Beginning about last week I started to notice that I was unnecessarily stressing myself out about everything.
- Things to be graded? What? They must be done RIGHT NOW.
- Certain students not doing well (even though they're not coming in for tutoring or doing their homework)? What can I do? It's MY issue.
- More duties that eat into my prep periods? Why I'll just wake up extra early and do my work at home.
- Dust bunnies moving in with us at home? Grumpily clean house instead of napping or sleeping.
Then all my dust bunnies must have been in alignment, because I read about BRFWA, which I remember as "barf"-"waaaaaaa" (as in how I can make myself feel), which stands for
Breathe, Relax, Feel, Watch, Allow. .... That and my new mantra, "I'll do what I can do, and that's all that I can do" (not to let myself off the hook, since I still work hard, but to cut myself a break). ... riggggggghhhhht, let's see how long this inner peace will last (1 day and counting).
Good luck on the peace thing. I'll be checking back later to make sure you're doing it properly. ;)
ReplyDeleteNo pressure, though. ;)
Owl. :)
I guess if I relapse and lose sleep, my new mantra can be, "Dunkin Donuts hazelnut coffee is my friend. DDHC is my friend." :)
ReplyDeleteMs. Cookie
This is my first year teaching(ninth grade Algebra 1). I knew it was gonna be stressful, but I had no idea. I've started taking Xanax to deal with the stress just like you described! I had a panic attack in a faculty meeting and went to my doctor after school. The third week of school, we had our first faculty meeting which. was supposed to take 30 to 45 minutes, but ended up at 75 minutes (that's 30+45 minutes). I didn't have time to get any copies or classroom prep done and had to walk into my classroom unprepared.
ReplyDeleteGlad to know it's not just me...
That sounds muy stressful. I hate when the "powers above" take away from our prep time with meetings that could be much shorter and more effective. ... And it seems to me that teaching is one of the few jobs where you have to be "on" all the time. Just because you're having a bad day, it doesn't mean that you can successfully slack off when 130+ students are counting on you.
ReplyDeleteMs. Cookie
That sounds muy stressful. I hate when the "powers above" take away from our prep time with meetings that could be much shorter and more effective. ... And it seems to me that teaching is one of the few jobs where you have to be "on" all the time. Just because you're having a bad day, it doesn't mean that you can successfully slack off when 130+ students are counting on you.
ReplyDeleteMs. Cookie