How to Manage Personal and Professional Anxiety

Sometimes teachers experience their own anxiety when working with a student who is struggling. In these cases, it becomes important that teachers have strategies for coping and self-care. Below are some tips for where to start.

Learn about Anxiety and OCD

As an educator, you are most likely curious and value learning about new things. If you have a student struggling with anxiety or OCD, familiarize yourself with these conditions. Learn what they are, how they manifest, and their impact on functioning. This will help you better understand what your student is experiencing and to dispel the idea that they are not real.

Create a positive relationship with the student

Sometimes it is difficult to establish rapport with a student who is struggling with anxiety, especially if anxiety is expressed as defiance or angry outbursts. However, a positive relationship is an extremely effective tool when influencing change in your student. Thus, it is worth the effort to find a way “in.” Teachers might do this by:

creating opportunities for the student to exercise their strengths,
recognizing and reinforcing when students are “doing well,"
setting up individual meetings to get to know each other better,
collaborating on a project, and
avoiding using fear, punishment, and shame as management techniques.

Educate yourself about what resources the school offers

Schools sometimes have resources to help students who are struggling. These can include Lunch Buddies group, Social Skills group, homework help, and counseling. It is important for teachers to learn what their school has to offer so that they can direct their students to that help. Doing so provides relief to the teachers, who aren’t “going it alone.”

Be positive and reward small successes and effort

Get information from past teachers

Why re-invent the wheel? Connecting with a former educator may take some effort. However, it often yields valuable information about what works with the student and what doesn’t, family dynamics, and teacher coping strategies. In addition, do next year’s teacher a favor and send them the information that you garnered during your tenure with the student. That way, they can start off the year ahead of the game.

Avoid power struggles

Be aware of your own response to stress

With the focus on their student’s anxiety, teachers sometimes fail to pay attention to what they are experiencing themselves. They may forget that their own response to stress influences the dynamics in the classroom and that they can positively impact the situation by adjusting their own coping strategies. Doing so also models effective stress and anxiety management strategies for their students, which is a very powerful form of teaching.

Debrief after a difficult situation to learn how to be more effective

Not all interventions work or go as planned. Instead of avoiding mistakes or mishaps, use them to identify weak areas in the plan and make improvements. Consider meeting with your student and others on the team to review the interaction. Then, brainstorm ways to be more effective next time. This strategy also models a growth mindset for the student.

Frequent communication with home and counselor

The information feedback loop between school and home is crucial to any student’s success. But it is especially important when a student is struggling. It is key that all members of the team are up to date on how a student is doing in class, at home, and with the plan. In addition, good communication between team members provides support that may prevent burnout and frustration.

Case consultation

Remember to Take Care of Yourself!

Working in the school system can be difficult and stressful. It is important to remember to take care of ourselves as we continue to take care of our students.

A great, free resource for all school personnel is Headspace. Headspace is a mindfulness app that can be helpful to you and your colleagues in your self-care journey. It can also give you ideas for helping your students.

A longer list of self-care suggestions can be found here.