Stress Management in Schools

Stress is an inevitable and necessary -to a degree-component of life. Excessive stress can become a disease-promoting agent and constitutes a major health concern today. While some stressors can be avoided and others need to be confronted, in the end, a good balance of stress in one’s life can be healthy, andgrow promoting in terms of one’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development. Stress coping strategies acquired through experience, vary individually, withsome appropriate and successful, and others inappropriate and unsuccessful. Many of these coping strategies, however, are learned duringthe formative years ofdevelopment. In essence,how appropriate an individual dealswith stressful life eventsat various stagesof development is determined, largely,by what was learned and reinforced duringprevious developmental stages. It is necessary, then, that timelyand effective stress management education be provided and continued during the early stages of development (childhood through adolescence) to insure
positive copingresponses as adults.Life skills can be taughtto assist individuals successfully deal with stressful life events, even before they occur. Successfully coping with stressfulevents at an early age can minimize the acquisition of unhealthy stress coping responses, which could promote illness and disease.

The goal of stress management education is not to shelter educators from stressful situations, but to help them develop the ability to respond to stressful events in a positive, constructive way. Confrontation with stressful situationsneeds to be encouraged rather than avoided.

• Develop skills at coping and handling stressful life events.
• Learn how to control reflex triggers and emotions.
• Learn how to deactivate stressors occurring in classrooms.
• Practice on building coping resources to solve tough challenges.
• Get familiar with how to handle mindfulness technique.