Coping with Stress, Burnout, & Anxiety
A presentation created for parents and guardians
With the demand of our everyday lives and the added stress of the pandemic, many individuals, parents/guardians, and families are struggling with stress, burnout, and anxiety.
The following slides aim to:
Who is Likely to Experience Stress, Burnout, and Anxiety?
Stress, Burnout, or Anxiety?
“Stress is a situation that triggers a particular biological response. When you perceive a threat or a major challenge, chemicals and hormones surge throughout your body. Stress should be temporary… your body should return to its natural state without any lasting negative effects. On the other hand, severe, frequent, or prolonged stress can be mentally and physically harmful.”
-Healthline (2020)
What Are Some of the Signs of Stress?
Healthline.com identifies some of the common signs of stress below:
Stress is not always bad thing. Here are some of the benefits of short-term stress:
Stress, Burnout, or Anxiety?
“Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by emotional, physical, and mental stress. It can happen for a variety of reasons. Work, for example, is a common trigger, as is parenting and feeling that you lack control. Burnout happens when you’re overwhelmed and are unable to keep up with the demands of life.”
- Healthline (2021)
What Are Some of the Signs of Burnout?
Helpguide.org identifies some of the common physical, emotional, and behavioral signs of burnout below:
Physical
What Are Some of the Signs of Burnout?
Emotional
Behavioral
Is there a Difference Between Burnout & Stress?
The short answer is… YES! While most research on burnout looks within the context of the workforce, a recent study suggests burnout has a greater impact than stress.
According to this 2020 study published in the Psychology & Psychiatry Journal, Professor Christian Dormann of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) indicates "the most important burnout symptom” that distinguishes it from stress “is the feeling of total exhaustion - to the extent that it cannot be remedied by normal recovery phases of an evening, a weekend, or even a vacation."
Stress, Burnout, or Anxiety?
“Anxiety is your body’s natural response to stress. It’s a feeling of fear or apprehension about what’s to come.”
-Healthline (2020)
An important note– stress, burnout, and anxiety can occur by themselves or together. They often influence or cause one another.
What Are Some of the Signs of Anxiety?
Healthline.com identifies some of the common signs of general anxiety below:
Healthline also states: “if your feelings of anxiety are extreme, last for longer than six months, and are interfering with your life, you may have an anxiety disorder.” See the following slides for additional resources for stress, burnout, and anxiety.
Parenting Through Heightened Emotions
Emotions are high for me AND my child… help!
What do I do in the moment?
TIP:
Take note of
physical body cues
(Fatigue, irritability, excessive anger/worry, muscle tension, increased heart rate)
to help you identify what
your needs are!
Parenting Through Heightened Emotions
Daily practice:
Reducing Stress through Positive Communication With Teachers and Staff
Reducing Stress through Positive Communication With Your Children
Reducing Stress through Positive Communication With Your Children
4. Child-Led Play or Special Time Together: Your time spent together with your children is powerful. Regular (even short) periods of play with younger children or parent–child activities with older children and adolescents can strengthen communication and the overall parent–child relationship.
5. Ignoring: Ignoring can help quickly end attention-seeking behaviors such as whining or tantrums. Ignoring is an active practice. Ignoring attention seeking behaviors can help end challenging behaviors by the child early, before they escalate and cause upheaval within the household. Remove attention from the child and the negative behavior(s) they are exhibiting, to reduce stress and promote relaxation within the household.
Self-Care
Self-care is any action that you use to improve your health and well-being. According to the National Institute of Mental Illness (NAMI), there are six elements to self-care:
Importance of self-care for parents, teachers & staff:
Self-Care Tips
Resources
COVID:
Mental Health:
Thank you!
Created By:
Hannah Peterson (she/her/hers)
SMMUSD Social Work Counseling Intern
Kaylee Dunckel (she/her/hers)
School Psychologist Field Worker
Hannah Kessler (she/her/hers)
School Psychology Fieldworker
Rebecca Shaheen (she/her/hers)
School Psychologist Intern
References
References