Anxious about school this year?...The answer isn't what you think!
Anxious about school this year?
Most educators are.
In a survey I recently conducted with my community of educators around the world - almost all of them said they were present to feelings of anxiety, apprehension, concern, nervousness, scared, uneasiness, worry and dread.
Whether you fear for your personal safety, are not feeling recharged after the summer, or are unsure how you will cope for the long term pouring from an empty cup, most teachers are feeling some amount of anxiety about going back.
So let’s talk about anxiety.
First things first, even if we don’t talk about it, anxiety is there. And I want you to know, it’s not just you, you are completely normal for feeling this way, and there is a way through. The more we don’t talk about it, the heavier it feels. So let’s stop shaming ourselves for it and acknowledge it’s there.
Disclaimer! I am not a neuroscientist. Or any kind of scientist for that matter. I’m not a brain expert. Just someone who is really curious about human anatomy and the workings of the mind especially as it pertains to human emotions on a day to day basis. If I’m wrong here or overgeneralized, my apologies.
Anxiety is adaptive. It is our natural mechanism revealing to us that there is danger. Anxiety helps us when we need protection from a hazard up ahead and allows us to react faster to emergencies. The part of the brain responsible for strong emotions is the limbic system and specifically the amygdala (some of us who aren’t neuroscientists like to call her Amy, or Amy G.) All mammals have a limbic system which sends a flood of cortisol and adrenaline to the system when we need to fight, freeze or flee. This is a good thing! If you feel anxious, take a moment to thank Amy G. for keeping you away from tigers, tornados and tarantulas.
The part of the brain responsible for our rational mind is the prefrontal cortex. This is the part that helps us rationalize, learn new skills like driving cars, baking muffins and learn french conjugation. The thing is, when we try to use this rational part of the brain to ‘manage’ our limbic system by rationalizing, criticizing or ignoring it doesn’t work. It doesn’t work because they are different parts of the brain. We learn thought patterns to keep us safe too - we try to convince ourselves out of discomfort, we judge ourselves harshly for overwhelming feelings or we busy ourselves with other things to avoid them. Sound familiar, anyone? While genuinely trying to keep us safe, our mind is actually creating an unaccepting internal world.
So what can we do to ‘manage’ our anxiety?
Let’s first address the term ‘manage anxiety’. What if anxiety wasn’t something to ‘manage’? What if it wasn’t something to exterminate completely but to work with rather than against? If we are picking a fight with anxiety, we are never going to win. ‘Managing’ anxiety makes It sounds like we are trying to control something we don’t have a lot of control over.
So what should we do with anxiety instead?
I’m suggesting a possible solution is in developing a relationship with anxiety rather than seeing it as something to exterminate completely. A relationship is built on curiosity, listening, understanding and connection. Here are a few ways I have developed a relationship with Anxious Andi:
1. Acknowledge anxiety. Something like “oh hey, racing heart I feel you. Or, “Anxious Andi, I see you are back, what’s up?”. By listening to it, it doesn’t have to fight so hard to be heard. If you know me you know I’m all about feeling all the feels. You know I’ve learned to find a safe place, sometimes get someone to look after my dog while I ride the waves of uncomfortable feelings. I’m suggesting soothing, rather than feeding it or controlling it. Get curious, “What are you trying to tell me? Why are you here?”. See what you learn by working with it!
2. Use the hormones! When we are anxious we are flooded with cortisol and adrenaline. They curb functions that would be nonessential or detrimental in a fight-or-flight situation (ex. Digestion, sleep, etc). These hormones are designed to help us run from tigers, lift cars off babies or clean up after natural disasters. These activities allow us to use the heavy dose of hormones naturally secreted by the body. By not using them, it takes longer to recover from times of stress. How do we use the hormones? Move the body! - run, walk, dance, do burpees, power yoga, power lift!...whatever you gravitate to.
3. Rest, heal, Digest. Put the body into a parasympathetic state so it can rest, heal, digest. This skill can be learned and practiced through yoga, meditation, breath-work and mindfulness. The best time to learn and practice is when we aren’t in a heightened state of arousal. So get your meditation app (I frickin LOVE Insight Timer) and make it a daily ritual. Roll out your yoga mat and move, stretch and flow. Practice connecting to your breath - the exhale specifically, is a direct connection to the parasympathetic nervous system. Inhale for a count of 4, exhale for a count of 6. Do that ten times and see what happens….Magic!
4. Self awareness is governed by the area of the brain called the medial frontal cortex. It seems that this is the way to get the limbic system to communicate with the prefrontal cortex. So get to know you!...your thoughts, your triggers, your feelings, your patterns in a non-judgemental way. The Holistic Psychologist says “Healing is not ‘fixing’ yourself, it’s discovering yourself”.
5. Self-compassion training. Seriously though. It's really unfortunate that we have to practice being nice to ourselves, but it’s really true. Especially amongst teachers, many who have a harsh inner critic, worry about what others think and identify as perfectionists, we promote anxiety from within simply by how we speak to ourselves. Try this: think about something that upset you in the last 24 hours. Identify the feeling it caused. Acknowledge that it’s part of being an imperfect human and you can try again next time.
Finally, until you are strong enough to believe this yourself, please borrow mine. The best thing you can do for yourself right now is commit to your own healing. Understand that you have everything within yourself to make the difference you need. You do not need to accept the current situation as is. What we can do is become less resistant. We can get into our body. We can stop running from fear and feel. We do that by going within. It is here that we realize we have choice. It is here that hopelessness can be transformed into compassion and service. When we stop resisting, we can relax.