Care to share your stress busting techniques? (complain, teachers, doctor)

[Thila]

I am always looking for stress busting techniques that will help deal with our heavy work loads in the education field. This is my 25th year teaching high school and by golly, I am not going to let the powers that be get me down. Care to share your stress buster? Here are a few that work for me:

1. Exercise in the morning before school starts. Don't ask what time I get up. It is insane, but it works.
2. Leaving work AT work. I used to bring papers home, but it helps to stay a bit later at school and finish it rather than dump all of the paperwork in my briefcase and hope I eventually get to it before the next school day. Yeah, that never happens.
3. Focusing on a hobby. I garden and plan on taking drum lessons.
4. Slowly breathe in the good air and slowly breathe out the bad air (especially at meetings or in the middle of the night when I wake up in one of those "I still have a billion things to complete on my to do list!" moments).

I am hoping to keep this thread positive. My doctor has told me that I must do something about my stress level based on my last physical. I still love teaching and trying to stick it out until retirement. What has worked for you?

[TabulaRasa]

Absolutely agree with avoiding taking paperwork home unless it is a major crisis if I don't.

Also exercise and keeping my work friends limited to positive, upbeat colleagues...complainers can be draining, and negative attitudes are too infectuous.

[Thila]

So true about keeping upbeat work friends. I always tell first year teachers to stay out of the teacher's lounge. Someone told me this many, many years ago and it has worked for me.

I also have been reading numerous articles on multi-tasking and I am trying to limit myself to doing one objective at a time instead of twenty seven.

[Ivorytickler]

Paxil or Xanax....though most teaches I know just self medicate with alcohol....

Seriously, teachers drink WAY more than engineers.

[zthatzmanz28]

Red Stag bourbon on the ROCKS--DOUBLE...ocassionally a double of Four Roses--it is GMO free...LOL

[zthatzmanz28]

Seriously, my best stress busting technique was having a peer group I could rant with. A safe place to lket it all go. We used to go out 1-2 a month to different places. Resturants, movies, concerts, plays and across the border to Windsor for the same.
It gave us a chance to vent and established a SAFE circle of friends who all had each others back. That alone was a great stress buster--Knowing you could trust your peers.