Keeping an eye on stress
The spring semester brings with it the excitement of a new season, the sprint to the end of the school year, and many other things to celebrate. It also brings with it the anxiety of testing, meeting goals and other expectations that can cause stress for students and team members.
April is Stress Awareness Month, and according to mental health experts, stress can be good or bad as the body’s natural physical, mental and emotional response to life’s challenges, threats, or changes.
“When you are faced with a challenge or situation that’s stressful, your body releases hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to increase alertness and energy,” said Annmarie Perez, licensed psychologist and quality assurance manager with Mental Health Services. “It can be positive, for example, increasing motivation. But it can be negative if it causes anxiety or if it becomes chronic.”
And it is when stress becomes anxiety or lasts for a long time that it can become a problem, especially for students. Students not only face the stress of testing, homework, graduating, moving to another grade level or school during the spring. They also face stressors at home or from social interactions that teachers or counselors might not know about. This is why team members at the campuses are trained to look for signs of stress:
- Physical: headaches, fatigue
- Emotional: irritability, outbursts, anxiety
- Behavioral: changes in sleep or appetite, withdrawing, different behavior in class
- Cognitive: problems concentrating, forgetfulness, negative thoughts
“There are stressors all around that can affect children even if we are not seeing them, like the uncertainty of what is going on in the world, financial changes for their families,” Perez said. “Kids pick up on these feelings even if they don’t have the tools to verbalize them.”
Students who are constantly stressed can’t learn as effectively, she said. And when stress becomes overwhelming or chronic, it can interfere with daily life, including learning.
This is why Dallas ISD has invested in the mental health of students, she said. Each campus has a school-based mental health clinician and counselors who are also there to help students manage stress and other challenges so they can learn.The district also has help through the district’s Youth and Family Centers and can connect students and families with resources in the community.
Teachers can model healthy coping mechanisms for kids and provide a safe place without judgment so that students can express themselves when they have problems, Perez said. They can do things in class as a matter of routine to help with stress, especially during times of high stress, such as breathing exercises, doing a physical activity, having a time for drawing or painting, role playing, or providing the vocabulary they need to express their feelings. Other ways to fight stress include making sure that students are hydrated and are eating nutritious food.
“Teachers are often the first ones to identify when students are going through something or have a change in behavior because they spend so much time with students,” Perez said. “That is why we emphasize building relationships so that students can ask for help.”
Helpful links for breathing exercises and other resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiMb2Bw4Ae8
https://health.choc.org/7-stress-relief-techniques-for-kids/
https://www.apa.org/topics/children/stress
Parent forum
To help families discuss mental health issues, Dallas ISD is holding the Empowering Families Parent Education Forum at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 18, at Barbara Mann DAEP in the Buckner Building, 2909 North Buckner Blvd.
This year’s event offers an opportunity for parents and community to learn about social media dangers and addiction, youth substance misuse and abuse, and how to support a child who is struggling with anxiety and depression. The keynote speaker will be Cristal Retana Lule, vice president of Government and Community relations with Children’s Hospital.
There will be an opportunity for confidential conversations with staff from Dallas ISD Mental Health Services, Parent Advocacy and Support and other resources.
