Holiday Stress

It is about this time that used to fill me with a lot of stress. I was excited about being with family and I wanted to have everything perfect. I also had so much to do all at one time. Since I was overwhelmed, I tended to snap at my family and resent the time with friends because it kept me from doing all the things I had to do. I wanted to enjoy this time and just couldn’t seem to find the time to do it.

Then I realized I needed to take a step back and think about how I needed to enjoy the season and enjoy my time with family and friends. I had to remind myself that this was more important than things.

So what if everything wasn’t perfect? Who would remember that next year? Who decides what is perfect or not? I was putting this unrealistic expectation on myself. Early in December, I listed the things I wanted to do and wrote a schedule out to accomplish each task. Instead of doing everything all at once, I could do a little at a time and enjoy the process. This also helped me decide on what was necessary and what wasn’t needed.

If I had too much to do then I needed to simplify what needed to be done. Did I really need to do everything on my list? Could I ask others for help? I needed to talk with my family to decide what really was necessary or not. Many times I decided to do some kind of decorating that really wasn’t important to my family. Maybe I could rotate doing things each year so that I wasn’t doing everything every year.

Instead of isolating myself when dealing with gifts and wrapping, I needed to value the time I spend with others. This may mean I need to get an earlier start on buying or making gifts. I started using gift bags instead of wrapping things. During meal preparations, instead of trying to do it all myself, enlist helpers and enjoy the time together.

I also realized that I needed some downtime to rest and relax. There is so much excitement and overstimulation during the holiday season that rest is very important. I schedule at least one hour a day to just rest and relax without thinking of all the things I have to do. I might read a book or go for a walk and enjoy other people’s house decorations. I might take a nap or watch a movie. This rest time is a great way to recharge.

How do you deal with holiday stress? Please share.

Photo by Jodie Walton on Unsplash

Be Sensitive During the Holidays

The holiday season has arrived, and all the stores are decked out with decorations. Many ads on TV and the radio are trying to sell all of their holiday stuff. Radio stations are playing Christmas music. It is a time of joy and happiness…for most people.

Keep in mind that this season may be a tough time for some students.

Many people with mental illness or stress disorders have a tough time during holidays. The excitement and holiday spirit can be overwhelming and overstimulating. They may need a quieter environment. You can still show you care about these people but understand that they may need periods of quietness. They may seem withdrawn and you can acknowledge this and be there for them but don’t try to force them to join in the festivities.

This has been a tough year for many during the pandemic. Some may have lost a loved one or has a loved one who is hospitalized or sick. They may not feel so joyful so try not to keep reminding them through your joy and actions how much they have lost or are in danger of losing. You might spend some time with them and encourage them to talk about their loved ones. Ask them to share good memories.

Businesses may have had to shut down. Students may have parents who have lost their jobs. They are uncertain about their living conditions or even the food they will have to eat. You might contact the parents and ask if there is anything you can do to help the family, even if it is just to show you care. Students may worry about Christmas gifts so you can help them by doing class activities where they can make handmade gifts. Encourage these students to share their worries with you privately. Sometimes you can’t do anything else but listen and it can help the students to share their feelings with someone. They may not want to do this with their parents and add more worries to them.

This year has been a year full of changes and sometimes changes can happen weekly. Many of my students hated holidays out of school because they needed the structure and routine every day. They may start misbehaving or acting out of character. Have a class discussion about how changes during the holiday can affect our moods. Sometimes it helps to bring this out in the open. Have students offer suggestions about how to deal with this because these suggestions might help their peers.

What other situations have I left off that might cause the holiday season to be stressful? Please share.

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

Wellness Wednesday

In Wellness Wednesday from On an e-Journey with Generation Y, murcha shares, 

“To encourage our students and staff to have a day away from their screens, we were all given the opportunity to enjoy a Wellness Wednesday. We were encouraged to participate in activities that we like to do to help us destress.” 

I thought this was a great idea and I’m going to copy it. George Bernard Shaw said, “Imitation is not just the sincerest form of flattery - it's the sincerest form of learning.” 

On Wednesdays, I’m going to share things that have helped my emotional and physical wellbeing. I hope you take the time to share what you have been doing. 

This past week: 

• I have walked on the treadmill every day for 45 minutes. 
• I have spent an hour each day reading a library book. 
• I have gotten on a weekly zoom get together with other knitters from the Zombie Knitpocalyse Retreat. 
• I wrote down one thing that I’m thankful for each day in my bullet journal. 

It is important to take care of ourselves without thinking that we are being lazy or selfish. I hope you find some inspiration from the things that make me happy so that you can do some things that make you happy too. 

Photo by Joe Caione on Unsplash

Near the End of the Crisis

While I’m glad we are flattening the curve, I think we still need to continue to do social distancing and taking precautions. Flattening the curve does not mean the virus is gone. It just means the number of confirmed cases and deaths is lessening. I’m afraid if we stop social distancing and taking precautions, the curve will go back up.

This is something we need to impress upon our students. We shouldn’t take risks with our health. Once our health is compromised, it may be hard for our bodies to rebound. We may never be back to the shape we were in before so why take a chance.

Even if the economy opens up, we will continue to avoid crowds of people and wear our gloves and masks when we go shopping.

Maybe after a few weeks, when we don’t see the curve going back up, we may go to restaurants again but not right away.

I will look forward to going camping again. I think we can go camping and hiking without endangering our health because we will be in the open outdoors. Being in nature is also very healing.

Even after this crisis, we need to continue to impress upon our students about taking good care of their health. It would be a good time to talk about having some supplies on hand in case this happens again in the future. It is easier to get supplies when they aren’t in demand. It is also important to continue to take extra time with personal hygiene.

Another habit to continue is to eat healthily and get plenty of exercise. If your body is strong and healthy it is more resistant to diseases and your immunity is better at fighting anything that comes your way.

What other suggestions as we get near the end of the crisis tunnel? Please share.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Reentry is Scary

On the news, I hear about countries talking about reentry back in the economy. I know our President is talking about it too. I recently heard that Austria and Denmark are planning to start soo. They plan on starting with schools, then smaller stores, bigger stores, and then restaurants and bars. Many of the parents are upset because they feel like their children are being guinea pigs.

I know the country can’t stay on lockdown forever. Our economy can’t survive that way. Eventually, it has to open up again.

But reentry is as scary to me as a lockdown. No one knows what to expect. No one knows what will happen. No one can look into their crystal ball and tell what will happen.

I believe that when the economy opens back up again, life as we know it will be different.

I don’t think I’ll be shaking people’s hands or hugging others. My husband and I decided when we see people, we plan to put our hands over our hearts to show how glad we are to see them.

When I’m shopping, I will continue to keep my distance from others. It seems like a good habit to practice.

I will continue to wash my hands often. I did that before the virus but now I’m more conscious about doing it.

I will appreciate others more because I am more aware that life is not something, we should take for granted.

I will stay on top of new technology and strategies because if something like this happens again, I will be prepared.

But as much as we talk about social distancing, taking care of our families, and remote learning, we also need to prepare our students for reentry. We need to remind them that it won’t happen overnight. It also may be different because some businesses might not be reopened again. Some families may have financial difficulties and we need to be extra sensitive and caring to others.

How will you talk to your students about reentry? Please share.

Photo by Lisa Walton on Unsplash

Coping with Distress Techniques

During these troubled times, it is easy to feel anxious and overwhelmed. It is the fear of the unknown that is scary. We don’t know what will happen in the future. We are establishing a new norm and every day can be something new and different. We worry about “what if” and we don’t have a lot of control about the future of the world or the economy. Our students are feeling the same way! So, I wanted to give some coping techniques that might help in dealing with these feelings of distress.

Mindful Meditation – Recently a couple of our faculty organized some mindfulness sessions where we learned some deep breathing techniques and calming exercises. I found some websites that you might find helpful.

1-minute mindfulness exercises

Mindfulness exercises

Hand Over Heart – place your hand over your heart and breathe

Hand Over Heart

Exercise – walking, running, aerobics or anything that gets your body moving. There are plenty of exercising videos on YouTube. My favorite video selections are featured in  Walk at Home by Leslie Sansone.

Read – I like to find a fiction book in a genre that I enjoy and just escape from the real world.

What other relaxation/stress relief do you do? Please share.

Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash

Morning Routines

In The Importance of Daily Renewal for Educators from @DavidGeurin Blog, David Geurin  asks,

“What are some of your morning routines? Are you intentional about daily renewal?”

1.     Morning routines help me start the day. As mentioned in the article I don’t do all of these things every day but I try to get all of these in.

2.     Deep breathing – I take a couple of minutes to do deep breathing. This helps me get oxygen to my brain and prepare for the day.  (3 minutes)

3.     I review my bullet journal and make a list of things I want to accomplish for the day. I also write about what I’m grateful for. (5 minutes)

4.     I pray. I pray that I can be productive and helpful to others during this day. I want to do positive things and avoid the negative things. I believe God helps me during the day and I want to be a better person. (2 minutes)

5.     I check my email to see if there is anything pressing to do for the day or upcoming events. (10 minutes)

6.     I write a post for my blog Mondays through Fridays. If I get behind, I catch up on the weekends. (30 minutes)

7.     Morning drinks with my husband. We go to McDonalds and have coffee/soda for about an hour each morning. Once my husband has had his coffee, he is alert enough to talk about our day and our plans. We see other regulars who meet there in the mornings and it is a good time to appreciate our community. (1 hour)

8.     Exercise – We try to walk an hour for exercise. (1 hour)

Even when we are traveling, we try to do these things. It is a great way for me to start the day and I miss it when I’m unable to do these things.

I think it is good to establish classroom routines to help students get settled in before new material is taught. Students know what to expect with a routine and helps them deal with the stress they are facing.

What routines do you follow? Please share.

 Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

Nature as Medicine

Last week I attended our Upstate Master Naturalist Meeting. It was held at Table Rock State Park Lodge.

Our guest speaker was Rocky Nation with a presentation titled, "Nature as Medicine: Thinking Outside the Box when Assigning Conservation Value."

Rocky is a biology professor at Anderson University and he talked about all the stress he faced in his life and how it caused transient global amnesia. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Transient global amnesia is a sudden, temporary episode of memory loss that can't be attributed to a more common neurological condition, such as epilepsy or stroke.” Thankfully this doesn’t last too long, and he is able to go about his normal life. There is no known cause or cure, but Rocky believes it is caused by the extreme stress he has had.

One of the ways Rocky copes with stress is getting outdoors. He has found that is the medicine that helps him from having recurring bouts of this amnesia. He notices a difference in his life and how it has helped him deal with stress. Rocky talked about the “fight or flight” response that our body has when it is really stressed out and nature has a way of helping us “rest and relax.”

This helped to remind me that we need to get our students out in nature more. We need to teach them ways to cope with the stress they will face as they grow up and get out in the real world. Too many young people are dying from drugs, suicide, and violence. Maybe if the learned how to deal with stress, these numbers would decrease because they wouldn’t have the “fight or flight” response.

Do you help students get out and appreciate nature? Please share.