麻豆传媒入口

In my years teaching in urban public schools, I saw many students experience extreme stress from living in poverty and also in gang-affiliated neighborhoods. The children I taught had frequent聽food and housing insecurity, and were exposed to multiple forms of violence鈥攐n the streets, at school, and in their homes.聽As , location, income level, and race can determine how often children experience crisis and violence.

Teachers, particularly those working in schools located in communities with high poverty, often find themselves overburdened and under-resourced to help their students (and their students鈥� families) who are experiencing routine and extreme trauma.

Defining Empathic Distress

I first heard the term聽empathic distress from Dr. Joan Halifax, an anthropologist, educator, and pioneer in the field of end-of-life care. She uses the term to describe聽what happens when someone is exposed repeatedly to the trauma of others. In terms of those who work in service professions like emergency medicine, teaching, and hospice care, Halifax finds it more accurate than compassion fatigue. And I agree鈥攖he term聽struck a deep chord in me when I first heard it. 鈥淵es,鈥� I remember thinking,聽鈥渢hat鈥檚 it.鈥�

Most weekends I was able to put all that I knew about my students鈥� lives on hold,聽be with friends and family, and relax. But then there were Saturdays that would go into Sundays when I couldn鈥檛 shake a foreboding, nagging feeling of despair. I couldn鈥檛 stop thinking, for instance, about the 16-year-old student in my fifth period class who shared with me that she was by far in the best group home she鈥檇 been in but that her belongings were constantly being stolen by other girls.

For teachers, that feeling of deep empathy for a student, coupled with聽knowing that you鈥檝e done all you can do鈥攁nd the child is still perhaps still suffering鈥攃an cause considerable distress.聽

First and foremost, we need to come to an understanding and a place of acceptance that we have a limited area of influence and reach when it comes to the healing journey of our students who have trauma. We can鈥檛 save anyone but ourselves. We know this. But that helplessness that teachers feel, that is not a sort of fatigue鈥攊t鈥檚 distress. So聽how do we address that distress?

Relieving Our Empathic Distress

There are commonsense things we know聽that we can do to ease our anxiety and stress: take a walk, a bath, an exercise class. And what I have found especially helpful with empathic distress is tending to my body, yes, but also to my mind. Sometimes my brain just refuses to calm down. The best way I have found to do this is through contemplative practices鈥攗sing both mindfulness and compassion practice.

By taking images of brains of those who routinely engage in , neuroscientist Richard Davison discovered that 鈥渢heir mental practice is having an effect on the brain in the same way golf or tennis practice will enhance performance. It demonstrates that the brain is capable of being trained and physically modified in ways few people can imagine. Buddhist monks have known for centuries that meditation can change the mind.鈥�

The Practice of Mindfulness

So our brains can change course from erratic, obsessive thinking that is distracting, exhausting, and distressing. Through the practice of mindfulness we can find ourselves more grounded in our bodies and in the present moment.聽

What does mindfulness practice look like?

Begin by being seated, standing (eyes opened softly or closed), or walking slowly, and then聽count each breath鈥攅ach in and out breath equals one breath. Breathe smoothly and聽calmly and try to keep your mind just on the breath. When thoughts arrive, don鈥檛 analyze them, simply name them 鈥渢hinking,鈥� and keep counting each breath.

This is just one example for practicing mindfulness. There are many others, and the range of time is up to you (two minutes, eight minutes, etc.). A goal of the practice of mindfulness is to disrupt thinking of the future and the past, keeping one more in the present moment. The results can be quite calming.

More and more educators are practicing mindfulness,聽adding it to their personal self-care repertoire, and also bringing it into their classrooms.

But do many of us know that mindfulness practice has an important partner?聽

The Practice of Compassion

The goal of the practice of compassion is to nurture kindness, compassion, and love, for oneself and for others. Cultivating this compassion and good will in our lives can serve as a salve for feelings such as empathic distress.

What does compassion practice look like? Similar to mindfulness, you can be seated, standing (eyes opened softly or closed), or walking slowly, and then one way you can practice it is by repeating to yourself (how many times, and for how minutes is up to you)聽the聽phrase, 鈥淢ay I be safe, may I be healthy,聽may I be happy,聽may I be at ease.鈥�

You can simply stay with just the phrase for yourself, or you can move to the next phrase, imagining someone you would like to wish well who is struggling or in pain鈥攁 student, a family member, a colleague. Then聽repeat the following phrase, 鈥淢ay you be safe,聽may you be healthy,聽may you be happy,聽may you be at ease.鈥�

Next, move to thinking about a group whom you are connected with鈥攁 classroom full of your students or your family鈥攁nd repeat the phrase, 鈥淢ay we be safe,聽may we be healthy,聽may we be happy, may we be at ease.鈥�

In a study, those who engaged in the practice of compassion for seven weeks聽鈥攁n increase in gratitude, contentment, hope, and joy, and a decrease in聽anxiety and stress. (You can also try for compassion.)

Perception Shift

As teachers working in difficult and challenging settings,聽the way to survive and thrive聽isn鈥檛聽just about taking action for ourselves (going to an exercise class, say) or our students聽(staying聽after school to listen and comfort,聽or advocating for additional counseling services). I propose that it also requires we spend time routinely going within聽and tending聽to our own distress with intentional care and compassion.