Procrastination caused great stress in my life until I learned not to put things off until I had to complete them at an insane pace. Weight Watcher's has a quote - nothing tastes as good as feeling thin feels. I've modified that to 'nothing feels as good as being caught up."
I should be leading the Worlds Most Stressfree Life right now, but it never seems to be that way. A lot of schools have been cuting back sections and cutting back instructors and I have lost a lot of classes. That is by far the biggest stress for me.
Many of my stressors come from creating new classes and from student demands.
As a full-time graduate student with a family and 2 part-time jobs to take care of, I can definitely relate to stress. I plan to reduce or eliminate many of the stress factors in my life by using the information I learned in this module.
That's a tough challenge you are facing Susan. When we are not working in a field that we are passionate about, it's hard to stay motivated and keep focused. Jobs do evolve over time and many people experience changes to their responsibilities.
I sat here gazing at my computer screen as I considered these questions. Unfortunately, my biggest stressor is my full time job. This job is not in education; it is in human resources. The source of my stress is that I have had the realization that I have a completely different set of values and beliefs than my employer. I was hired to do something completely different (curriculum development and teaching), and one day I woke up and I was dealing with unemployment and worker's compensation. I am good at what I do, but the reality is that it is not my passion. My passion is to mentor and teach.
With an entrepreneurial and volunteer background, I often create stress by taking on too much at one time and not saying "no" to others enough.
It's nice that you've found a way to reframe testing to decrease student anxiety James. Sometimes the words that we use to describe situations really do dictate how those situations are perceived.
It's nice to hear you work in a profession that focuses on stress reduction. Great to know you can lean on your colleagues a little for help when you need it.
Gina,
How very smart you are. You've hit several nails on the head with your comments.
Being an organized and structure person myself, you have gotten directly to the point of what many of my stressors are. Also,I am of the old school, that you get what you earn. Students that expect to be spoonfed do not fit into that mold. And I can be frustrated easily be someone iterfering with my planned day without some advance notice.
Massage has helped me considerably. I find getting away for short trips is helping, also. I do stretching,also. I was finding that I did not get up from the computer very often when I was handling demands of students and coworkers, as well as my own behind the scenes work. And I paid for it. Luckily, someone persuaded me to take advantage of the clinic and I have been a true believer ever since!
James,
I believe stress is related to so many physical illnesses we develop. I've had the same issues that you brought up. I had urticaria several years ago. The doctor felt it my be heat rash, and recommended corn starch to dry the welts. Ouch!!! It wasn't and the treatment only worsened the problem. I had to use an anti-inflmatory to correct the problem, something I was not excited about using as those meds have their own side effects.
I'm like you,finding out what causes us to stress and alleviating or correcting that problem is the best answer.
I used to get stressed very easily but since I have became a Massage Therapist and a Massage Instructor I have learned how to be a little more relaxed. With the help of my colleagues and an accupuncturist, I have learned how to take a step back, breathe, and meditate.
I would get stressed when I felt like I didnt have enough time in the day to get all of my work done. There was a time where I was teaching both day and the night class and also still responsible for completing all of my Lead Instructor duties. I was very stressed at that time and my boss picked up on it. She told me to delegate, which for some reason I have trouble doing. I finally took her advice and started to learn how to ask people for help, if help was available.
I also notice that I get stressed out when my regular schedule changes. I am a very structured person, so if someone or something messes with my routine, I get very frazzled. I especially get very upset if I have to skip the gym because going to the gym is one of my main stress busters!!!
Certain students can be very stressful also. They can be very needy and they think that they should be spoon fed. They have the attitude that we owe them something else besides their education. This can be very frustrating. They also can be very disrespectful to their instructors and their classmates as well.
Very true. When dealing with students that have test anxiety, I tell them it is just like a quiz, just a little bit longer. I try to give them quizzes a couple of times during the week. This is a type of stress inoculation for them and for quite a few of the students, it does indeed ameliorate some of their apprehension.
James
I think that sometimes we do not realize how much stress affects us. For me, I had to deal with quite a bit of stress last year. The abundance of stress caused me to develop food allergies and actually did physical damage to my body. Finding the stressor and decreasing/reducing it took some time, but it allowed me to begin my recovery.
James
The list of stressors helps with identification for resolution.
Kimberly,
It's amazing how many of us experience the same stressors. Life is complicated and doesn't seem to be getting less so as I age. Again, I believe actually recognizing what are our stressors are and applying prioritization to meet each need whether it's family, work, etc. will be helpful to maintain a healthier, saner, more satisfying lifestyle.
I feel that it I set in motion the practice of some of these techniques, that I will be more productive at work, more available for my family and friends, and happier all around.
I agree that the module has helped understand how to categorize and cope with certain issues.
Yes, it's true that sometimes timing isn't great when trying to deal with student stress. Sometimes their stress is predictable and we can learn to anticipate it, like during final exams. Other times, it relates to more personal things and that's harder to predict.
I have many of the same, travel to work, balancing family and career. Finding time to do CEUs or other professional development within the time of balancing work and family, health and other issues, makes it very hard to keep abreast with all. Love working with the students but their needs can be overwhelming as you said at times that our own lives are more complicated.
Major stressors in my life include: working two jobs, balancing a budget at home, traveling an hour each way to one job daily, balancing career and being an attentive father, household chores added to the mix (in and outdorrs), student questions related to issues covered in great detail with specific instructions, meetings in the middle of the chaos, trying to finish my PhD in the middle of everything else, continuing education requirements for my license balanced with continuing education/professional development at work, and a spouse who is not always healthy.
Some of these stressors are organizational factors/college or professional requirements such as professional development and CEU's. Many are personal in nature but influence the others due to less sleep and increased stress. Student needs stressors ebb and flow, but can become stressing when the timing is not great or concerns and questions come in great number with requests for immediate attention.
Frank Wylie, MSCJ/Forensic Psychology, LCDCIII, ICADC
Overcoming stress is a prat of my daily life. I learned years ago that stress will kill you prematurely and I did not want that to happen. I have developed the skill to move away from stress by looking at all situations for what they really are. I am human and thus at times I get caught not looking and suffer from a stressed situation, but for the large majority of stressors that continually pop up I am not taken in. I do get looked at as if I - don't care; never take things seriously; not acting my age - and other such. My only defense to those that point those fingers is that I am clinically proven to not have stress and am able to function in almost any environment without the residue of a stress filled system.
