Prevention & Self-Care

We’ve all heard the adage that “you can’t pour from an empty cup.” It is important as educators to take care of yourself to help put your best foot forward for you and your students. 93% of teachers report high levels of daily, job-related stress. Because of this, it is important to consider recommendations to decrease stress for you and your classroom. Introducing evidence-based mindfulness practice(s) into your classroom can have positive effects on both you and your students. The Oxford dictionary defines mindfulness as “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.”

Mindfulness Benefits for Students

• Increased attention and focus
• Increased cognitive development
• Improved behavior in school
• Improved empathy and perspective taking
• Improved social skills
• Improved emotional regulation
• Decreased anxiety and stress
• Decreased post-traumatic symptoms
• Decreased depression symptoms

Mindfulness Benefits for Teachers

• Reduced stress and burnout
• Greater efficacy in job duties
• More emotionally supportive classrooms
• Better classroom organization

10 Ways to Incorporate Mindfulness in the Classroom

Mindfulness is not a new concept; but modern-day research suggests this ‘enhanced self-awareness’ diminishes stress and anxiety and, in turn, reduces the risk of developing cancer, disease, and psychopathology. It is useful to practice mindfulness as a tool for general physical and mental health. To create a calmer, mindful classroom, consider incorporating the suggested techniques below:

1. Create a quiet space in your classroom. Find a time and/or place where you and your students can pause for a few moments and develop a sense of familiarity with quiet. Notice how we may become aware of things around us and in us in a new and different way. If you’re unable to create such a space for students, the use of white noise (simplynoise.com, for example) can help mask background noise or still ‘overactive’ minds. We even made our own blend of background noise for reading and writing, too.
2. Pay attention with purpose and curiosity. Have students try to notice sounds, textures, colors, shapes, and other characteristics of their environments. These can be excellent writing prompts, for example. Being in the moment is both a cause and an effect of mindfulness. Mindfulness is rooted in the present. Thoughts about yesterday, tomorrow, or even your ‘self’ in the context of an afternoon or school year or activity is the opposite of presence in the present.
3. Use guided meditation daily. With students, explore the breath by having them close their eyes and explore a guided meditation each day before class. (Ask mindfulstew for advice — he did this in his high school classroom).
4. Offer caring wishes. Practice caring and compassion for ourselves and others by offering wishes such as, “May we be happy, may we be safe, may we be filled with love.” They might giggle in August, but by May? They may just wish you affection right back. Caring wishes can be used when we experience discomfort before taking a test, when reading out loud, or simply to send kindness to another person.
5. Practice gratitude. We can cultivate gratitude in simple ways; for example, we can take a few minutes to reflect on the good things that happened during the day, keep a list of people and things for which we are grateful and/or create a gratitude journal using words and pictures. Write about it, talk about it, reflect upon it.
6. Be patient. These ideas will take patience to develop as a capacity in students. Start with small, quick activities. Accept challenges as they arise. Help students contextualize what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. There’s no reason mindfulness can’t be successful in any K-12 classroom.
7. Model it–or let others do so. Watching others ‘being mindful’ so that they can see what it looks like in different shapes, contexts, and applications. This can be done live, or through YouTube, or even videos the students make themselves.
8. Transfer it. Help students carry it beyond the classroom by offering tips, resources, ideas, and more to be mindful in their daily lives. (After all, isn’t that the point?)
9. Journal about it. Keep notes about how it is, what it’s not, when it ‘worked,’ when it didn’t, what the benefits have been, what other aspects of growth daily mindfulness practice could lead to, etc.
   

Click here to learn six additional ideas to help create a more positive, mindful classroom.

Tools for Building Classroom Mindfulness

• Smiling Mind’s Mindfulness Best Practices
• Try a three-minute body scan meditation video with your students
• Try a five-minute check-in mindfulness exercise from University of California San Diego
• BeMindful
• Mindfulness Journal

Original sources:

• http://bit.ly/FuturityTeachersStress
• http://bit.ly/MindfulnessInSchoolsEvidenceBase
• http://bit.ly/ResearchOnMindfulness
• http://bit.ly/TeachThoughtMindfulClassroom

As educators, it may feel like you are in a constant stressed state. Consider these resources to help combat stress and anxiety for you and your students.

• Take five minutes for yourself each day to practice one of the following techniques from Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Teachers Take 5 program:
  • Breathe and focus
  • Eat a healthy snack
  • Stretch and move
  • Hydrate!
  • Connect with others
• Play music in the classroom that is proven to improve focus and promote relaxation
  • Search Spotify or other digital music services and listen to “Classical Music for Studying”
  • Classical Music for Studying
  • Exam Study Classical Music to Increase Brain Power
• Connect with nature
  • Aids in relaxation
  • Reduces anxiety
  • Boost your mood
  • Try this! Bring nature into the classroom. To help your classroom relax, project a natural landscape on a large screen and play natural sounds. One minute of this technique will help students’ minds with a quick mini escape.
    • Tip: @nationalparkservice has stunning images on Instagra
• Reduce classroom clutter
  • Visual overstimulation can lead to unnecessary stress
  • Keep materials away until needed
  • Limit how much you put on your walls
• Create a calming corner in classrooms
  • Works best for elementary and middle school ages
  • A calming corner is ideally a quiet area of your classroom that is equipped with comfortable seating and materials
  • Including coloring supplies (this can be for all ages!), noise cancelling headphones, bean bag chairs, calming activities and a feelings check-in method resource
  • This space can help promote students’ ability to regulate (i.e., having a space to reflect, calm down and just have a moment to themselves)

Original Sources

• https://www.healthiergeneration.org/campaigns/teachers-take-5
• https://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/resources/student-stress/
• https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/spend-time-in-nature-to-reduce-stress-and-anxiety
• https://www.innovadesigngroup.co.uk/news/how-can-design-help-minimise-student-stress-in-the-classroom/
• https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d0g1w5sq10e0jdnAfoCLVV-0W8o3-eZX/view
• https://theartofeducation.edu/2019/01/21/how-to-create-a-calm-down-corner-in-5-easy-steps/

Teaching is a profession with a high amount of daily stress. This high amount of stress can lead to both physical and mental health problems and that can eventually lead to burnout. With almost half of teachers leaving the profession within five years of employment, it’s important to learn how to recognize what burnout is and consider how your school can make small changes to help prevent teachers from burning out.

What is Teacher Burnout? Burnout can be defined as “a state of emotional, mental and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest or motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.”

The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) is a 30 item self-report measure of the positive and negative effects of working with people who have experienced extremely stressful events.

The ProQol contains three subscales measuring Compassion Fatigue, Burnout and Compassion Satisfaction.

Click here to take the ProQOL quiz and assess your professional fatigue, burnout and satisfaction.

Causes for Teacher Burnout

• Volume. Too much to do and not enough time – one of the most common problems and also one of the most burnout-rendering problems.
• Environment. Including overstimulation and inadequate resources.
• Tedium. This generally applies to veteran teachers who find themselves doing the same thing year after year and does not typically pertain to new teachers.
• Student Behavior. Including classroom management, lack of boundaries at home, drug use, gang involvement, etc.
• Administration. When ineffective and/or antagonistic.
• Community Relations. Involving media, parent relations, etc. which can potentially disrespect teachers or not support teachers adequately) ³

Burnout Signs and Symptoms

• Fatigue and sleep issues
• Trouble concentrating
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Job absenteeism
• Irritability
• Diminished performance

Click here to view a Teacher Burnout Infographic.

How to Avoid Burnout

• Learn to say “no”
• Make “you” time a priority
• Take time for introspection
• Treat yourself!
• Try to simplify as much as possible

Strategies to Help Reduce Burnout

• Try 4Square Breathing: Try practicing 4Square Breathing in between classes. Even just a few minutes can make a world of difference.

• Try the “STOP” technique the next time you find yourself getting overly stressed.
  • Stop – Whatever you are doing, just pause momentarily.
  • Take a Breath – Reconnect with your breath to keep yourself in the present.
  • Observe – Take notice of what is happening inside and outside of you.
  • Proceed – Continue doing what you were doing.

Original sources:

• https://www.niroga.org/media/news/2016-impact_burnout.php
• https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery.htm
• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/much-more-common-core/201611/the-teacher-burnout-epidemic-part-1-2#targetText=About%20half%20a%20million%20(15,%2C%20and%20Stuckey%2C%202014).
• https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/teacher-burnout-causes-symptoms-and-prevention1711.html
• https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/teacher-burnout-causes-symptoms-and-prevention1711.html

To be able to care for others, you must first take care of yourself. It’s like the advice we’re given on airplanes: put on your own oxygen mask before trying to help someone else. Taking care of yourself is a valid goal on its own, and it helps you support the people in your life.

Teachers and caregivers who pay attention to their own physical and emotional health are better able to handle the challenges of supporting someone with mental illness. They adapt to changes, build strong relationships and recover from setbacks. The ups and downs in your family member’s illness can have a huge impact on you. Improving your relationship with yourself by maintaining your physical and mental health makes you more resilient, helping you weather hard times and enjoy good ones. Here are some suggestions for personalizing your self-care strategy.

Understand How Stress Affects You
Stress affects your entire body, physically and mentally. Some common physical signs of stress include:

• Headaches
• Low energy
• Upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation and nausea
• Aches, pains and tense muscles
• Insomnia

Begin by identifying how stress feels to you. Then identify what events or situations cause you to feel that way. (i.e. feeling stressed by grocery shopping with your spouse when they’re symptomatic). Once you know which situations cause you stress, you’ll be prepared to avoid it and to cope with it when it happens.

Protect Your Physical Health
Improving your physical wellbeing is one of the most comprehensive ways you can support your mental health. You’ll have an easier time maintaining good mental habits when your body is a strong, resilient foundation.

• Exercise daily. Exercise can take many forms, such as taking the stairs, walking up escalators, and running or biking rather than driving. If committing to a schedule works best for you, join a class. Daily exercise naturally produces stress-relieving hormones in your body and improves your overall health.
• Eat well. Eating mainly unprocessed foods like whole grains, vegetables and fresh fruit is key to a healthy body. Eating this way can help lower your risk for chronic diseases, and help stabilize your energy levels and mood.
• Get enough sleep. Adults generally need between seven and nine hours of sleep. A brief nap—up to 30 minutes—can help you feel again during the day. Even 15 minutes of daytime sleep is helpful. To make your nighttime sleep count more, practice good “sleep hygiene,” like avoiding computers, TV and smartphones before bed.
• Avoid alcohol and drugs. They don’t actually reduce stress and often worsen it.
• Practice relaxation exercises. Deep breathing, meditation and progressive muscle relaxation are easy, quick ways to reduce stress. When conflicts arise, these tools can help you feel less controlled by turbulent feelings and give you the space you need to think clearly about what to do next.

Recharge Yourself
When you’re a teacher it can be incredibly hard to find time for yourself, and even when you do, you may feel distracted by thoughts of what you “should” be doing instead. Learning to make time for yourself without feeling you’re neglecting others is critical.

Any amount of time you take for yourself is important. Being out of “teacher mode” for as little as five minutes in the middle of a day can be a meaningful reminder of who you are in a larger sense. It can help keep you from becoming consumed by your responsibilities. Start small; think about activities you enjoyed before becoming a teacher and try to work them back into your life. If you once enjoyed days out with friends, try to schedule a standing monthly lunch with them. Once scheduled, it becomes part of your routine and no one has to work extra to make it happen each month.

The point is not what you do or how often you do it, but that you do take the time to care for yourself. It’s impossible to take good care of anyone else if you’re not taking care of yourself first.

Practice Good Mental Habits

• Avoid Guilt. Try not to feel bad about experiencing negative emotions. You may resent having to remind your spouse to take his medication, then feel guilty. It’s natural to think things like “a better person wouldn’t be annoyed with their spouse,” but that kind of guilt is both untrue and unproductive. When you allow yourself to notice your feelings without judgment, you dial down the stress and feel more in control. When you feel less stressed, you’re better able to thoughtfully choose how to act.
• Notice the Positive. When you take the time to notice positive moments in your day, your experience of that day becomes better. Try writing down one thing each day or week that was good. Even if the positive thing is tiny (“It was a sunny day”), it’s real, it counts and it can start to change your experience of life.
• Gather Strength from Others. NAMI support groups exist to reassure you that countless other people have faced similar challenges and understand your concerns. Talking about your experiences can help. The idea that you can, or should be able to, “solve” things by yourself is false. Often the people who seem like they know how to do everything are actually frequently asking for help; being willing to accept help is a great life skill.

You may feel you don’t have the time to stay in touch with friends or start new friendships. Focus on the long-term. If you can meet up with a friend once a month, or go to a community event at your local library once every two months, it still helps keep you connected. It also gives you the chance to connect with people on multiple levels. Being a teacher is an important part of your life, but it’s not the whole story.

Original source:

https://www.nami.org/Find-Support/Family-Members-and-Caregivers/Taking-Care-of-Yourself

On June 26, 2014, Act 71 was signed into law in Pennsylvania. This law, which added section 1526 of the School Code, 24 PS § 15-1526, specifically requires school entities to: (1) adopt a youth suicide awareness and prevention policy; and (2) provide ongoing professional development in youth suicide awareness and prevention for professional educators in building serving students in grades 6-12. Additionally, section 1526 specifically permits school entities to incorporate curriculum on this topic into their instructional programs pursuant to their youth suicide awareness and prevention polices.

• SECTION 1526: Suicide Awareness/ Prevention Education: Guidelines & Educational Materials
• SECTION 1527: Child Exploitation Awareness Education: Guidelines & Suggested Resources 

NOTE: This webpage contains resources, including links to websites, created by a variety of outside organizations. The resources are provided for the user’s convenience, and inclusion does not constitute an endorsement by the Pennsylvania Department of Education of any views, products or services offered or expressed in them.

Student Led Programs

• A Day Without Hate: This movement started in Colorado after the VA tech mass shooting in 2007. The idea is to create a “day without hate” by setting aside the last Friday of every April to celebrate community, inspire each other, to not hate on each other, and to wear white in comradery and remembrance.
• Aevidum Club: Aevidum is a club that schools can start that has the motto of “I’ve got your back”. This was started in Lancaster County, Pa. after a classmate committed suicide. Provides programming for k-12 and in college.
• More Than Sad Program: The More Than Sad Program of the American Foundation for Suicide prevention provides education about factors that put youth at risk for suicide, in particular depression and other mental disorders. The program includes two sets of materials one for teens and one for teachers and school personnel. Instructional materials to accompany More Than Sad Program, include a power point presentation.
• National Center for the Prevention of Youth Suicide: View four programs that schools and communities can implement to address the issue of suicide among young people, by inviting youth to take the lead.
• U OK?: U OK? is a fundraising and awareness model for youth across the country to raise awareness about and help prevent teen suicide. U OK?, a program of the National Center for the Prevention of Youth Suicide (NCPYS), raises awareness of the problem of teen suicide, mobilizes high school students to become part of the solution and raises money for these activities.
• Youth Mental Health First Aid: Designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. The course is designed to improve participants’ knowledge and modify their attitudes and perceptions about mental health and related issues, including how to respond to individuals who are experiencing one or more acute mental health crises or are in the early stages of one or more chronic mental health problems.

Professional Development, Curriculum and Resources

• Jana Marie Foundation: This foundation provides workshops, curriculum and materials regarding matters of mental health, well-being and suicidal risk.
• Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement: This organization was started by a mother of one of the Sandy Hook elementary victims, Jesse Lewis. Based on some of Jesse’s last words — nurturing, healing, love — this organization provides free Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum K-12 as well as at home and community-based resources.
• Kognito At-Risk for High School Educators: A one-hour, online, interactive gatekeeper training program that prepares high school teachers and other school personnel to identify, approach, and refer students who are exhibiting signs of psychological distress such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation. Through a self-paced, narrative-driven experience, participants build knowledge, skills, and confidence to connect at-risk students to counseling, mental health, or crisis support services.
• Making Educators Partners in Youth Suicide Prevention: Online interactive training program for educators and school staff. Designed in a series of 5 modules, it addresses the critical but limited responsibilities of educators in the process of identification and referral of potentially suicidal youth. It focuses on the practical realities and challenges inherent in the school setting through a variety of training formats that include lecture, question and answer, and role plays. This training is available free of charge.
• Open Pediatrics – Managing Behavioral Health Crises in School Training: Online trainings that are free to whoever creates a free account. Covers topical areas surrounding mental health in schools: trauma impacts, behavioral crisis, social emotional learning and much more!
• Open Pediatrics – Overview of Social-Emotional Development: What Can We Expect in the Classroom?: Online trainings that are free to whoever creates a free account. Covers topical areas surrounding mental health in schools: trauma impacts, behavioral crisis, social emotional learning and much more!
• Open Pediatrics – Understanding Trauma and the Impact on Learning Training: Online trainings that are free to whoever creates a free account. Covers topical areas surrounding mental health in schools: trauma impacts, behavioral crisis, social emotional learning and much more!
• PREPaRE School Crisis Prevention and Intervention Training Curriculum (2nd Edition): Consists of two complementary workshops. Workshop 1 is designed to help schools create systems to meet the safety and crisis prevention and preparedness needs of students, staff, and families. Workshop 2 focuses on mental health crisis intervention and recovery. The curriculum builds on existing personnel, resources, and programs; links to ongoing school safety efforts; facilitates sustainability; addresses a range of crises (including suicide); and can be adapted to each school’s size and needs.
• The SOS Signs of Suicide^®: SOS Signs of Suicide is a secondary school-based suicide prevention program that includes screening and education. Students are screened for depression and suicide risk and referred for professional help as indicated. Students also view a video that teaches them to recognize signs of depression and suicide in themselves and others. They are taught that the appropriate response to these signs is to use the ACT technique: acknowledge that there is a problem, let the person know you care, and tell a trusted adult. Students also participate in guided classroom discussions about suicide and depression.
• The SOS Signs of Suicide® Plan, Prepare, Prevent: Online Gatekeeper Training: SOS Signs of Suicide is a secondary school-based suicide prevention program that includes screening and education. A complete professional development component accompanies the student program. The intended audience for this course is middle and high school staff members, or staff at other organizations looking to deepen their understanding of youth mental health and considering implementing an evidence-based prevention program. The course takes approximately 90 minutes to complete, and has videos and interactive quizzes throughout the three sections. The course offers contact hours for licensure for school nurses, social workers, psychologists, and counselors. It also offers a Certificate of Completion for anyone who finishes the course.
• STAR Center – Services for Teens At Risk: A comprehensive research, treatment, and training center. Funded by the State of Pennsylvania’s General Assembly in 1986 to address adolescent suicide and depression, the program provides individual assessment and treatment to teens that are experiencing depression and suicidality. They also provide community education services about depression and suicidality to schools, social service agencies, churches and other organizations that request them.
• Stopbullying.gov: Free, online course that takes viewers through bullying prevention training modules.
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center for Educators: Outline of resources and programs that offer suicide prevention resources for educators. Resources include: articles, tools, screenings, treatment and prevention practices.
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center for Teachers: Outline of resources and programs that offer suicide prevention resources for teachers. Resources include: articles, tools, screenings, treatment and prevention practices.
• The Trevor Project Ally Training: A basic framework of understanding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and the unique challenges they often face. This training is designed to create dialogue regarding what it means to be an adult ally for LGBTQ youth by informing participants about terminology used in the LGBTQ community, the process of “coming out” as an LGBTQ person and a discussion of the challenges faced by LGBT youth in their homes, schools and communities.
• Yellow Ribbon’s Be A Link: An adult gatekeeper training program that provides participants with knowledge to help them identify youth at risk for suicide and refer them to appropriate help resources. Be A Link! requires a certified Yellow Ribbon trainer.

Original source:

https://www.education.pa.gov/Schools/safeschools/laws/Pages/Act71.aspx

The Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools by National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) assists high schools and school districts in designing and implementing strategies to prevent suicide and promote behavioral health.

To view a multifaceted suicide prevention program, click on the toolkit sections below:

• Getting Started
• Protocols for Helping Students at Risk of Suicide
• Staff Education and Training
• Parent/Guardian Education and Outreach
• Student Programs
• Screening
• Resources
• Handouts

Click here to access the high school kit promotional flyer.

Click here to view additional suicide prevention efforts in the Youth Suicide Prevention School-Based Guide from the Mental Health Institute in the College of Behavioral & Community Sciences at the University of South Florida and the Department of Child & Family Studies.

Original sources:

• Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools
• SAMSHA’s Toolkit for High Schools

After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools by Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) assists schools in implementing a coordinated response to the suicide death of a student. Originally developed in 2011, the second edition includes new information and tools that middle and high schools can use to help the school community cope and reduce suicide risk. The toolkit was developed in collaboration with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and in consultation with national experts, including school-based administrators and staff, clinicians, researchers and crisis response professionals. It is designed primarily for administrators and staff but can also be useful for parents and communities. To view effective comprehensive steps about how to respond in the immediate aftermath of a suicide death of a student, click on the toolkit sections below:

• After a Suicide
• Crisis Response  – Steps that should be taken immediately when the school learns that a student has died by suicide
• Helping Students Cope – Ways that the school can help reduce the emotional trauma of an unexpected death for all students and reduce suicide risk among vulnerable students
• Working with the Community – Approaches to sharing information and coordinating activities with organizations and groups outside the school, including the police department, local government, faith community, and mental health providers
• Working with the Media – Helping journalists ensure that the public gets the information it needs without causing undue emotional stress, increasing the risk of contagion to other students, or violating the privacy of the deceased and his or her family
• Memorialization – Appropriately remembering and honoring a student who died without contributing to additional emotional trauma or suicide risk among other students
• Social Media – How to appropriately use social media to inform the community while working to limit the spread of rumors and social media content that can raise the risk of vulnerable students
• Suicide Contagion – Helping vulnerable students who may be in emotional or suicidal crisis as a result of the death of another student, member of the school community, or a celebrity with whom they identify, in order to avoid additional suicidal behavior and deaths
• Bringing in Outside Help – Identifying and working with postvention experts from outside the school
• Going Forward – Moving past the immediate crisis and implementing a comprehensive suicide prevention plan (if the school does not already have one)
• Tools and Templates – Sample guidelines, letters, and procedures to be used in the aftermath of a suicide
• Additional Resources – Sources of more information and guidance on preparing for and responding to a suicide in the school community, listed by the section of the toolkit to which they are most relevant

Original sources:

• http://www.sprc.org/resources-programs/after-suicide-toolkit-schools
• http://www.sprc.org/sites/default/files/resource-program/AfteraSuicideToolkitforSchools.pdf