with avoidance, denial or blaming others.

Most students tend to select active and internal coping strategies. The incidence of withdrawal coping is greatest with younger students (under 15 years of age) and males (Seiffge-Krenke et al. 2009). For this reason, it is important to guide all students, particularly young students and males, toward developing active and internal coping strategies. Students should be encouraged to discuss their problems with parents, teachers and councellors. These adults can serve as positive role models and have a wealth of resources and experience. Furthermore, since the majority of stressors involve school and family, it is particulalry important for teachers and parents to maintain a positive relationship with students. Furthermore, positive relationships in general tend to 'buffer' stressors (Suldo et al. 2009)

Isn't a Little Stress A Good Thing?
Yes, a little stress does help keep us motivated. However, the stress that students experience can be excessive and lead to serious mental and physical health issues. Stress can cause students to withdraw from the school or family setting, lead to aggression or poor behaviours, drug and alcohol abuse, insomnia, self-esteem issues, obesity, asthma and hypertension (Suldo et al. 2009, Rollin et al. 2003).

Severe stress can lead to psychopathological disorders including depression. In these serious cases, teachers should not attempt to counsel the student; instead, the student's guidance counsellor must be informed (OSCA 2009) and the student should be encouraged to seek professional help. The counsellor will also proceed with appropriate referrals to qualified medical professionals.

What Can I Do?
Teachers play a critical role in helping students with stress management. They can 1) facilitate appropriate coping strategies, 2) host stress management workshops, and 3) reduce school-related stressors.

__1) Facilitate coping strategies:__
Teachers are often the first to notice that a student is exhibiting withdrawal coping strategies or other stress indicators. A private conversation with a student can help to determine if they are feeling anxious and possibly suffering from stress.


 * Effective communication skills are critical (Gazda et al. 1999).** Try to be a good listener so that you are accurately interpreting what the student is saying. Good listening (attending) skills include standing near (but not too close to) the speaker, making regular eye contact, using facial expressions to show your involvement and remaining alert without being distracted. Avoid 'off-the-top-of-the-head' responses, instead, consider what the student is asking for: do they __need something done for them,__ are they __looking for information__, are they __making an inappropriate request__, or just __looking for understanding or involvement__? By listening carefully you may realize that a request for information may reveal a deeper issue and that the student is looking for understanding or involvement (for example, asking about scholarships may imply financial difficulty). It is best to help the student with their request (direct them to scholarship resources), however, consider engaging the student further without directly prying into the issue. By developing a positive rapport, the student may eventually reveal their deeper concerns. This is when you can begin to address stress management and coping strategies.

Below are some suggestions for students to help reduce stress (Rollin et al. 2003, Conner et al. 2009, Pope and Simon 2005):
 * Coping strategies.**


 * participate in exercise, go for a walk or ride a bike, consider relaxation exercises, or focus on relaxed breathing for 5 minutes every day.
 * eat healthy meals, don't skip meals, eat your fruit and vegetables, avoid excessive junk food
 * recognize symptoms of stress (headache, upset stomach, insomnia, sore muscles) and develop strategies to treat them in a healthy way
 * get lots of sleep
 * be creative, create art work, listen to music, dance,
 * find balance in life, in addition to school, studying and work set time aside for friends, sports or hobbies that you enjoy

__2) Host Stress Management Workshops__
The Stress Management - Students web page has been developed to use in a workshop setting. Use the handout and brainstorming ideas to help a group a students recognize what stress feels like (tiredness, poor appetite, muscle soreness, headache etc), identify stressors, and recognize as well as develop helpful coping strategies. If you have access to the internet be sure to incorporate the many useful animations and activities from the [|University of Texas Stress Management and Reduction] website (for example, the [|Flight or Fight video] is very effective to help students understand why they respond to stess the way they do).

__3) Reduce School-Related Stressors__
School related stressors are the most common source of stress for students. Teachers can directly reduce this stress by doing the following (Conner et al. 2009, Pope and Simon 2005):
 * provide more down-time. Instead of teaching every period, provide down-time or a free-period for students to catch-up.
 * consider reducing homework to eliminate repetition and 'busy work'
 * replace tests with projects, provide class-time to work on projects
 * provide a calendar of test and project due dates to help students plan their workload
 * lengthen exam periods to allow longer breaks between exams
 * reduce homework over weekends and holidays
 * talk with parents, they may be unaware of the stress of school and may inadvertently make the problems more challenging, or they may have a better perspective of school pressures that you hadn't considered. Collaborate to develop strategies to help the student.
 * try to move from lecture-style lessons to student-led learning
 * talk to your students, get feedback on how much work they are doing for all classes and be aware of what else is going on (university applications, tournaments, etc).

Resources
Charette, L., Kaiser, A., MacFarlane, M., Uko, C. (1997) Early Intervention Program. Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. Ottawa, ON

Conner, J., Pope, D., & Galloway, M. (2009). Success with Less Stress. //Educational Leadership //, //67 // (4), 54-58. Retrieved from Professional Development Collection database. Gazda, G., et al. (1999). // Human relations development: A manual for educators // (7th Ed.). Boston, Ma: Allyn and Bacon. LaRue, D., & Herrman, J. (2008). Adolescent Stress through The Eyes of High-Risk Teens. //Pediatric Nursing //, //34 // (5), 375-380. Retrieved from Professional Development Collection database. Ontario School Counsellors' Association. (2009). // Ethical guidelines for Ontario school counsellors. //

Pope, D. & Simon, R. (2005). Help for stressed students. // Educational Leadership, 62 // (7), 33-37.

Rollin, S., Arnold, A., Solomon, S., Rubin, R., & Holland, J. (2003). A Stress Management Curriculum for At-Risk Youth.// Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education & Development //, //42 // (1), 79-90. Retrieved from Professional Development Collection database.

Seiffge-Krenke, I., Aunola, K., & Nurmi, J. (2009). Changes in Stress Perception and Coping During Adolescence: The Role of Situational and Personal Factors. //Child Development //, //80 // (1), 259-279. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01258.x.

Suldo, S., Shaunessy, E., Thalji, A., Michalowski, J., & Shaffer, E. (2009). Sources of Stress for Students in High School College Praparatory and General Education Programs: Group Differences and Associations with Adjustment. //Adolescence //, //44 // (176), 925-948. Retrieved from Professional Development Collection database.