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Teachers, job stress reduction is important to your health. You know that. Your physical bodies, emotions, minds, and spirits are all involved in school work. Even on holiday, you may find yourself working, or at least thinking about your work.

Such dedication need not be negative. A teacher should, above all, be a person who wants to make a big difference in students’ lives. The challenge is to make that difference without permitting stress to drive you out of teaching. The challenge is to practice good stress reduction techniques.

Understanding Stress Reduction

An understanding of stress reduction must begin with an understanding of stress. Stress is not that stack of un-graded papers. Stress is not the child who insists on asking endless questions, no matter how well you explain. Stress is not a matter of two teenagers leaping into the aisle to fight, while the rest of the class chants, “Fight, fight, fight.” Stress is not the parent who calls repeatedly to complain that you are not doing what is best for her child. Stress is not even the principal inviting you to the office for a job review conference.

All of the above are stressors, not stress.

Stressor Defined

A stressor is a stimulus that causes stress. The illustrations above are of stressors. When Job broke that expensive science equipment, his action was a stressor. When Betty brought her father’s spearfish for show-n-tell – and stabbed it into your right arm – that was a stressor. They were stimuli that caused stress. They themselves were not stress, but they stimulated stress.

Stress Defined

Stress is your RESPONSE to the above examples. “Good stress” or “bad stress” is produced dependent on your response. Which calls for job stress reduction?

On the one hand, you respond negatively in fight-or-flight mode. Adrenalin floods your body and muscles tense. Blood is shunted from extremities to core organs. All systems are “go” for fleeing or fighting the enemy.

On the other hand, you respond positively by becoming excited and challenged. Endorphins power happy determination to move ahead. You are flooded with a feeling of euphoria, ready to make the best of the stressor.

Stress, negative or positive, is your response to stressors.

We continue with a brief look at the two kinds of stress.

Eustress – Beneficial, Good Stress

Teachers, job stress reduction programs are unnecessary when the stress involved is eustress. Eustress is an appropriate, positive response to the stressors teachers meet. “Eu” means “good” in Greek. Picture joy and laughter. Eustress is pleasant, healing stress.

Eustress may appear to be an emotional, mental, spiritual, or physical overload, but it does not drain away power. It energizes you; helps you handle the overload. Teachers’ job stress reduction programs should begin with a presentation of eustress and the benefits it offers.

Distress – Detrimental, Bad Stress

Most teachers’ job stress reduction programs focus only on distress. Distress is an inappropriate, negative response to the stressors of a teacher’s job. “Di” means “two” in Greek. Picture double trouble coming your way. Distress is often a disabling, crippling stress.

Distress, like eustress may appear to be an emotional, mental, spiritual, or physical overload. Unlike eustress, distress drains power for anything other than fight or flight. Distress tires you; freezes the brain, and makes it difficult to handle the overload. Teachers’ job stress reduction programs should include a presentation of distress and the detrimental effects it carries.

Employ Stress Augmentation!

Paradoxically, teachers, job stress reduction can be as simple as job stress augmentation. You need to augment, or increase, eustress on the job.

Remembering that stress is nothing more than your response to the demands placed upon you, recognize that you have control over job stress. You may choose to respond positively or negatively; with eustress or with distress.

Look at the following two examples.

1. You face a huge stack of un-graded papers at the end of the day.

A distress response is to sigh, and take “flight” down the hall for another mug of stale coffee and some small talk. Eventually, you plod back to the classroom, “flight” still written clearly on every part of your body. You sit down forlornly, and gaze dejectedly at the clock. Your shoulders slump as you reach for the first paper. You wish for job stress reduction, unconsciously defining it as a magic wand that will make the papers go away. That does not happen, of course, and you begin to reap the detrimental effects of distress.

A eustress response is to smile, allot 2 hours to finish the work, and divide the stack into 8 stacks. Now you have bite-sized work piles. You set a goal of completing each stack in no more than 15 minutes – less if responsibly possible. Promising yourself a cup of coffee after the first hour, you tackle the first stack, eager to meet or beat you goal. Augmenting eustress, you enjoy job stress reduction and all of its healthy benefits.

2. Betty insists on asking endless questions, no matter how well you explain.

A distress response is to “fight” with Betty, stress reduction hopes shattered. You feel neck and shoulders muscles tighten. A frown yanks your mouth downward as you approach Betty’s seat. Unconsciously, you clench your fist. You will not permit Betty to demand so much attention, and you make that very clear in sharp, “fighting” tones. Betty cowers into silence, and you begin to reap the detrimental effects of distress.

A eustress response is to smile quietly, and see Betty as one reason you decided on a teaching career. You want to teach Betty stress reduction along with proper listening techniques. You wait for a time when the rest of the class is occupied, and then go quietly to Betty’s desk. Smiling, you take Betty’s hand and lead her gently into a quiet, private part of the room. Relaxed and happy, you set a goal with Betty. You and she will work together to help her listen in such a way that she needs fewer questions. As she learns to control her response to the stressor of listening, she can win small rewards along the way. By the time Betty returns to her desk, you both are happy. Augmenting eustress, you enjoy job stress reduction again.

Tip: Teachers, job stress reduction is a choice. No elaborate stress reduction program is necessary if you have the backbone to commit to augmenting eustress and refusing to engage in distress

At times, our worries and anxieties can overwhelm us at our place of work or business. Here is a brief list of techniques that a person can use to help manage their anxious moments at their job or business environment.

When feeling anxious, stop what you are doing and try to do something that will relax you. A person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get their mind off of the problem. A person could get some fresh air, listen to some music, or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things.

Remember that our fearful thoughts are exaggerated and can make the problem worse. A good way to manage your worry is to challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking. When encountering thoughts that make your fearful or anxious, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense.

When overwhelmed with worry, a person may encounter a lot of scary thoughts coming at them all at once. Instead of getting upset, remember that these thoughts are exaggerated and are not based on reality. From my interviews with various professionals, I’ve learned that usually it is the fear behind the thoughts that gets us worked up. Ignore the fear behind these thoughts, and your worry should decrease.

Remember that all the worrying in the world will not change anything. I realized that most of what we worry about never comes true. Instead of worrying about something that probably won’t happen, concentrate on what you are able to do. Everything else you can leave in the hands of God.

As a Layman, I realize it is not easy to deal with all of our fears. When your fears and anxieties have the best of you, try to calm down and then get the facts of the situation. The key is to take it slow. All you can do is to do your best each day, hope for the best, and when something does happen, take it in stride. Take things one step at a time, and things will work out.

Have you changed? Your job started out being what you wanted, but today it is different. Maybe you thought of it as a jumping place to a better job in the future, but you have been here 5 plus years.

it is a fact that your dream job is waiting on you, so don’t continue in a miserable job, boring or basically unsatisfying, even questionable for basic survival. Your time is NOW to get out!

Satisfaction & fulfillment is your aim, not being in a “make do” position for an extended period!

When people think of dream jobs, all  often, they think of the jobs that they thought about when they were children.

As a child, you probably thought about being a doctor or a lawyer, a nurse, even an astronaut when you finished college. Truth is  few of us kept the objective in mind for those jobs & gave up; in other words, you felt you were settling.

The problem is, lots of of those people carried the disappointment they felt from learning that they couldn’t do the jobs that they wanted as babies into their adult lives.

few people follow through with their childhood dreams, but the fact is, those childhood dreams probably would not have made you happy anyway.
Your needs & beliefs about a nice job when you were a child will be far different from your needs as an adult, & you’ll find that if you consider your needs as an adult, you’ll have a much better chance of finding your real dream job.

Think about what makes you happy, & what you need in terms of job security, monetary pay & challenges.

The first step in searching for your dream job is actually realizing that the one you are in right now isn’t going to make you happy.
Have you been waiting on a promotion or raise that never comes, or do you feel that your efforts are wasted on a routine basis?

Perhaps you feel that they don’t appreciate you, or you silently think that you are so much better than this. All of these feelings are valid; the important thing to realize is that they are feelings that should be acted upon.

When you take a look at the feelings of discontent that you have amassed about your job, realize that you spend a quarter of your life at work. Your life is basically  short to feel like that for a fourth of it!
More people find their dream jobs than you might think; For a fact, it is imperative to make your time count as you search.

Help is obtainable for you to discover the career job of your dreams. Your mindset is key when you begin to look

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