Bonnie, It's a big challenge when both instructors and our students are stressed. Yes, both groups experience many kinds of stress. My recommendation is to share some of the things you learned from this course with your students. Doing so can make everyone around you feel a little more calm, and this change can make the overall environment feel less stressful for you.
Dr. Melissa Read
Brandi, Wow, this is quite a comprehensive list! It sounds like you are balancing a lot. At the same time, I really like your approach of just accepting it and moving on with life. That sounds like a healthy coping mechanism.
Dr. Melissa Read
Dr. Read, I don't want to say this is a silly question, but stressors come from everywhere!
1. financial
2. family
3. communte
4. job security
5. administrational expectations
6. student expectations
7. classroom expectations
8. government expectations
etc....
It creates a mentality that makes you feel as if you are going to snap. And sharing your stress makes people feel you are a complainer.
I have many sources of stress in my life right now. I have parents who are in failing health who live 10 hours away, I have a long commute to and from work, and I have a new baby so I never get enough rest. But one major source of stress that I didn't see mentioned in the module is financial strain.
Amanda, This is an important point. In this economy, most instructors are experiencing financial strain one way or another. Some are personally experiencing financial challenges while others are stressed as they watch close friends and family struggle financially.
Dr. Melissa Read
Causes of stress include a lack of time to complete all of the tasks assigned to me. I am always leaving something alone till the last minute. I rarely miss a deadline but have cut them close on more than one occassion. I also get stressed by some of my faculty that I don't feel have the same 'buy in' as I do for the program. It creates more work for me when I have to coach them and try to convince them that what we are doing, even if they disagree, is for the best interests of the students. Sometimes they can be very selfish. Other times, we simply have to disagree on ideology when it comes to how to manage a clasroom and assignments.
A major stressor is my increased work load, taking on another program and working 12-14 hours a day without help. It has taken over my home life.
Dealing with unstable people in a higher position then yourself is often the cause of stress. Not knowing if this persons whim will cost you your job on a day to day basis is not a healthy work environment.
A major cause of stress for me is from the anxiety that I feel when I am away from my children while at work. I worry about how they are being taken care of. Thank goodness for cell phones. I check on them at every class break.
Kris, That sounds like a tough stress source and one that is largely out of your control. Hopefully there is a way to eliminate or reduce other stress sources in your life so that this one feels more manageable when looking at the big picture. I know it's hard.
Dr. Melissa Read
A story about - Stress.
I come from a family of ‘worry-warts’. I saw stress actually kill my mother. She worked as the head of the Accounts Payable department and was constantly harassed for bill payments. If the boss wouldn’t sign the check she could not pay the bill, so she was frequently bombarded with calls re. “Where’s my money?!†She suffered terribly from psoriasis due to the stress. Her doctor’s suggestion…â€Don’t worry so muchâ€. ïŒ
She had a heart attack one morning (at work) which put her into a coma and the family watched her body heal itself from within while her brain was at rest and she was not under stress.
So there is a lesson here – I’m certain.
Stess is for me what I allow it to be. I can let stess into my life and let it control me or I can say to myself "I control it". I have 5 kids one in the Marines, one across the country in college and one that just started college. the youngest two are in grade school still. My wife is back in school as well. I can say I can let stress go or I can take five or ten minutes here and there to breathe to let it go so I can keep going. Planning time on sunday night with the family is the best way for us to let go of whats been building during the week.
One major stress in my career and i suppose the career of many educators are targeting and motivating the uncaring students.
Personal stressors are things I actually worry about in advance. I sometimes create a problem that is not there yet and worry a lot about it.
A major source of stress for me at the workplace is finding the balance between helping student's with their needs and wants with the time required for preparation, grading and improving the classroom and curriculum. I tend to give too much to my students and not leave enough time for myself which results in the need to stay at work more. This not only creates more stress at the workplace but carries over to home life as well. I know some of it is related to a lack of efficient time management but I can't help but is more too it than that. Any ideas? Thanks!!
Extremely hard to do in a lot of instances. In my "day job" my patients always have a hard time dealing with stress particularly when their job is a major source. The only way to fully teach them to do "leave it at the door" is by simply repeating the process and focusing on the task at hand.
John, At a guess, you are a wonderful instructor and someone who your students rely on daily. This is great direction. At the same time, it is only possible to help so many students and after that point is reached, you may burn out. When you burn out, you can't help the people who need you the most. My recommendation is to pace yourself and give yourself the time you need. This may be a challenge to do at first. You may feel guilty about your focus on you. The reality is though, your students will be better for it. When you are rested and when you have taken the time to solve the challenges that you face in your own work and personal life, you are in a better position to help them.
Dr. Melissa Read
I am galad that you all talked about the traffic commute. That is a MaJOR stressor here in the Atlanta area. It takes 25 minutes to get to my campus during normal hours, but an hour during rush hour!
Right now low enrollment is a major stressor. People are being let go left and right and we are being assigned fewer and fewer classes. It is awful to watch you co-workers packing up their offices right before your eyes.
I feel the main causes for stress are more logistical.
At work I am grateful enough to have a competent and amazing staff but as with any group when negativity hits its like dominios falling. Negativity brings about more stress for me. I am going to work on maintaining my boundaries with interruptions because this also causes me stress when I have a list of items to complete and continue to be talked to.
My home life gets stressful due to lack of time and completing tasks. After work it seems difficult to get motivated to tackle anything due to low energy. Working on eating healthier to prolong my energy levels.
Administrative demands
Student demands such as one-on-one,
Continued education
