How many times have you cried while at work, as a teacher?
Teaching can be emotionally draining, and extremely stressful at times. Being a group leader is not an easy job, regardless of which way you look at it. Teaching hundreds of students is a huge responsibility that has many demands and expectations.

I should take all the stress, and anxiety of teaching because it is part of the job, but why? Here are Top 10 stress and anxiety strategies for Educators during the COVID19 Pandemic in 2021

Meeting new children every year means you will get emotionally attached, it is inevitable. However, students’ success should be all that you aim for. But teachers’ life is not as easy as many may come to believe. It is a rollercoaster of stress, feeling of defeat, strong emotions, and sorrow when you teach a child from age 6, and see the child grow to an adolescent leave and the school. I have personally seen numerous teachers cry during 5th, 8th, and high school graduation. Additionally, when the students come back to visit you may feel a bittersweet feeling. However, there are ways to make you feel better, and become a pro managing your professional, and personal life; to avoid the emotional, and stress weight.

There are thousands of teachers who have an excess of similar frustrations related to low pay, and poor job satisfaction. We know their struggles profoundly, as educators. It is a combination of sadness, happiness, and a lot of confusing feelings. Which actually places a permanent mark in your life. We always thought of the solutions but never put emphasis on what triggers them. Here are some of the steps you can follow to improve your emotional state, and general well being as an educator:

1. develop emotional strength and healthy coping strategies:

Teachers get a new group of kids every school year, by the time students and teachers get familiar with each other the school year comes to an end, and a new group of kids comes in. This issue is faced by children as well, but it’s something we have to accept. The teaching profession is

all about teaching thousands of faces every year, getting to know them, to work with them, but always be prepared to let them go at the end of the school year. When nearing the end of the school year make summer plans, socializing with colleagues, and enjoy your summer.

Become emotionally focus and flexible. You should be aware that connecting emotionally with students will eventually drain you, always keep it professional.

2. Trust Your Teaching skills:

Frequently, teachers feel overwhelmed, and intimidated by new technology, and state requirements. As a result, teachers feel stressed and often depressed. This is also caused by poor parental involvement; they always end up blaming the teacher for the difficulties of their child. However, trust your teaching training, remember your college days, and leave your work at the door. Do not take it personally, it is only a job. It should be like acting, develop a persona to communicate with parents, so their poor participating does not affect you personally.

3. Enhance your Teaching skills with healthy competition:

Teaching is a profession where there is giving and taking is key. Career competition is another reason to increase stamina and creates determination and a sense of excitement. Compete with your colleagues. For instance, you can create a project with your class and have it presented to another class, this will ignite competition throughout the school. You can also create a leadership wall, where other teachers ask their students to write or draw on a small piece of paper what they would like to be as adults, you will use every student repose and post it on your leadership wall. Administrators will love this.

4. Attending professional therapy session:

Counseling will help to cope up with the emotional stress you go through as a teacher, considering we need perfect teachers for the ideal nation-building. Counseling is the best way to cope or outright eliminate teaching anxiety. Many Department of Education offers mental health counseling, free of cost or heavily subsidized. Seek therapy even to vent, and converse this will lead to an increase in endorphins, the happy hormone.

5. Help your colleagues with teaching issues:

Healthy competition always helps to grow, but when leg-pulling starts, things may start to fall off. Helping each other uplifts happiness and reduces anxiety. Try to develop friendships with colleagues, try to spend time outside of work together. try to make your work environment as inviting as possible for yourself, while avoiding conflict.

6. Always participate in Attend certificates/awards ceremonies and social gathering:

Appreciation act as a cure for the heart, we need to make this profession filled with happiness and minimize tension and sadness by appreciating our efforts. take part in award activities, and other teacher appreciation events. Furthermore, Socializing with colleagues will help a lot, it will give you perspective. You will see that you are not alone, others share your frustrations.

7. Manage Your teaching Workload limit:

Work overload is another cause of stress, and this should be stopped, to make teaching a calm and joyous profession. Work overload is one of the most significant causes of anxiety and depression, in any profession. However, as teachers, you may employ technology to manage the workload. For instance, you may use ClassDojo, Remind me, or Google Drive, all these apps will make your life easier. Remember, you don’t have to do more than your job requirements, learn to say No, when appropriate. Try not to take work home, and avoid talking about work after work hours.

8. Start yoga, jogging, or find a hobby:

Yoga, summer camps, picnics, educational tours are some of the healthy activities that help with stress. A focused and distracted mind kills anxiety. Long walks during summer times, workout routine, get a compact treadmill to walk, or find a fun hobby.

9. Eat Healthy Breakfast before Teaching session:

The empty stomach is not friendly with serotonin (happiness hormone) be the happiest teacher in your surroundings by eating a healthy breakfast, with a cup of coffee or tea. This will enhance your teaching and reduce anxiety and stress significantly. Additionally, as a side note, you will not be hungry later during the day which may even help control weight.

10. Try To avoid screens in your free time:

Screen time induces anxiety and depression and can trigger teaching anxiety during your teaching job. I recommend reading a good book, be a reader to be a good, and healthy teacher.

Ultimately, a happy teacher will give us happy students and teaching is a noble profession that should be more of joy than a harsh duty. Even with the low pay, and overwhelming workload, but ultimately is a self-fulling career. In the end, remember if teaching is making you miserable choose a different path, you are more important than anyone else!