Urgent and Important, Let’s start with Honesty

BAM! BOOM! POW! Let’s face it, over this covid period we have been through quite the collective experience!  When we were released from lockdown, I felt as though I was emerging from a cave. Everything was extra loud, busy, noisy, smelly. My senses had been on a long holiday and were having some trouble getting use to the environment. Fast forward, and just a few months later it seems as though it never happened. We’ve got our classes up and running, we have well subscribed co-curricular activities, school dances are back and packed , and the dining hall is again a busy, noisy, social place at lunch. As educators we find ourselves coming to the end of our first term in a “BACK TO NORMAL” capacity. At the surface, it is quite a sight to see. It feels great, exhilarating, Woo hooo it’s all over! We really are back at it, and it feels pretty fantastic, until it doesn’t.

So how are we doing? How are you doing? Have you allowed yourself a chance to stop and ask yourself that, or are you just charging to get back on the saddle? Why have you chosen to approach the return this way?  Have you noticed that there is a different kind of intensity, just under the surface, where people seem okay one minute, but are, in moments of challenge, super quick to temper and frustration? When is the last time you checked in with you?   Well, If I am honest with you, I am still figuring out how I am doing. Some days I feel amazing, I am super pumped and energized, driving myself into the art studio early to set up our activities, and other days I am overwhelmed, exhausted and wondering exactly why and how I am going to navigate this thing called teaching. I notice I do not have the same stamina, I need rest after hard work now but, maybe I always did?  All I know is that as I continue to figure it out, despite whether I feel on my game, or completely useless ( let’s admit that as teachers  we can feel this way sometimes), I am going to acknowledge my own vulnerability in this checking in with myself process. I think the best place we can start is with honesty.

This summer, in my first week of training as an art therapist, we learned that taking care of ourselves is a professional ethical responsibility, and that good self-care  practices are what equip us to be effective support for our clients. In the health profession they warn caregivers of the danger of compassion fatigue. I was relieved to learn about it this summer, and how it manifests in medical professionals but also frustrated that within our teaching profession, this is no mention of this in our training and practice. Teachers too must surely experience compassion fatigue. Indeed reading about the symptoms below,  I know I’ve come close ( over the past two years) , what about you?

“Compassion fatigue develops over time; you can spot the signs if you know what to look for.”

 

 

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health explains that the main symptoms include the following:

• feelings of helplessness and powerlessness
• reduced feelings of empathy and sensitivity
• feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by work demands
• feeling detached, numb and emotionally disconnected
• loss of interest in activities you used to enjoy
• increased anxiety, sadness, anger and irritability
• difficulty concentrating and making decisions
• difficulty sleeping and sleep disturbances like nightmares
• physical symptoms like headaches, nausea, upset stomach and dizziness
• increased conflict in personal relationships
• neglect of your own self-care
• withdrawal and self-isolation
• an increase in substance use as a form of self-medication

from: https://www.cma.ca/physician-wellness-hub/content/compassion-fatigue

for more information about compassion fatigue I have provided a link:

https://www.albertadoctors.org/Member%20Services%20Physicians%20PFSP/vital-signs-dr-sharron-spicer-4-18.pdf