April-2020-Special-Edition

EMPOWERING

8 CEA ADVISOR SPECIAL EDITION • APRIL 2020

“BIG SEVEN” STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT WELL-BEING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES Tips helpful for both educators and students

1 Physiological regulation —which includes mindful breathing. “There are many misconceptions about mindful breathing,” says Brackett, “including that it’s a religious practice or that its only purpose is to control difficult emotions or prolong pleasant experiences.” Brackett explains that mindful breathing is simply inhaling and exhaling normally—attending to our natural breathing—while cultivating a deeper awareness of our experiences and how we are feeling. To facilitate mindful breathing, he encourages teachers to check their posture, look down or let their eyes close, put a gentle smile on their face, and observe without judgment how they are feeling. Often, counting breaths, focusing on an image, or repeating simple phrases such as “in/ out,” “deep/slow,” and “calm/ease” can set the tone. A number of recent studies and surveys have placed teaching at the top, tied with nursing, for the most stressful profession. Today—owing in part to the coronavirus pandemic—the number-one emotion teachers are feeling is anxiety. That’s one of the many findings of a March 2020 survey conducted by Dr. Marc Brackett, director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, in partnership with CEA. Brackett points out that in addition to concerns about their students and their access to resources, teachers—like everyone else—are feeling isolated; uncertain about the economy, finances, and equity gaps; worried about the health of their family; and working from home while often caring for their own children as well. “This requires 100 percent involvement,” he says, noting that Connecticut educators—who are now coordinating distance learning for their

students with no known return date to school— are spending upwards of 90 percent of their day feeling stressed, overwhelmed, frustrated, exhausted, and lonely. “These feelings can interfere with decision- making, learning, performance, creativity, and more,” he explains, adding that chronic or sustained anxiety and stress can be difficult to control. To help teachers better manage these feelings—something he refers to as healthy emotion regulation—Brackett led a free webinar for CEA members on April 9. The webinar, titled “The Big Seven: Evidence-Based Strategies for Regulating Emotions in Uncertain Times,” took the place of a series of live book talks that CEA had planned in different parts of the state. Brackett points out unhelpful strategies we often turn to in dealing with stress—such as overeating or overreliance on social media—

which provide immediate but temporary relief. He encourages teachers to focus on healthy self- regulation, or influencing our own emotions to meet goals or

environmental demands. “The strategies you use will be based in part on your personality, family background and culture, your situation and relationships, and the emotions you are having,” he says, noting that the main point is to do what’s best for the long run, despite what

Dr. Marc Brackett

may bring short-term comfort or relief. Brackett identifies the following “big seven” emotion regulation strategies.

3 Healthy relationships leave us feeling safe, heard, and connected.

5 Managing your life smartly includes modifying and selecting situations to prevent stress, setting daily goals, problem-solving, and establishing routines. “Routines create certainty,” says Brackett, “so aim for consistency in when you wake up, have meals, exercise, work, and relax.” Teaching remotely during the coronavirus pandemic has left teachers with a need to carve out new routines in a new reality.

4 Managing your thoughts includes positive self-talk, gratitude, and reappraisal. About 40 percent of our well-being has to do with our outlook on life, says Brackett, and negative self-talk can start early in life, often by peers or family members who define our reality for us. Brackett shares his own personal experience with negative self-talk as a child and young adult and explains how positive relationships and changing the conversation he had in his head reshaped his outlook and self-image. “It takes time and may feel awkward or uncomfortable talking to yourself in positive ways, but we can’t just say, ‘Stop thinking that way!’” It helps, he says, to talk to yourself in the third person. He also urges us to work on becoming “emotion scientists” as opposed to “emotion judges” who have a fixed mindset that certain emotions are good, bad, wrong, or weak. While emotion judges might urge themselves or others to avoid feeling certain ways (e.g., “Don’t be angry,” or “Stop feeling anxious”), an emotion scientist accepts all emotions as information; is open, curious, and reflective; is in learner mode; and has a growth mindset.

6 Doing meaningful things you enjoy. This can take some creativity during a time of physical distancing, but possibilities include walking outdoors or trying a new exercise, writing a “gratitude letter” to someone, drawing or journaling, attempting a new recipe, reading a book or listening to a new podcast, connecting with friends or family by Skype or Zoom, and helping out in your community. “Givers,” Brackett notes, “are happier than takers.” 7 Forgiveness, including letting go of your own mistakes, having self-compassion, and giving yourself permission to feel and to fail. Brackett reminds teachers that just as the skills and content they teach can take time and effort for students to master, strategies for emotion regulation are also developmental. They are not learned all at once but require effortful practice, refinement, and evaluation. “These big seven strategies need to be part of a bigger tool bag,” he says, “because if a strategy isn’t working to support your well-being, you have to be able to turn to plan B or C.”

2 Self-care —sleep, nutrition, and exercise help build a strong immune system.