Wow, it's certainly been a long time since I asked for support. I wonder if you guys could help me out. I'm in teacher training at the moment, and one thing I've been finding rather difficult is dealing with nerves and anticipation before the start of the lesson. In my school, I have a subject mentor and she is the most wonderful lady ever, and she has told me that I tend to put too much pressure on myself. When I'm actually inside the classroom teaching, I'm fine; however, beforehand I get very nervous and insecure about what I'm doing. In particular, I have to teach samba music to one of my classes. It is a very noisy and practical subject. Last Tuesday, I was supposed to give them their second lesson - and essentially freaked out about an hour beforehand and broke down crying in the office because I was so anxious and stressed about it. I am also paranoid about the 'cause for concern' process - ever since hearing that it's something that could happen if you do badly, I've had this fear that I'm bound to be the one that it happens to, even though I have no real reason to think it. I haven't done anything that warrants failing, but both being insecure and having a really wild imagination, I always think that I'm bound to do something that warrants being made a 'cause for concern.' Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with the nerves? And by this, I don't mean just telling me to 'not think too much about it' or 'it's going to be fine, you're doing better than you think' - I mean, is there something that I can physically DO in order to be able to stop over-thinking things, so that I don't feel uneasy all the time? Thanks in advance.
There are relaxation and meditation exercises... you might take deep breaths... walk the dog for a while, or make regular exercises... you might mentally change the images from a neg to a positive outcome... and just have trust that all goes well... if distracting thoughts come, just letting them pass... a healthy lifestyle, not too much hectic , healthy eating and sleeping might help...
There is little point in anyone telling you to 'not think about it' or saying 'you will be fine' as these are things you need to tell yourself. What you are experiencing is an exaggerated level of stress and it can feel quite overwhelming, but there are a few techniques you can try when these feelings come upon you. Some of the techniques are mental, others are more practical. Talking about it is really important and I'm pleased you created this thread as a start. I wonder if you have shared your feelings with your mentor? There is nothing like the support of someone who has most likely experienced the same anxieties and concerns. If you can, try to accept what is happening, rather than fight it. Give it time to pass, where possible and try to turn the "what if" feelings around, by focusing on positive thoughts about what you have accomplished and achieved so far. You really do need to tell yourself that it's only anxiety. Try to control and regulate your breathing. Take deep breaths in and slow breaths out and keep focusing on your breathing and repeating the pattern. It really does work for many people who experience anxiety and nervousness and the more you practice the better it gets. There are some herbal remedies that you could try, including Valerian, Chamomile and Lemon Balm. How would you feel about giving them a try? There are also a number of self help books that may be worth reading. If all else fails it might be worth considering support to get through this. CBT is know to have good results and it might be better than going down the final route, which is prescribed medication. I don't know if this has helped at all, but I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. If you can confront these fears and see the classes through confidence may well replace the worry you are feeling right now. I hope that happens for you.
Exercise is a good way to get rid of some excess and negative energy, it's also calming so trying it before you teach would be good. Another thing you can do is think of it as acting. I'm a nurse, and when I first began I couldn't even go into a patient's room if a visitor was there I was so anxious. I kept walking by the room until visitors left. Obviously, this is not effective, especially as a nurse so what I did was discover my 'nurse mode' where I become confident in my knowledge and abilities and in charge of any situation. I can talk to whoever I need to and i am very different. Then I began grad school and some of it requires presentations, and as a TA, I did a lecture, and then this semester I volunteered to do a lecture and what I do in these situations, is go into my 'nurse mode'. Instead of worrying about what may happen, remember that you are in control of the class, and what happens is up to you. The students don't know what you plan on saying so if you forget something, don't worry about it because you will be the only one who knows about it. Be in charge, and you will begin to feel more comfortable. Find your 'teacher mode' And if all else fails replace 'cause for concern' with 'fake it until you make it'.
Thank you for all your responses. These are really helpful and varied. I have somewhat talked to my mentor about it. When I broke down the other day, I did admit to her that I was feeling very stressed and anxious about things. Since then, we have made a plan for how I organise my time so that I don't end up overwhelmed by too high volumes of work at any one time. So I now have hours built into my timetable where I am planning lessons, so that I can get everything done in time and it doesn't all pile up. There are some suggestions in here that I really want to try, but it would be difficult to do so because of time constraints. Regular exercise would be extremely difficult because the school day takes up so much time, especially since I have to commute to my placement so that's even more time gone than what would be usual, and I'm often too tired by the time I get back home. I'd love to try acting, but have no idea how I'd go about that. I'm a horrible, horrible actress. And again, time constraints. However, I do have a couple of friends who are actresses, so maybe I can ask them for advice. I don't feel as though I need to go to extreme measures like counselling or medication; though it has been said by the course leader that people often find themselves in need of support even if they have not done so previously, i.e. during their undergraduate degree, because that is how stressful teacher training can be. So I'll keep it in mind just in case. Thank you again for such incredible responses.
It doesn't... this are things that might help fairly fast and take only minutes... a few sit-ups for a few minutes anywhere in a room during the day... taking a few deep breaths at fresh air, calming down, mentally being in a different place... a beach ? a meadow ? having a small tea ceremony might help... just sitting there, calming down, having a cup of tea from a thermos flask... a few times a day...
Or bring the tea with you to class or water or something that normalizes the situation for you. I know when I have a bottle of water with me I'm not as anxious
