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I Need a Large Recharge! - Building Mental Wellness

"A fire hydrant that runs out of water cannot do its job . even if it has a perfect connection with a hose that reaches."

-Julia Cook

Teaching is a GIVE, GIVE, GIVE profession . have you noticed?

And our students seem to find a way to TAKE, TAKE, TAKE.

Students today face a truly unique combination of ongoing struggles. From behavioral problems, diversity issues, multiple levels of inequities (socioeconomic, physical, emotional, social, athletic, academic, etc.) to increasing mental health challenges, suicidal ideation, career focus stress, and community health concerns, there's a lot going on in their young lives. Sprinkle in the influence of social media, and it's like pouring gas directly onto the struggle fire.

Ironically, we too are facing many of these same issues ourselves.

As a result, many teachers leave their buildings on a daily basis thinking, "I am NOT enough!"

Reality starts to take a toll on our mental wellness, and our difference-making magic feels like it's being sucked down a drain. If this is you, and you feel like you are burning out, you are not alone.

The Pew Research Center asked 2,500 teachers for their view and experiences on a wide range of issues. Teachers stated chronic absenteeism, poverty, anxiety, and depression are the most serious problems affecting their schools.1 They also reported not having enough time in the day to do their jobs properly.

When asked why, they said performing nonteaching duties (hallway monitoring, lunch room duty, recess supervision, etc.) helping kids outside of classroom time, and covering for other teachers when they are not available are the main contributors.

They also noted that as a teacher, it is extremely difficult to achieve a healthy work-life balance.

"Teachers serve multiple roles other than being responsible for teaching curriculum. We are counselors, behavioral specialists, and parents for students who need us to fill those roles. We sacrifice a lot to give all of ourselves to the role as a teacher."

-Elementary School Teacher." - Pew Research Center Survey2

If you're getting tired of circling the drain, and it's causing you to lose your effectiveness in the classroom, you owe it to yourself and your students to PLUG UP THAT DRAIN and find a way to RECHARGE what you have left so you can figure out how to REPLACE what you have lost.

Think about it this way.

Every time you board a plane, a flight attendant says, "If oxygen masks are needed, be sure you secure your own mask first before assisting others."

This is truly great advice.

Think about it . If you pass out, how are you going to help anyone else?

Plug That Drain

Take out a sheet of paper and write down anything and everything that's currently stressing you out - work, home, family issues, friend issues, financial issues . everything. Don't hold back. Unzip your brain and metaphorically pour those stressors right onto the page.

Grab a second sheet of paper and draw a saucer-sized circle in the center. Now, look at your list. If you personally have control over a stressor on your list, write it down inside the circle. If the stressor is out of your control, write it down outside of the circle. When you are finished, take notice.

All of your stressors are represented and validated.

Now make a conscious effort to use your energy and your other valuable resources wisely. Focus on only those stressors you can control.. In a nutshell . STAY IN YOUR HULA HOOP!

Thank you Stephen Convey for introducing us to the Circle of Influence®.3

Recharge

One Thursday after doing a full-day presentation at an elementary, I was invited to sit in on a whole staff faculty meeting after school. The principal asked me to take about 10 minutes at the end of the meeting and highlight some of the strategies I use while presenting.

"This is going to be fun - not!" I thought. I was toast after a full day, and I could only imagine how tired the teachers were.

Sure enough, I saw an array of numerous worn-out looking faces as the teachers entered the room.

"Yep, I know how you feel . I've been there," I thought to myself.

But, as the teachers sat down, their emotions seemed to lighten up a bit.

Surprisingly, their eyes started to smile, and the affect in the room went from flat to curvy fun.

On the table in front of each chair sat three blank postcards and a 5 × 8 piece of cardstock. In the center of each table was a kid-decorated soup can, filled with markers and multicolored gel pens, a pile of fun stickers, and of course a pile of candy (including chocolate) for the teachers to munch on.

The principal began passing out slightly picked-over sheets of peel-and-stick labels. It didn't take me long to realize the labels were printed with the names and addresses of the students in each teacher's class. Stressed faces cracked smiles as the teachers looked over the names, chose three labels from their sheets, stuck them to the back of the postcards and started writing.

"What are they doing?" I asked the principal.

"At the beginning of every faculty meeting, each teacher writes a positive postcard to three of their students. Then I mail them out the next day. Throughout the school year, every kid receives a fun postcard in the mail hand written by their teacher. The students get recognized and feel more valued and appreciated when they see it in print, and my teachers start each faculty meeting with a positive mindset."

"What is the 5 × 8 card for?"

"Giving positives is huge, but getting them is even bigger. On this card, they write an 'I appreciate you because .' note to another staff member. Then we read these out loud before we leave. Faculty meetings are not fun for anyone, so I like to start with a positive and end on a positive. Then the middle stuff isn't so hard to sit through. It really helps with teacher morale."

You can find positives and negatives in every human experience. Making a conscious choice to recognize, internalize, and celebrate the positives will provide the fuel you need to recharge and rebuild your soul, making your internal light brighter. Living in the negative, on the other hand, will hastily consume the fuel you have left in the tank until you burn out.

Replace

A mentally well person can be defined as someone who is resilient, hopeful, has a positive outlook on life, is able to solve problems, is capable of managing emotions effectively, is involved in meaningful relationships, and stays joyfully active. When stress depletes our mental well-being, it's important to replace what we have lost.

The World Health Organization says the definition of mental wellness is living in a state of well-being in which people realize their own abilities, are capable of coping with the stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can make contributions to their community.4

Building our mental wellness and replenishing what we lose from the daily struggles we face is not easy, but it is doable. According to the New Economics Foundation, there are five things you can do to build your mental wellness:5

• Connect
• Take Notice
• Move
• Keep Learning
• Give

It takes all five to do it right, but the combination of how much of each is as individualized as a fingerprint.

Just like with the oxygen mask, once you've helped yourself, you can pass on these same five techniques to your students.

When you win, they win!

The trick however, to making all of this work effectively, is to recognize the importance of small steps along the way. The little things you do for yourself every day really add up! On the flip side, if you space your ladder rungs too far apart by trying to do more than you are possibly capable of, climbing the ladder of mental wellness becomes discouraging, out of reach, and self-defeating.

Connect with Others - Outside the Classroom

One very early morning, while flying out of my hometown airport, I noticed a woman in front of me was having a tough time getting her carry-on luggage up on the screening belt. When the TSA agent gave her a hand, she turned around and I could tell immediately by the unsure look in her eyes this lady was not used to traveling.

The minute she walked through the scanners, her artificial hip set the alarms off in every direction. I watched her waver and almost lose her balance in an attempt to keep an eye on her luggage as she was getting a full-body massage by TSA. The look of discomfort on her face doubled by the second.

I decided to stand in front of her luggage on the belt until she got done so I could help her take it off.

"Here, let me help you with your bags," I said.

She thanked me, and I immediately noticed a tear streaming down her cheek. I asked if she was okay.

"No," she answered as she attempted to gather her things.

I helped her over to a bench and we sat down.

"I found out yesterday my daughter has a...