Welcome to The Flourishing Teacher’s Field Guide. Put down your marking, take a few deep breaths and soak up some life-changing content!

This week, we’re thinking about how easily our emotions can overwhelm us and exploring five practical strategies for emotional regulation in the classroom and beyond.

Let’s jump in…

Our Emotions Can Easily Overwhelm Us

Some of the best teachers I know are empathetic.

They engage with learners, parents and colleagues with authenticity, generosity and courage.

They’re emotionally literate and understand the personal journeys inherent in learning and transforming lives.

But…

Working in such a challenging environment, filled with so many emotional triggers, often means that teachers put themselves far down the list when it comes to regulating their own feelings and managing their emotions.

We maintain our professionalism even when we’re hurting inside. And what’s more, when we do have emotional reactions, it often has an impact throughout the school community.

I’ve seen colleagues angry over a small interaction or a single line in an email. I’ve seen them burst into tears throughout the day, have stand-up arguments and sulk. I’ve also seen colleagues so drained that they are emotionally exhausted.

Our feelings build up, and eventually, we snap. And that’s no good for anyone.

It’s not surprising. We’re diplomats in a sea of agendas, pressures, whirlwinds and deadlines.

We’re taking on the anxieties of our students and parents, all the while dealing with fewer and fewer resources and less and less time.

It’s so important that we learn to recognise our emotions, listen to them and act in a way that is beneficial for us, our learners and our communities. However, learning to master your emotions takes a long time, regular practice and an understanding of exactly how emotions work.

Here’s our take on it…

How Your Emotions Can Aid Your Wellbeing

In her wonderful book ‘Teacher Wellbeing’, Amy Green outlines five steps to emotions for positive wellbeing. In doing so, she reiterates a few important points that help us think about emotions in a different way.

Firstly, it’s really easy to think of emotions as happy or sad, good or bad. We do that because we give them a value based on how we feel, but that isn’t always a reliable measure. Emotions just are. The more we realise that we have the potential to control them, rather than be controlled by them, the more we can step outside of ourselves and view them objectively.

She also makes the point that we often use a limited vocabulary to describe our emotions when in fact, we feel complex and multilayered emotions that could be described with far more nuance. You might say you’re feeling sad, but perhaps you would be better served by describing yourself as melancholy, dejected or sorrowful. Using the right language is a skill, but the more we do it, the more control we have over our emotions.

After all, emotional regulation isn’t about not feeling. It’s about feeling the right things. Things that are of value to us, rather than things that aren’t.

Lastly, she makes the point that emotions themselves are, essentially, an intense form of energy. It’s how we recognise and act upon that energy that gives emotions value. A feeling is relatively inert. It’s how we assign meaning to it that makes the difference between a healthy and unhealthy response.

Amy Green’s 5 Steps To Mastering Your Emotions

1. Be aware of your emotions and feelings. Notice how you feel and build your vocabulary around emotions and feelings.

• Pay attention to the physical signs your body displays for different emotions.

• Be aware of the words you use most often to describe how you feel and build on those words to become more positive and affirmative.

• Build a connection with others through talking about your emotions and feelings and offering them the opportunity to do the same.

2. See your emotions as data. Understand emotions and feelings are not good or bad. They just are.

• When an emotion arises, let it be, and don’t think of it as good or bad, positive or negative.

• Be curious. Ask yourself, “What might my body be trying to tell me about this situation or event?”

• Pay attention to the energy and intensity of the emotion and try not to let it overtake you.

3. Master your story and meaning-making. Be mindful of the stories you tell yourself and the meaning you make.

• Ask yourself the following questions:

• “What am I making this mean?”

• “Is this true?”

• “What else could it mean? What else could I tell myself instead?”

4. Regulate and manage your emotions. Find a way to come back to neutral.

• Ask yourself, “How do I want to feel right now?”

• Seek support or guidance if needed.

• Use a regulation strategy such as visualisation, mindfulness or breathwork to bring yourself back to neutral.

5. Create and build your outcome. Are you reacting or responding?

• Step back from the situation and consider if you are reacting from an emotional space or responding from a logical space.

• Give yourself time between regulating your emotions and responding.

• Consider different ways you could respond before taking action.

These five points might seem simplistic, but applying them takes discipline, purpose and patience and isn’t easy to do, especially when you’re caught up in an emotional response.

However, with mindful application and daily practice, you’ll find emotional mastery is nearer than you think. And it’ll transform your teaching, too.

What Are You Waiting For?

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Don’t Miss The Only Doodling Podcast You’ll Ever Need!

We’re very proud that our latest podcast episode (and the very first to include a guest) is now live.

We were delighted to chat with Ann Skinner from https://www.theheartworker.com/, who is a wonderful advocate for compassion, courage, and creativity, as well as a powerful life coach and, above all, expert doodler!

Our talk was full of insight, value and reflection, and perfect for teachers looking for a new way to practice some mindfulness.

Check it out here, and why not like and subscribe to our regular podcasts?

Thank You For Everything

Teachers do an amazing job, and it’s not surprising that every now and again, the pressures we face and the challenges we overcome on a daily basis make us vulnerable to emotional overload.

But I really do believe that with a little bit of focus and awareness, we can build a repertoire of emotional responses that empower us and the people around us.

Here’s a quick reminder of how:

In next week’s issue, we’ll share the top 10 Marigold musings for making the Easter break magical.

Until then, remember, you’re more than your marking, your lesson observations and your planning.

You’re you. And that’s all you need to be.