A message to teachers about school holidays and your wellbeing

Please note where this article refer to teachers, I am referring to all staff who work at schools including Principals, Deputy Principals, Assistant Principals, Office Administration Staff, SLSO’s, Teachers Aids, Cleaners, General Assistants and School counsellors. I am using the role of teachers for efficiency.

A message to teachers as you start school holidays …….

As we move into school holidays here in my home state of NSW; I am really mindful that teachers are going to be able to finally STOP. And in that moment of stopping, they are moving out of the emotional state of ‘locking and loading’ that they have had to occupy to get through these last few weeks.

Schools have been phenomenal in the way they they have adapted to the impact of COVID 19 on education. They way that they have overnight moved from a face to face teaching model to an online platform has been tremendous. It is a true testament to their magnificence and power to really achieve anything.

Teachers though are human. Humans with brains and a body’s that have felt fear, uncertainty, frustration and overwhelm. The balance though is that they have also felt their own extreme competence, which will be healing in the longer term.

Bessell Van der Kolk MD, an international expert in trauma; acknowledges that the body keeps score, of everything. And every single teacher has had a body that has been keeping score day after day, night and after night as they have gotten through all that COVID 19 has meant for them. As they balanced the demands of their job with the needs and safety of their family and themselves, every thought and feeling has been noted by their brain and their body.

So whilst they have appeared super human in the crisis, all education staff here in NSW are about to sit down, reflect on what has just happened and say to themselves “What the heck have I just gone through?”

And in the safety of the space created by not needing to be doing; they will begin to feel, all the emotions that they have been holding onto as they have waded through task after task, moment after moment at school and in their home lives.  

So if you are a teacher what does this mean for you? Here are some ideas that I hope you find to be helpful as you navigate the first few days of the school holidays.

·  It is ok to stop. In actual fact it is important to stop. You may experience heavy feelings and they may come in waves, and that is to be expected.

·  The most important first step is to look after your feelings by working with the connection between your brain and body. We will be talking about how to do this in the upcoming Care Session coming up for Teachers Affected By COVID 19. For more details please join our Teachers Affected By COVID 19 Online Community.

· It is really important to take stock of what you have just gone through. One idea is to write it all down, a list with several columns. Column headings would be

What happened?

What were you thinking?

What were you feeling?

· Listen to what your body needs. Do you need rest? Do you need a drink of water? Do you need to breath in fresh air? Do you need to move your body?

· If you feel able to talk to a safe person. If you don’t feel able to talk, this is just because your brain is feeling overwhelmed and your amygdala has moved your brain function into the primitive brain where all you can do is either fight, flight, freeze or submit. Once you know this then you can be kinder toward yourself and release the expectation to talk.

·  Most of all, please do not criticise yourself for how you are coping and feeling. It is enough to be feeling and experiencing COVID 19. Rather say to yourself, “My feelings are understandable.”

· Reach out to your GP or a therapist if you need further help. Everyone’s mental health is affected by COVID 19, and the ones who will suffer less in the medium to longer term are the ones who take action now.