MANAGING STRESS:A GUIDE FOR UFT MEMBERS

Third Edition

MANAGING STRESS:A GUIDE FORUFT MEMBERS

Third Edition

A GUIDE TO STRESS MANAGEMENT FOR UFT MEMBERS

Dear Colleagues,

The schools of New York City have never placed more demands upon theiremployees. And the pressures can be overwhelming.

Teaching is difficult, the bureaucracy is frustrating, and you’re trying to do agood job while living under the strain everyone faces in New York City. TheUFT understands how stressful your environment can be — and we want tohelp you cope with it.

This booklet is full of useful tips, exercises and information for dealing withstress effectively. For more extensive assistance, the UFT offers stress man-agement courses. There, our experts provide a more comprehensive explo-ration of stress and ways of handling it. Look for announcements of thecourses in the New York Teacher

Remember, you can’t be your best if you’re not taking care of yourself — soplease do, for yourself and your students.

Sincerely,

Michael Mulgrew

UFT President

Copyright 1989, 2002, 2010The United Federation of Teachers

Illustrator: Debra Solomon

STRESS DEFINED

Q: What is stress? A: Hans Selye, a pioneer in thestudy of stress, calls it “the rate of wear and tear within the body”— a series of bodily changes.Factors that cause stress are calledstressors.

Q: Why do we have stress? A: People, like other animals,have an inborn reaction to stress-ful situations called the “fight orflight” response. Just as when ourancestors had to decide whetherto battle or flee from a rampagingcarnivore, we still have the samephysiologic reactions to stress:blood pressure rises, heart ratesoars, breathing speeds and mus-cles get ready for action. That’swear and tear.

These days, we’re more likely torespond to stressors by changingbehavior than by grappling with atiger. Unless we learn how to dealwith stress, we risk illnesses, suchas heart attack or stroke, fromchronic fight or flight responses.

Q: What makes us feel stressed?A: Some stress arises from prob-lems in the school system. Somecomes from our personal lives —

our homes, families and friends.Wherever its origins, stress nega-tively affects our ability to functiondaily. So stresses created by plan-ning lessons, managing a class-room, typing reports, meetingdeadlines and completing paper-work can become overwhelming.If we add to this the stress relatedto our personal lives, runninghouseholds and taking care offinances, the result may be anoverload of our functioning capacities.

Q: What can I do about stress?A: No matter what you do, youwill be under some amount ofstress. The trick is to manage itthrough techniques including tak-ing more control over your school,exercise, relaxation, diet and cop-ing with drugs and alcohol. Thisbooklet is filled with tips for doingthese things.

Q: Is stress always bad for you?A: We usually think of stress as anegative force since it can have adraining effect on us physically,mentally and emotionally. Yet notall stress is bad. Think of planningand taking a vacation. While thatcreates stress, it’s stress with apositive payoff.

your energy goes to dealing with theirphysical, mental and social ills that littletime or energy remains for yourself.Brown University found more stress-relat-ed illnesses among people whose jobsinvolve significant responsibility for thewell-being of others.

Q: Is the stress level in certain grade levels higher than others, and are someschool jobs more stressful than others?

A: All educators experience some sort ofstress and tension unique to their assign-ments, but they also share many stressorsin common. No one is immune.

Q: What, then, is the best way for educators to keep their cool?A: Research indicates a three-stepapproach: Verbalize your feelings, planyour week to allow for periodic relaxationand establish an exercise routine.

STRESS AND SCHOOLS

Q: Is there much stress in schooljobs?A: Absolutely. Aside from theobvious tensions of working inoften dilapidated buildings, in highcrime areas and with a bureaucra-cy that can be unforgiving andunhelpful, some educators facethe dangers of drugs, weaponsand vandalism. On any given daystress may come from paperwork,disruptive youngsters, difficultieswith a supervisor or violence inschool. Worse, many educatorsfeel that they have no

opportunity to make their ideasknown to policy makers, and have no control over their profes-sional lives.

But there are more subtle forcesat work. You must give your maxi-mum attention to your students.This can mean that so much of

Q: To whom should I verbalizemy feelings?A: First figure out what is reallycausing your stress. If it’s a per-son, make sure you know his orher nature. Ideally you should talkout a conflict with the person whois causing it, but this isn’t alwayspossible. So try talking to a col-league, writing a letter that youdon’t intend to mail, or (as a lastresort if you’re alone in yourroom), talk to an empty chair.Whatever you do, do somethingto release the tension.

Q: You say I should plan relax-ation periods, but how can I do

that in school?A: Relaxation means doinganything that will let youtake your mind off yourproblems. At the beginning ofa prep period or during lunch

you might want to listen tomusic, walk around the block,stretch or read a book. There aretapes you can play that are

designed to help you relax. Youcan utilize commuting time to giveyourself a break.

Q: What about exercise? I’m no athlete.A: This booklet provides a seriesof easy stretches that will do thetrick. Read on.

Q: What if working conditions arecreating my stress?A: Work with your UFT chapter.Together, you and your colleagueshave the power to bringsubstantial changes to yoursituation in school. Much can bedone just by increasingcommunication within yourbuilding, particularly with theadministration. Also, by using theSchool-Based Option provisionthat the UFT negotiated into yourcontract, your chapter can makechanges in class size; teacherschedules; and rotation ofassignments, classes and paidcoverages.

ing up on assignments or saying, “I’m toodumb”; doodling, drawing or otherwiseplaying instead of doing work; arguing,disobeying, being rude to adults or stu-dents; seeking praise and attention con-stantly; cheating, tattling, stealing frequent-ly; and disregarding school rules and con-ventions.

Q: How can I help a child who’s understress?A: Remember that your responses canhave positive influences upon youngsters:convey disapproval of a child’s behavior,but not of the child himself or herself;encourage the child to explain why he orshe behaves in this way; take the young-ster’s feelings seriously; act with respectfor the student even while correcting himor her; explain what is expected

and why; encourage development of self-respect and respect for others; and realizethat you as an educator may be the child’sonly positive adult role model.

STRESS AND STUDENTS

Learning to manage your stress isonly half the battle in schools,because often your students areunder equal pressure. There arethings you can do to help.

Q:What are some of the causesof stress in youngsters?A: Keeping in mind that stress isidiosyncratic, for children as wellas for adults, some commoncauses include: family problems(like separation, divorce, death,sibling rivalry, being a latchkeychild); peer group pressure (am Ias taIl/smart/tough as Johnny?Do I really want to go along withthem?); development (like

puberty, self-esteem, losing in agame); academic requirementsand achievements (including testanxiety); health; moving to a newschool; and being held back agrade.

Q: How can I identify studentsunder stress?A: Look for common warningsigns, including: truancy; changein academic performance; limitedparticipation in group activities;day dreaming/withdrawal duringclassroom activities; hyperactivity,noisiness, fidgeting all the time;inappropriate behavior (laughingwhen something isn’t funny); giv-

RECOGNIZING STRESS

Q: What are the warning signs ofstress?A: Many symptoms are oftenassociated with stress, comingeither in response to a long-termstressful lifestyle or to short-termstressful events. See how manysymptoms you’ve seen in col-leagues, students and yourself:

Unusual voice volume ;nervous tics or habits (tap-ping, etc.); vibration feeling(like a motor running); laryn-gitis; frequent headaches;migraine headaches andsymptoms; numbness inextremities; use of combativegestures (punching or choppingthe air); use of sarcasm; use ofexaggeration in speech; hostilelanguage; blowing up/loss of tem-per; losing perspective (making amountain out of a molehill);unusual amount of blinking oryawning; repeated lateness;repeated forgetfulness; unusualheart feelings like tachycardia(rapid heartbeat); rigid thinking,dogmatism; sudden weightchange; loss of normal bowel reg-ularity; excessive illness/frequencyof colds; allergies or rashes;breathing problems (shortness of

breath, out of breath, asthma);misperceptions (failing to hear orsee accurately); sudden change indiet (going on a food binge orsuddenly focusing on one“favorite” food); accident prone-ness (dropping things, bumpinginto things); inattentiveness or dis-tractibility (daydreaming, inabilityto focus on what’s happening);high or low irritability (eithereverything or nothing bothers theperson); and regression (returningto old behavior habits).

INTERPRETING THIS LISTAnybody may have several ofthese “symptoms” at a givenmoment without having a prob-lem. Each of these items can havemany causes other than stress.But a combination of several signscan suggest overload. If in doubt,see a physician or mental healthpractitioner.

If you experience a clear patternof stress symptoms, your innerself is sending you a vital mes-sage. Re-evaluate your lifestyleand make changes.

exercise. Exercising does not necessarilymean running a marathon or doing 100pushups. Rather, just stretching for a fewminutes when you’re alone in your roomcan provide immediate relief.

Q. What are the benefits of regular exercise? A. Resistance to many ailments, includingheart disease (particularly atherosclerosis),back problems, broken bones and aller-gies; relaxation and tranquility; weightcontrol; and better sleep patterns.

Q. What type of exercise is best?A. This depends on the time you have,where you are and what your goals are.Aerobic exercise, which increases yourrate of breathing, involves constant move-ment for 20 to 45 minutes.

Aerobics force your heart, lungs and circu-latory system to work harder, therebystrengthening them and making themmore efficient. But after a good aerobicworkout, you need a shower.

In your classroom or office, you haveother options. Here are a series of exer-cises that are easy to do, easy to remem-ber and stretch and relax major musclesthroughout the body. These exercises willrelieve most of the common discomfortsassociated with unreleased muscle ten-sion. Do them all slowly and hold for thecount of 3 or 5.

WAYS TO RESOLVE STRESS

Q. Does exercise help?A. Stress causes the muscles of the body to tense. This can lead to muscle knots, tension, head -aches, cramps, stomach disor-ders, stiff necks, backaches, poor circulation, etc.

In order to pull your muscles outof this state of partial tension, nei-ther completely flexed nor com-pletely relaxed, you have to exer-cise. In addition, tranquilizingchemicals (endorphins) arereleased in the brain during

FORWARD BEND

Begin with an overhead stretch whileinhaling. Then, exhaling, bend forwardfrom the hips, keeping the back straightand the arms next to and high above theears. Continue bending; place yourpalms next to your feet, or drop themdown as far as possible. Hold the stretch.It’s OK to bend your knees a little untilyour hamstrings become more flexible.Don’t strain them. Roll up slowly.

This encourages a flexible spine, mas-sages intervertebral discs, stretcheshamstrings.

NECK ROLLS

Lower the chin to the chest and slowlybegin to rotate the head to the left.Inhale while lifting the head up (left earto left shoulder) and back. Exhale whenbringing head down (right ear to rightshoulder). Rotate three times, withhead, neck and body relaxed. Reverse,and rotate the same number of times tothe right.

This releases tension in the neck andshoulder muscles.

SHOULDER ROTATION

Stand, with the arms hangingloosely at the sides. Rotate theright shoulder in a complete cir-cle, first moving it forward andup toward the ear, then back-ward. Repeat with the left shoul-der and then again with bothshoulders simultaneously press-ing the shoulder blades togetherand down. Rotate three times inone direction and then reversethree times.

This releases tension in theshoulders and upper back.

OVERHEAD STRETCH

Stand erect, arms at your sides.Inhaling, stretch the arms up,from sides to shoulder level tooverhead. Stretch toward theceiling as high as you can, firstone arm, then the other, thenboth together. Each time, holdthe highest position. Exhaling,relax the arms and let themslowly drop to the sides.

Take a deep breath. Repeat, andexhale into a forward bend.

This stretches the spine, neck,shoulders and arms.

DEEP MUSCLE RELAXATION

Q: What is the best way to relax quickly?A: At school, find a quiet place with achair (or sit in your car); take five to tenminutes to calm down and refreshyourself with these relaxation exercises.At home, choose a quiet comfortableplace where you won’t be disturbed forhalf an hour. Go through relaxationwhile lying on the floor, a bed or areclining chair.

Concentrate on each muscle group, one ata time in the order presented. For eachmuscle group, a method is described forcreating tension and achieving relaxation.Create tension in the muscles by tighten-ing them for five seconds and then relax-ing them. The first time you try it, gothrough the procedure for each musclegroup twice.

Since it is difficult to read the instructionswhile attempting to relax, you may wantto make a tape recording of the exercisesso you can give yourself instructions. Besure to speak softly and gently.

SIDE STRETCH

Stand with your feet shoulderwidth apart and legs straight.Inhale, raise the arms to shoulderlevel with palms down. Turn leftpalm up and continue raising leftarm until it presses against the leftear. Exhale, and bend at the waistto the right, sliding the right handdown the right leg. Hold the posi-tion. Inhale as you raise yourarms back to shoulder level. Thenexhale and lower arms. Repeat onopposite side.

This stretches the arms, spine,waist.

BALANCING POSTURE

Stand straight, feet about six inch-es apart. Inhaling, raise right armup overhead. Stretch left arm backto grasp left foot. Hold this posi-tion. To keep your balance, try tofocus on a spot directly in front ofyou. Exhale, lower the left foot,and then the right arm. Repeat onopposite side.

As you get used to balancing, youcan tilt forward from the waist,until your arm is parallel to theground.

This stretches pelvic ligaments,arms, shoulders and musclesaround knee.

MUSCLE TENSING METHOD

Forehead Wrinkle forehead Try to make your eyebrows touch your hairlinefor five seconds. RELAX.

Eyes and nose Close your eyes as tightly as you can for five seconds. RELAX.

Lips, Cheeks Draw the corners of your mouth back and and grimace for and Jaw five seconds. RELAX. Feel the calmness and warmth in the face.

Hands Extend arms in front of you, clench fists tightly for five seconds.RELAX, and feel the warmth and calmness in your hands.

Forearms Extend arms out against an invisible wall and push forward withhands for five seconds. RELAX.

Upper arms Bend elbows. Tense biceps for five seconds. RELAX, and feel thetension leave your arms.

Shoulders Shrug shoulders up to your ears for five seconds.

Back Arch your back off the floor or bed or away from your chair forfive seconds. RELAX. Feel the anxiety and tension disappearing.

Stomach Tighten your stomach muscles for five seconds. RELAX.

Hips, buttocks Tighten buttocks for five seconds. RELAX.

Thighs Tighten thigh muscles by pressing legs together as tightly as youcan for five seconds. RELAX.

Calves, feet With your heels planted firmly on the floor; raise your toes as highas they will go for five seconds. Feel the stretch down the back of your calves. RELAX.

Toes Curl toes under as tightly as you can for five seconds. RELAX.

Since tension strikes differentfolks in different areas of thebody find the exercise thatmost closely relates to yourtension area. Memorize theexercise. When you feel anx-ious, take a deep breath.Perform the exercise(s) wher-ever you are and feel the ten-

sion dissolve.

with no sauces, creams, wine, etc. Avoidstuffing yourself, the “eat and run” syn-drome, gulping your food (chewing foodwell eases digestion), and unrestrainedeating (the “binge”).

Where and when you eat should also bea consideration. A relaxing atmospherecontributes to better digestion and anoverall sense of well-being. Avoid eatinglate at night and when you are anxious orunable to eat slowly. Eating while moving,driving, standing or doing something elseis hard on your body’s digestive process.

Be aware of why you eat. How often doyou eat because you are bored, anxious,tired, need oral gratification or feel social

pressure? Try to distinguish those feelingsfrom real hunger.

Be concerned with what you eat, butdon’t let worry about food take up toomuch of your energy. Try to consumemore whole grains, cereals, fresh fruit andvegetables, fish, poultry and legumes(investigate alternative protein sources).Avoid too much sugar, salt, red meat, fatand cholesterol, food dyes and preserva-tives, alcohol and caffeine.

DIET

Q: What part does nutrition playin stress reduction?A: Food influences how you reactto stimuli. Some nutrients have apositive effect (such as vitamins Band C) while others can playhavoc (like sugar). Taking respon-sibility for your nutrition andhealth is vital.

Q: What can I do to improve mynutrition behavior and habits?A: What works best for one indi-vidual may not be good for anoth-er. We are all biochemicallyunique and our dietary require-ments differ. Allow enough flexi-bility in your dietary plans to

accommodate change and explo-ration. Also: Consider new theo-ries and information, but makeyour own choices. Experimentand observe.

Remember that nutrition is afunction of lifestyle. Ailmentscannot be attributed totally to poornutrition. Nutrition is part of thewhole health picture.

How you eat is important. One ofthe best things you can do foryour body is to eat food that ismost easily digested and assimi-lated—boiled, baked or broiled,prepared in the simplest form,

Avoid large quantities of the four whites: sugar,salt, refined flour and hydrogenated oils.

Try unbleached flour instead of refined flour. More nutrients are left in.

Make your own bread. Experiment with differ-ent flours. Slice the bread and freeze it in smallquantities if you feel you can’t eat a whole loaf.

Sea salt is concentrated. Youuse less, plus it doesn’t containsugar or silicon.

Instant carob tastes like instant hot chocolate mix but contains nosugar. You can then control the amount of sugar you wish to add.

Keep beans, lentils, peas, etc. on hand to throw into soups and stews. It’s an easy way to introduce legumes and complete carbohydrates into your diet.

Read can and bottle labels. Ingredients are listed in descending order. Sugar canappear as several different components: sucrose, fructose, corn syrup, etc.

EASY DIET CHANGES

Q: So what should I be eating?A: Avoid junk food snacks. Don’t buy them.Ignore that aisle in the market. Mix raisins, nutsand seeds and have them on hand to nibble.

Limit the amount of red meat and foods highin cholesterol.

Stick with polyunsaturated oilsinstead of palm

or coconut oil.

Switch to skim milk. If you don’tlike the taste, try 1% fat milk to

make the transition easier.

Try tofu, a high protein soy bean curdproduct offering good nutrition and reduced calories. It tastes bland, butabsorbs the flavors of the food around it. Try it in stir-fry meals orinstead of ricotta cheese in Italian specialities.

Choose fresh fruits or, if they are notavailable, canned fruits packed in naturaljuices rather than in sweetened juices.This cuts down on sugar consumption.

Buy brick cheeseand slice your ownpieces for sandwiches.Processed cheese that is indi-vidually wrapped is convenient but less nutri-tious than unsliced brick cheese.

Buy long-cooking rice and oats and add 20 min-utes to your routine or schedule. Cereals canbe prepared the night before and reheatedin the morning. Nutrients are refined out ofminute oats and rice.

Avoid foods with food dyesand preservatives.

You can’t live like an ostrich with yourhead in the sand. Sooner or later youhave to face the stressors. Stress manage-ment techniques should replace the sub-stances you are using.

Q: How bad is caffeine?A: Did you know that caffeine canincrease the heartbeat and basal metabolicrate, promote secretion of stomach acidsand increase the rate of urine production?In some cases it constricts the blood ves-sels, while in others it dilates them.

Caffeine can produce anxiety, restlessness,diarrhea, delayed or interrupted sleep,heart palpitations and headaches. In addi-tion, many people suffer irregular breath-ing, irritability, heartburn and depression.

Caffeine is found in cocoa, tea, coffee,some aspirin–containing medications, coladrinks and some other sodas, No Doztablets, cold remedies, weight control aidsand some prescription drugs.

Read the labels of all foods and drugsbefore you buy or use them.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Do you:• take pills to go to sleep?• take pills to wake up?• take a drink (wine, beer, liquor)to relax?

• use stomach aids (Tums, Di-Gel, etc.) frequently?

• rely on mood elevators (Elavil)?• rely on mood depressors(Valium)?

• use any substance to sustain amood?

• smoke a cigarette to sootheyour nerves or prevent weightgain?

If you use any chemicals to helpease the tensions or discomfortsyou associate with stress, youmay be falling into a Catch-22pattern. You try to manage yourstress by escaping into a syntheticshelter. Once the chemicals wearoff, you are only facing thestressors again, and perhapsyou’ve compounded the problemand feel worse. Hence you takesomething else to help you feelbetter and soon you’re caught in a web you’ve spun out ofstressors.

TAKE A DEEP BREATH

Q: What effect does breathing have onstress reduction?A: Experts say proper abdominal breath-ing gently massages the internal organs,makes your cardiopulmonary systemmore efficient and regulates the actualflow of breath in and out of the body. Ithelps maintain a calm, relaxed physicalstate of well being.

Q: What is proper abdominal breathing?A: Sit or stand comfortably with yourhead, neck and trunk erect. Try to keepthe body motionless except for the mus-cles involved in breathing. You breathewith your abdomen, not with your chest.The abdominal muscles control thediaphragm, a muscle that acts like a bel-lows to squeeze and release the lungs.

Place your hands on your abdomen,between the rib cage and the navel, inorder to feel the movement as the mus-cles contract and relax. Do not try to forcethe breath. A quick method for deepabdominal breathing is:

1. Relax your arms and shoulders.2. Rotate your head in a circle, first to the

right, then to the left.3. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath

through your nose and exhale. Repeat.4. Concentrate on your breathing. Put

aside all stressful thoughts.

YOU’RE NOT ALONE

Q: Sometimes I can’t cope or figure outhow to solve problems. Any suggestions?A: Support groups can help you find away to cope and solve problems creative-ly. When things build up, it helps to dis-cuss your feelings. No one can hear whatyou’re thinking.

In your professional life, your supportsystem can include your colleagues andpeers; in your personal life, it can involveyour family and close friends. A strongsupport system will help you practiceyour stress management skills. The UFT’sstress management courses will showyou how to develop and use your ownsupport network.

Q: It sounds like stress managementinvolves change and practice.A: You’ve got it. After deciding whatchanges you would like to see take placein your life, you will have to decide onthe amount of time you are willing toinvest in making them happen. You eitheropt to change your thinking on a stressfulsituation or you change the situationitself. This change will allow you to thinkmore clearly about the stress manage-ment techniques you want to employ. Ittakes time and practice to master anyskill, and stress management skills are noexception.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

This UFT guide to positive stress management was designed to helpyou learn some effective ways to deal with the stressors in your per-sonal and professional lives.

There is no doubt that stress is part of school life. Assuming theresponsibility for the well-being and growth of students is a complextask. Schools may be daunting and education itself is changing towardgreater professionalism. Those changes, though for the good, will bring

new stresses. Wanting to workwith students and being frus-trated by a straining environ-ment can cause a lot of tension.

The complexity of multiple stres-sors in your personal and profes-sional lives makes it absolutely nec-essary for you to approach stressmanagement with the broadest of per-spectives. You must set personal goalsto use stress reduction techniques andto make reinforcing behavioral, psycho-logical and physical changes. To do anyless is to be applying Band-Aids whentourniquets are needed.

There is both positive and negativestress. The difference between the twolies in the way you perceive and han-dle each situation. Shakespeare wrote,“Things are neither good nor bad, butthinking makes it so.”

Before you lose control, take a deepbreath, let it out slowly and feel yourcomposure return.

Good luck and good health.

GG521