The Importance of Self-Care in a Trauma Sensitive Approach

This week I had the opportunity to speak with some amazing educators in the Thames Valley District School Board in London, ON.  Through our discussion I was reminded to bring my attention back to the importance of self-care as a primary tool in the healing of our students and ourselves.  This is a parallel process – we cannot give that which we do not have ourselves!!   As educators, we are faced with stress that is loaded from the top down, but also from the bottom up… we are driven by the curriculum and evaluated on our EQAO results, but we are also accountable to our student needs and the expectations of parents.  It’s time to acknowledge the stress that we are managing each and every day in the workplace.   Add to that the stresses of everyday living in our personal lives – parenting, financial stress, relationships, aging parents, time management, etc.  How can we expect ourselves to focus on the importance of personal student-teacher relationships and the impact of trauma on learning when we are faced with such significant stress and limited tools within which to manage?  Our discussion brought forward strong arguments for systemic shifts with an emphasis on self-care and a belief that a focus on our individual needs will lead to improved relationships, attunement to student needs, and eventual improvements in academic outcomes!! 

What is one thing you could start doing today that would begin your improved practice of self-care?